The First Case of Diarrhoea in Tibetan Sheep, Ovis aries, Caused by Balantidium coli in the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau Area, China.

This study was carried out to determine the pathogen-causing diarrhoea in sheep Ovis aries in the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau Area, China. A trophozoite was identified as species of ciliate alveolates infecting the sheep based on morphological characteristics examined by microscope. It was mostly spherical, colourless and transparent, with many vesicles. Macronucleus and contractile vacuoles could not be distinguished. Size of the trophozoite was 80-180 × 70-150 µm and its surface was covered with cilia. Molecular analysis based on sequences of 18S rRNA and ITS genes confirmed the ciliate species as Balantidium coli. According to the literature, there have been many epidemiological investigations of B. coli infection in pigs, monkeys and humans. To our knowledge, this was the first report of B. coli infections in sheep in the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau Area of China, or eleswhere around the world. Importantly, the sheep case was rare but raised our concern that B. coli may spread across species and expand its host range.

Detection of Giardia duodenalis assemblage E infections at the Tibetan Plateau Area: Yaks are suitable hosts.

The prevalence of Giardia duodenalis (G. duodenalis) assemblages in yaks is poorly known. The present study examined 297 fecal samples from weaned yak, 4-7 months of age, from 3 different farms, in Tibetan Plateau Area (TPA) of the Qinghai Province in Western China. The prevalence of infection was determined by light and immunofluorescence microscopy, and nested-PCR. PCR was performed for the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU) amplified 16 positive for G. duodenalis products. The prevalence of Giardia species was 5.0% (15/297) on light microscopic analysis, 6.1% (18/297) on immunofluorescence test (IFT) and 5.4% (16/297) on nested-PCR. The overall prevalence with the three methods was 5.5%. Ten of the 16 PCR products have been successfully sequenced. Sequence results and phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rRNA sequence data using MEGA5.0 and DNAstar7.0 identified all samples of interest as G. duodenalis assemblage E. This study revealed for the first time the presence of G. duodenalis in yaks from the Qinghai province in China and confirmed that yak is a suitable host for Giardia parasites. The results provide useful information about G. duodenalis prevalence and the epidemiological significance of yak a suitable host to harbor Giardia infections.

Accuracy of ultrasound for the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is considered a serious malignancy with respect to its prognosis and mortality rate. Cervical lymph node status is one of the keys to determining prognosis and treatment methods. However, published data vary regarding the accuracy of ultrasound in the diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of ultrasound for detecting cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with esophageal cancer. METHODS: The PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify studies related to cervical lymph node metastasis, and 22 studies comprising 3,513 patients met our inclusion criteria. We used a bivariate meta-analysis following a random effects model to summarize the data. We also explored reasons for statistical heterogeneity using meta-regression, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses. Publication bias was assessed with a Deeks funnel plot. RESULTS: The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.97 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.95-0.98], and the pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 121.00 (95% CI: 47.57-307.79). With cut-off values of 5 mm and >5 mm for cervical lymph node size, the sensitivities and specificities (95% confidence interval) for ultrasound detection of cervical lymph node metastasis were 84% (67-93%) and 93% (90-95%); and 94% (76-98%) and 98% (89-100%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We show for the first time the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for predicting cervical lymph node-positive metastasis in esophageal cancer. Our analysis shows that ultrasonography may be an effective and reliable approach to detect cervical lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer. However, to accommodate heterogeneity, high-quality studies are needed to further verify the efficacy of ultrasound detection.