Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii-like oocyst shedding in feral and owned cats in Damascus, Syria.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of toxoplasmosis in humans in Syria indicates an increase in the number of infections with this disease. Cats are the only definitive host of Toxoplasma gondii and excrete environmentally resistant oocysts in their feces. OBJECTIVES: Estimate the prevalence of T. gondii-like oocyst shedding in the cat population in Damascus, Syria. ANIMALS: One-hundred domestic cats. METHODS: One-hundred fecal samples from cats (68 feral cats and 32 owned cats) were collected in Damascus between October and December 2017 and examined for T. gondii-like oocysts by direct microscopic examination using Sheather's sugar flotation procedure. RESULTS: Examination of the samples showed that 36% (36/100) of the cats were shedding T. gondii-like oocysts. Sporulated or unsporulated oocysts morphologically consistent with T. gondii were detected in 38.2% (26/68) of the samples collected from feral cats and in 31.3% (10/32) of the samples collected from client-owned cats. CONCLUSION: The clinical importance of Toxoplasmosis in humans lies in the transmission of Toxoplasma to the fetus especially in the first trimester, resulting in severe clinical symptoms in the infant and leading to spontaneous abortion, stillbirth or other serious health problems and severe sequelae (e.g., mental retardation, blindness, hearing, and neurological disorders). Our results showed higher prevalence in Syria than in Lebanon. High amounts of T. gondii-like oocyst shedding were detected in both feral and client-owned cats in Damascus, emphasizing the importance of further research to understand T. gondii infection in people and animals in this region.

Influence of Polyvinylpyrrolidone Concentration on Properties and Anti-Bacterial Activity of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles.

Environmentally green synthesis of stable polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)-capped silver nanoparticles (PVP-AgNPs) was successfully carried out. The present study focused on investigating the influence of adding PVP during the synthesis process on the size, optical properties and antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles produced. An aqueous extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves was used as a reducing agent. The effects of different PVP concentrations and reducing time on the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and nano tracker analysis (NTA). The addition of PVP was studied. The prepared PVP-AgNPs were spherical with an average size of 13 nm. FTIR analysis confirmed that PVP protects AgNPs by a coordination bond between silver nanoparticles and both N and O of PVP. DLS results indicated the good dispersion of silver nanoparticles. PVP-AgNPs were found to be stable for nearly 5 months. Antibacterial studies through the agar well diffusion method confirmed that silver nanoparticles synthesized using PVP had no inhibitor activity toward Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as opposed to silver nanoparticles prepared without adding PVP, which showed a significant antibacterial activity towards some of the tested pathogens.