Parasitological and histo-pathological studies on schistosomiasis mansoni infected mice and treated with praziquatel and/or oltipraz.

A total of 120 albino mice were divided into: G1 (80 infected with S. mansoni cercariae by tail immersion) and G2 (40 uninfected controls). Seven weeks after infection, G1 was subdivided into four subgroups of 20 mice each. Gla: Infected untreated control. G1b: treated with Praziquantel (PZQ) in a dose of 500 mg/kg for two consecutive days. G1c: treated with Oltipraz (Oz) in a dose of 500 mg/kg for three consecutive days. G1d: treated with combination of PZQ and Oz (1/3 therapeutic dose of both for two consecutive days. G2 was divided into 4 subgroups of ten mice each. G2a: non infected non treated. G2b: PZQ treated (PZQ control positive). G2c: Oz treated (Oz control positive). G2d: Drugs treated (PZQ and Oz control positive). The effect of drugs was done 2 weeks post-treatment, parasitologically to detect number of worms and the distribution in liver vasculature after perfusion of hepatic circulation of mice, and number of eggs per gram of liver tissue. Also, histopathological examination of liver samples with H& E and/or Masson's trichrome stains showed effect on granuloma and tissue. PZQ gave reduction of total worm burden to 0.22 + 0.01 (99%), while Oz gave 22.4 + 0.57 (3.6%). PZQ produced marked hepatic shift while Oz gave 6.14%efficacy. A decrease in egg number with PZQ was 63.69%. Oz gave 13.5%. Complete disappearance of immature ova with increase no. of dead ones was 97.89% of mature ova stage to 2.11% after PZQ. Oz gave 45% of all detected ova with slight increase of dead ones to 14.18% compared to 9.8% in infected control. Improvement of hepatic pathology in form of 51.2% reduction in granuloma size and 54.7% decrease in number with improvement of hepatocytes was after treatment with PZQ in contrary to Oz as reduction of size and number of granuloma was 13.6% and 21.6% respectively. Combination of reduced dose of both drugs produced moderate effect on all criteria less than that detected with full dose of PZQ, but much better that obtained after Oz.

A cross-sectional study of intestinal parasitic infections of the European badgers in Woodchester Park, South West England.

Tuberculosis and helminthiosis often coincide geographically. So, question arises whether helminthes can modulate the host immune response and affect tuberculosis. Knowledge of the specific interactions between both enables better understanding of pathogenesis and potential controls. The study evaluated the hypothesis that badgers with a high parasitosis exhibit more susceptibility to tuberculosis compared to those with low or no parasitic infection. Faecal specimens from 28 badgers were examined by using standardised protocols. Fourteen different parasitic species were recovered; nine helminth species and five protozoa species. This diversity indicates that parasites are abundant in UK badgers. Results were compared with regards to age and sex. Parasitic prevalence tended to be higher in males than females and in cubs than adults. Two significant findings were obtained; (1) males had heavier infections with Strongyle nematode L1 larvae than females; (2) cubs showed both higher prevalence and intensity of infection with coccidian oocysts compared to adults. In the sampled population, no significant correlation was found between TB status and diversity or intensity of parasitic infection. This refutes the hypothesis that parasitism exacerbates TB status. Studies encompassing larger numbers of badgers are needed for confirmation of the present finding.

Studies on besnoitiosis bennetti in miniature donkeys.

Besnoitia tissue cysts associated with the skin lesions recovered from the naturally-infected miniature donkeys (Equus asinus) during clinical examination were studied by the light and electron microscopy, as well as histochemically to elucidate the specific morphologic features of the cyst causing this disease. The cyst was differentiated phenotypically from those of other Besnoitia spp. The interpretation of results showed that morphometric attributes of the tissue cysts and the associated pathological changes in these donkeys were due to B. bennetti infection. The findings were confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences of the first internal transcribed spacer of nuclear rDNA. The cluster analysis showed that B. bennetti was distinct from all other Besnoitia spp. and positioned B. bennetti with parasites described from Besnoitia besnoiti of cattle and B. tarandi of reindeer. The genetic attributes complemented the morphological criteria and verified the accurate delimitation of the Besnoitia cysts isolated from these donkeys.

Host-induced phenotypic differences in Egyptian Heterophyes heterophyes (Digenea: Heterophyidae).

A comparative morphometric study identified host-related variations in Heterophyes heterophyes. In one study, variations in adult H. heterophyes obtained from different definitive hosts were examined. Significant differences were in size and dimensions of body organs of adults collected from dogs, cats and albino-rats experimentally infected with encysted metacercariae (EMC) from mullet (Mugil cephalus). Hypotheses on the sources of host-dependent variations were interpreted in terms of adaptation to conditions created by the host. In a second study, comparative morphometric analysis of adults recovered from puppies experimentally fed on EMC isolated from five sympatric fish species was done. No significant differences were in adults H. heterophyes recovered from puppies feed on EMC of different fishes. Constancy in morphological characters of adults reared in the same host, independent of a change of fish was seen. So, the variations depend upon host species where worms develop, and host selection may determine the worm morphology and phenotypic plasticity.

Zoonotic fascioliasis in donkeys: ELISA (Fges) and postmortum examination in the Zoo, Giza, Egypt.

In Egypt, zoonotic fascioliasis is increasing. In this study, postmortum examination of 88 donkeys used as gargantuan meal in the Zoo at Giza revealed hepatic fascioliasis in 15 (17.05%). The serum examination for anti-Fasciola antibodies by ELISA showed positivity in 12/15 with crude worm antigen, and positivity in 14/15 with locally prepared Fasciola excretory-secretory (Fges) antigen. The zoonotic role of animal fascioliasis was discussed.

In vitro evaluation of bovine turbinate cells and Sarcocystis falcatula proliferation in response to serum-free medium and other media supplements.

A serum-free medium (SFM) was evaluated for the growth of bovine turbinate (BT) cells used for the production of Sarcocyvstis falcatula merozoites. Serum free cultures used to propagate S. falcatula were compared to cultures maintained in media supplemented with fetal calf serum (FCS) or horse serum (HS). Serum free cultures were more.effective and very promisin, than the others in supporting the proliferation of S. falcatula merozoites. However, the serum free cultures were unable to adequately support BT cell proliferation compared to the serum-supplemented cultures. No significant differences were seen between cultures supplemented with HS or FCS used for the production of S. falcatula merozoites or BT cells. The rate of BT cell proliferation in response to SFM and different media supplements was assessed in a 96-well plate format using methylene blue staining assay. This technique was superior to manual counting method and allowed quick and accurate quantitative comparison bet-ween the response of proliferating BT cells to different growth conditions

Eucalyptus globulus (camphor oil) in the treatment of human demodicidosis.

Demodex folliculorum (Follicular or Demodicid mite) is a zoonotic obligatory parasite with clinical manifestations range from normal infestation to complicated ones. Treatment of human facial demodicidosis with freshly prepared camphor oil with or without glycerol dilutions gave complete cure with concentrations of 100%, 75%. and 50%. Incomplete cure but marked drop in infestation density was achieved with diluted camphor oil at concentrations of 25-20%. Camphor oil application proved to be safe with no side effects.