Prevalence and Clinical Manifestations of Giardia intestinalis and Other Intestinal Parasites in Children and Adults in Algeria.

Giardia intestinalis is one of the most common causes of parasite-induced diarrhea, abdominal pain, flatulence, and malabsorption. Yet, data on the epidemiology of G. intestinalis infections in North Africa are limited. The purpose of this study was to carry out a retrospective survey on the level of intestinal parasitism with a particular emphasis on G. intestinalis in children and adults in Algiers, Algeria. A total of 2,054 individuals from outpatient clinics or hospitalized at Beni-Messous University Hospital of Algiers undergoing stool microscopy for ova and parasites were included. The overall parasite infection rate was 28%. In the 567 parasite-positive samples, Blastocystis was found most frequently (57.3%), followed in frequency by Endolimax nana (41.0%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (19.6%), G. intestinalis (17.1%), Entamoeba coli (13.9%), Chilomastix mesnili (1.0%), Iodamoeba bütschlii (0.7%), Entamoeba hartmanni (0.5%), and Cryptosporidium spp. (0.2%). Intestinal parasites were generally more common in adults than in children, except for Giardia, which was more common in children (P = 0.0001). Giardia infection was independent of gender (P = 0.94). Compared with other intestinal parasitic infections, clinical manifestations, such as abdominal pain (P = 0.28) and diarrhea (P = 0.82), were found not to be significantly linked to Giardia infection. In conclusion, G. intestinalis is common in individuals referred to the University Hospital of Beni-Messous with digestive symptoms, particularly so in children. However, in our study, intestinal symptoms appeared not to be more linked to Giardia than to other intestinal parasites.

First genetic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii in stray cats from Algeria.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease with worldwide distribution and a major public health problem. In Algeria, no data are currently available about genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii isolated from animals or humans. The present study assesses for the first time the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in stray cats, and provides molecular characterization of T. gondii strains circulating in this feline population in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Sera from 96 stray cats were tested for the presence of antibodies against T. gondii using the modified agglutination test. The seroprevalence was 50% (48/96) using 1:6 as the positivity cut-off. Different organs samples from stray cats, including heart samples, were tested for the presence of Toxoplasma DNA using real-time PCR. T. Gondii DNA was detected in 90.6% (87/96) of hearts. Of these parasitic DNAs, 22 were submitted to genotyping through the analysis of 15 microsatellite markers. The identified genotypes (12 of 22) mainly belonged to the type II lineage.

Epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in Algeria: an update.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a zoonotic disease caused by Leishmania infantum, is endemic in Algeria. This report describes a retrospective epidemiological study conducted on human VL to document the epidemiological profile at national level. All human VL cases notified by the National Institute of Public Health between 1998 and 2008 were investigated. In parallel all VL cases admitted to the university hospitals of Algiers were surveyed to estimate the underreporting ratio. Fifteen hundred and sixty-two human VL cases were reported in Algeria between 1998-2008 with an average annual reported incidence rate of 0.45 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, of which 81.42% were in the age range of 0-4 years. Cases were detected year-round, with a peak notification in May and June. One hundred and seventy patients were admitted to the university hospitals in Algiers in the same period, of which less than one in ten had been officially notified. Splenomegaly, fever, pallor and pancytopenia were the main clinical and laboratory features. Meglumine antimoniate was the first-line therapy for paediatric VL whereas the conventional amphotericin B was used for adult patients. Visceral leishmaniasis in Algeria shows the epidemiological profile of a paediatric disease with a decrease of the annual reported incidence rate. However, vigilance is required because of huge underreporting and an apparent propagation towards the south.