Prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 in Sudanese women diagnosed with cervical carcinoma

Objectives: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix is one of the leading causes of death in developing countries. Infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is the major risk factor to develop malignant lesions HR types (HPV16 and HPV18) account for about 70% of all invasive cervical cancers worldwide. It is estimated that 833 Sudanese women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 534 die from the disease every year. The present study aimed to detect HPV 16, and determine the association of HPV16 with age and various grades of cervical carcinoma in patients with clinically confirmed cervical SCC. Materials and Methods: A total of 158 formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues blocks from Sudanese women diagnosed as cervical cancer and benign were collected between 2012 and 2016 at Omdurman Maternity Hospital and National Laboratories, Khartoum, Sudan. HPV DNA detection was done using HPV 16 specific primers in real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The frequency of HPV 16 was identified among 10.34% (n = 6) and 6% (n = 6) women with abnormal cytology and normal cytology, respectively. Based on age, high prevalence rate of HPV 16 was observed among age group 61–70 in women with malignant cases. The degree of differentiation, an important classification in SCC cases revealed that 5% (n = 3) cases had moderately differentiated SCC and two of them were keratinized SCC. In addition, 3.4% (n = 2) SCC cases were keratinized and well differentiated. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of HPV types 16 was higher but had no significant association with cervical SCC in Sudanese women

Multidrug resistance in amoebiasis patients.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Amoebiasis, caused by Entamoeba sp. a protozoan parasite, is a major public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries. The symptomatic patients are treated by specific chemotherapy. However, there are reports of treatment failure in some cases suggesting the possibility of drug resistance. The present study was therefore planned to assess the presence and expression of mRNA of multidrug resistance (MDR) gene in clinical isolates of Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar. METHODS: Forty five clinical isolates of Entamoeba sp. [E. histolytica (15) and E. dispar (30)] were maintained in polyxenic followed by monoxenic medium. DNA and total RNA were extracted from clinical isolates of Entamoeba sp. and from sensitive strain of E. histolytica (HM1: IMSS) and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and multiplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR techniques. RESULTS: The 344 bp segment of E. histolytica DNA was seen by PCR using primers specific to EhPgp1 in all clinical isolates and sensitive strain of E. histolytica. Over expression of EhPgp1 was observed only in resistant mutant of E. histolytica; however, transcription of EhPgp1 was not seen in any clinical isolates and sensitive strain of E. histolytica. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study indicate that, so far, drug resistance in clinical isolates of E. histolytica does not seem to be a major problem in this country. However, susceptibility of clinical isolates of E. histolytica against various antiamoebic drugs needs to be investigated for better management.

Drug resistance in amoebiasis.

Amoebiasis caused by Entamoeba histolytica, is a major public health problem in developing countries. Morphologically similar E. dispar is non pathogenic. Because of the redefinition of E. histolytica and E. dispar, and the limited number of antiamoebic drugs available, a new approach to treat such individuals is necessary. The cost of treating asymptomatic individuals is highly exorbitant and not justifiable. The indiscriminate use of antiamoebic drugs can result in increased minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against Entamoeba species, and treatment failure may emerge as an important public health problem. Development of new antiamoebic drugs is still in infancy and vaccine development appears to be distant dream. In future, the development of drug resistance may seriously affect the control of disease. This review discusses the factors involved in drug resistance mechanisms developed by the parasite.

Comparative evaluation of hexokinase isoenzyme typing and antigen detection for differentiation of Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar.

Entamoeba histolytica, the causative organism of invasive amebiasis is a potential pathogen, while asymptomatic infection is caused by E. dispar. Differentiation of the species is not possible on the basis of morphological characters by microscopic examination. In the present study an attempt has been made to differentiate E. histolytica from E. dispar in 45 isolates obtained from culture and direct stool samples respectively on the basis of hexokinase isoenzyme analysis and Tech Lab ELISA. A 100% correlation was found between these two techniques. However, Tech Lab E. histolytica antigen detection test was found to be both rapid and technically simple. Its use in diagnosis and epidemiological studies is recommended.

Intestinal parasites and intra familial incidence in a low socio-economic area of Chandigarh (North India).

A total of 550 stool samples were collected from a low socio economic population of Chandigarh (North India) and examined macroscopically and microscopically, to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and their familial incidence. The overall prevalence rate was 19.3%. Ascaris lumbricoides and Giardia lamblia were the commonest, affecting 51 (9.3%) and 33 (6.0%), respectively. In 17 (22.7%) families the same parasite was observed to infect multiple family members, which included A.lumbricoides (in 9 families), G. lamblia (in 7 families) and H. nana (in 1 family). The results of present study indicate that there is a high prevalence of parasitic infection in the community where personal hygiene and sanitary conditions are poor and may be one of the contributing factors for transmission within the families. Intervention strategies including health education program should be designed and implemented to control parasitic infections.