Ivermectin and clorsulon (ivomec super) in treatment of goats naturally infested with scab mites and biting lice.

Five goats naturally infested with Sarcoptes scabiei, Psoroptes ovis and Bovicola caprae were treated with a combination of ivermectin and clorsulon. A subcutaneous injection in a dose of 1 ml/50 kg live weight was given. This provides dose levels of 200 ug ivermectin and 2 mg clorsulon. Four goats were cured from the three ectoparasites within one to two weeks. The last elder goat, which was anaemic and naturally infected with Trichostrongylus colubriformis, was still infested with the two scab mites, but was free from B. caprae. A postal dose of 0.5 ml/50 kg live weight was given one week later (=3 weeks after the 1st injection). This goat was cured within a week, but still passed some T. colibriformis eggs. The result was discussed.

Two species of tabanids (order: Diptera) in Aswan District, Egypt.

Tabanus taeniola and Haematopota minuscula were trapped on camels and equines at daytime during summer of 2000. Many species of Tabanus and few species of Haematopota were reported before in Egypt. This paper stresses on the medical and veterinary importance of these vectors.

Vertebral unilocular hydatidosis in a shepherd and his wife.

This paper reports vertebral unilocular hydatid cysts in a shepherd and his wife in Sharkia Governorate. Diagnosis was based on parasitological examination of the surgically removed cysts. Albendazole was given as postoperative treatment. MRI six months after treatment, showed no recurrence and mild clinical improvement.

Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies on parasitic infections as a cause of fever of undetermined origin in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt.

Forty-three patients who fulfilled the international criteria for prolonged fever were exposed to thorough history taking, clinical and laboratory investigations. The latter included urine and stool examination, urine and blood culture, haemogram, liver and renal function tests, chest X-ray, tuberculin test, bone marrow, liver biopsy, blood films, serological tests including ELISA, IHA and IFA for detection of schistosomiasis, toxoplasmosis and malaria. Parasitic infections were detected in 30/43 (69.7%), 55.8% of whom had pure parasitic infection and 14% had in addition other causes. The majority of cases with positive etiology were coming from rural areas. The pattern of fever was predominantly intermittent especially with malaria and schistosomal cases. Fever of 21-41 days duration was noted in 70% of patients and 23.3% lasted up to more than 56 days. Visceromegaly (hepatomegaly and/or splenomegaly) was observed in all patients except one case. Lymphadenopathy was detected in ten cases, six of whom were visceral leishmaniasis. The IHA test for leishmaniasis detected ten cases at titres of 256, 512 and 1024 reciprocally. The dot-ELISA gave seropositivity in only 8/10 cases diagnosed by IHA test. So eight cases of VL were diagnosed by two serological tests at high titres. The detection of seropositive cases of visceral leishmaniasis in the studied area, suggests a focus or foci and warrants epidemiological study to establish the actual situation. Generally speaking, parasitic aetiology should be in mind in any case of FUO in Dakahlia. Serological tests are valuable, simple and safe tools for conforming the diagnosis of schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis and malaria.

Studies on the sacculant portion of the kidney of Biomphalaria glabrata Say (1818) as a haemopoietic organ.

The term immunity signifies all those properties of the host which confer resistance to a specific infectious agent. This resistance may be of all degrees ranging from complete to incomplete susceptibility. The defensive functions is performed by various cellular and humoral components which interact with each other producing a co-ordinated immune response directed towards eliminating the pathogen or minimizing its danger. Snails as other members of the Animal Kingdom have their own immune system. The present study concentrated on the sacculant portion of the kidney of B. glabrata as a haemopoietic stem cell. The histological picture of this portion in the kidney as well as in-vitro culture was studied. (I) The histological studies showed that (a) the sacculant portion constituted the last fifth of the kidney highly folded with primitive epithelial tissue, (b) amoebocytes (10.7 +/- 0.98m) rounded, oval or amoeboid, showing flattening and spreading when encapsulated around foreign particles, when doing so, both the cytoplasm and nucleus were more basophilic, (c) the haemocytes in the sacculant portion were distributed either as clustering forming amoebocytic plugs or dense aggregation or being normal in distribution (d) there was a significant correlation between haemocytic diameter and shell weight and between shell weight and shell diameter but no significant correlation between haemocytic diameter and shell diameter. (II) The in-vitro studies showed that (a) The medium 199 and fetal calf serum (3:1) produced higher number of granulocytes, (b) the cells differed in shape and size from those shown in histological studies of the kidney itself (c) the majority of the cells were large sized granulocytes and very few small sized hyalinocytes, (d) granulation of cytoplasm took place in the culture medium used more than in the sacculant portion, (e) only the smaller granulocytes showed greater ability for mitotic division. The results were photographed and discussed.

Evaluation of crude and purified Toxocara canis antigens in serodiagnosis of human toxocariasis.

Three serological tests: Immunodiffusion (ID), Counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to study the role of crude adult worm antigen (CAWA) of Toxocara canis and each of its purified fractions in the serodiagnosis of human toxocariasis. Sensitivities of the three tests were lower in the ocular than in the visceral group, using different antigens. Purified fraction 1 showed more sensitive and specific reactions in the three tests, compared to CAWA or purified fraction 2 (P-F2) antigen. The other purified fractions (P-F3, P-F4 and P-F5) gave no positive reactions in any of the three tests. Using P-F1 antigen, ELISA was the most sensitive technique for diagnosis of both visceral and ocular toxocariasis followed by CIEP and then ID and the difference was statistically significant. However, CIEP was the most specific test followed by ELISA and lastly ID test. The ELISA test using Excretory-Secretory (E-S) larval antigen of Toxocara canis was less sensitive than the ELISA test using P-F1, although it was 100% specific. Thus, ELISA test using P-F1 is the test of choice for diagnosis of human toxocariasis, but when the specificity of a reaction is in doubt, CIEP test using the same antigen can be of value.

Serum levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) versus immunoglobulins (IgG., IgM., and IgE.) in Egyptian scabietic children.

The tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha or Cachectin) is a protein produced mainly by macrophages, with a wide range of biological activities and in inflammatory process. On the other hand, scabies is a skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei which is typified by severe itching (particularly at night), red papules and often secondary infection. The female mite tunnels in the skin to lay her eggs and the newly hatched mites pass easily from person to person by contact. Commonly the infested areas are the groin, penis, nipples and the skin between the fingers. In this paper, the serum levels of TNF-alpha versus IgG., IgM., and IgE. were estimated in parasitologically proven scabietic male children (8-13 years) with no secondary infection or other parasitic infection. The results showed high significant elevation of serum TNF-alpha in 94.1% (P = 7.763E-04) and IgE in 100% (P = 1.530E-07) in the scabietic patients than in the control group, and non significant increase in IgG in 47% (P = 0.0605) and in IgM in 5.9% (P = 0.9404). It was concluded that TNF-alpha plays a role in the pathogenesis of human scabies. Extensive study is ongoing to clarify the outcome of TNF-alpha in human scabies.

Incidence of Toxoplasma and Toxocara antibodies among out-patients in the Ophthalmic Research Institute, Egypt.

Infection by Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara canis is getting much important nowadays. Both are soil transmitted infections. The present study was planned to detect the incidence of T. gondii and T. canis antibodies among 100 patients attending the outpatient clinics in Research Institutes of Ophthalmology (RIO), whose urine and stool were free from other parasitic stages. Patients were classified into two groups, group I; (70 ocular cases) and group II, (30 non-occular cases). Control group (group III); 30 healthy persons. Sera from all individuals were subjected to IFAT and IHAT to detect Toxoplasma antibodies and IFAT to detect Toxocara antibodies. By using IFAT for Toxoplasma revealed, 25% as a total incidence, 21.4% in group I, 33.3% in group II and 6.6% in group III. While IHAT revealed 51% as a total incidence, 51.4% in group I, 50% in group II and 23.3% in group III. Among group I, retinochoroiditis cases showed the highest incidence and titre. While hydrocephalic cases showed highest incidence and titre in group II. T. canis antibodies revealed 23% as a total incidence, 14.3% in group I, 43.3% in group II and 5% in group III. Cases presented with retinal detachment showed the highest incidence and titre in group I while in group II hepatomegalic cases gave the highest incidence and titre. Concomitant infection of both Toxoplasma and Toxocara was detected in 8% of positive cases.

Mites (acari) infesting commensal rats in Suez Canal zone, Egypt.

Mites are arthropods distinguished from ticks by usually being microscopical in size and have a hypostome unarmed with tooth-like anchoring processes. They are group in a number of suborders, each with super-families and families including many genera of medical and economic importance. In this paper, commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus, R. r. alexandrinus and R. r. frugivorous) were surveyed in the Suez Canal Zone for their acari ectoparasites. Four species of mites were recovered. In a descending order of mite indices, they were Eulaelaps stabularis (4.83 on 6 rats), Laelaps nuttalli (3.11 on 27 rats), Ornithonyssus bacoti (1.66 on 9 rats) and Dermanyssus gallinae (0.66 on 24 rats). The overall mite indices in the three governorates were 3.66 in Suez, 2.82 in Ismailia and zero in Port Said. The medical and economic importance of the mites were discussed.

Evaluation of two cultural media (CPLM & TYM) for isolation and maintenance of Trichomonas vaginalis stocks in the laboratory.

Five hundreds vaginal discharge specimens were inoculated simultaneously in 2 axenic culture media (CPLM & TYM), in order to compare their ability to isolate and to maintain the growth of T. vaginalis in the laboratory. While both media were found to be equally good in detecting the organisms in vaginal discharges, yet, T. vaginalis stocks were maintained for a longer time in TYM medium (one year), than in the CPLM medium (2 weeks). The yields of the parasites with different inocula subcultured and after different incubation periods were counted in the TYM medium.

Antibodies against toxoplasma in commensal rodents trapped in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia.

Toxoplasma gondii, that protozoal parasite which causes toxoplasmosis, pays no respect to boundaries of Zoology and Geography. It has been reported in a large number of birds and mammals including man from nearly all over the world. In Saudi Arabia, the incidence of human infection ranges between 21% and 49.3%. In this paper, the level of antibodies against Toxoplasma in sera of different species of rodents was measured by the indirect haemagglutination tests (IHA). The seropositivities ranged between 12.5% (Mus musculus) and 41.7% (Rattus norvegicus). The overall rate of infection was 35.6%. The role played by rodents in the spreading of the Toxoplasma infection was discussed.

The helminthic parasites of rodents in Dakahlia Governorate, with reference to their Egyptian helminth fauna.

No doubt, rodents are among the most important reservoirs of zoonotic diseases. This paper aimed to survey the helminth fauna of the different species of rodents in Dakahlia Governorate. Eight species of rodents were encountered in the different centers examined. A total of fifteen species of helminthic parasites were found. They belong to four classes: Trematoda five species: H. heterophyes, H. pumilio, H. yokogawai, S. tridactyla and E. callawayensis, Cestoidea three species: H diminuta, H. nana and T. taeniaeformis, Nematoda six species: A. cantonensis, T. muris, C. hepatica, S. obvelata, S. muris, S. ratti, and Archiacanthocephala one species: M. moniliformis. The medical and/or veterinary importance of these parasites were discussed. It was concluded that rodents are the most serious source of zoonotic parasites.

Characterization of Egyptian isolates of Trichomonas vaginalis: I. Serotyping.

Antitrichomonal hyperimmune sera against T. vaginalis stocks isolated from Egyptian female patients were employed for serological differentiation of somatic and soluble antigens in the Ouchterlony gel double immunodiffusion technique. It was concluded that soluble trichomonal antigens present in association with living flagellates are stock--specific reacting with some, but not all the antitrichomonal hyperimmune sera, while those present in association with dead parasites are common antigens reacting with all the sera. Three stocks, E1, E2 and E3 could be differentiated into two strains using their stock--specific antigens. The somatic antigens of six trichomonal stocks reacted with all the hyperimmune sera denoting common antigenic make up.