ABSTRACT
Stool samples were obtained from individuals admitted to three hospitals in Basra during November 1997-May 1998. Of 40 patients with sickle-cell anaemia, 25 [62.5%] had parasitic infections. In the apparently healthy comparison group, 26 of 175 individuals [14.8%] had intestinal parasitic infections, a statistically significant difference. The most common intestinal parasites isolated in the sickle-cell patients were Blastocystis hominis [36%] and Giardia lamblia [28%]. The isolation rate of Cryptosporidium species in sickle-cell patients [5%] was not significantly different from that in apparently healthy individuals [1.14%]. We report for the first time the isolation of Isospora belli from a sickle-cell patient in Iraq and the Mediterranean region
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Animals , Child , Male , Middle Aged , Age Distribution , Blastocystis Infections/epidemiology , Blastocystis hominis , Cryptosporidiosis/epidemiology , Giardia lamblia/epidemiology , Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology , Isosporiasis/epidemiology , Sex DistributionABSTRACT
Single stool specimens were obtained from the subjects at the referral center for refugees in Kerman city during spring and fall seasons of 1993. Specimens were processed within 1-2 hours of receipt by the formalin-ether concentration method. The overall prevalence of infection was 23.7% for one or more species of intestinal parasites. The common parasites were Giardia lamblia, 15.2%; Hymenolepis nana, 5.2%, Entamoeba histolytica, 2.5%, and Ascoris lumbricoides, 0.8 perecnt. In general the difference in the distribution of parasites between females and males was not significant