Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is one of the most widespread zoonotic helminthiases, which can last an asymptomatic infection for several years. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate serum antibody prevalence of CE among asymptomatic people in Uzbekistan using ELISA. A total of 2,547 serum samples were collected, 66 from confirmed CE patients and 2,481 of patients with other diseases than CE at a hospital in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The serum samples were screened for CE specific IgG antibodies by ELISA using cystic fluid antigen obtained from sheep. The serum antibody positive rate was 89.4% (59/66) in CE and 3.6% (89/2,481) in other disease patients. The present ELISA recognized 89.4% sensitivity and 96.4% specificity. The ELISA absorbance of positive samples was distributed 0.271-0.971 for CE and 0.273-0.887 for other disease patients. The other disease patients with high absorbance over 0.3 were 50 (2.0%) who were presumed to be active CE patients. The patients in their 40s showed the highest positive rate of 5.2% (P=0.181), and women were 4.4% while men were 3.1% positive (P=0.136). The data confirmed that there are many asymptomatic patients of CE in Tashkent. It is indicated that CE is an endemic disease of public health importance in Uzbekistan.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth/*blood ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Echinococcosis/*blood/epidemiology/parasitology ; Echinococcus/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/*blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Uzbekistan/epidemiology ; Young Adult

Tapeworms of the genus Spirometra are pseudophyllidean cestodes endemic in Korea. At present, it is unclear which Spirometra species are responsible for causing human infections, and little information is available on the epidemiological profiles of Spirometra species infecting humans in Korea. Between 1979 and 2009, a total of 50 spargana from human patients and 2 adult specimens obtained from experimentally infected carnivorous animals were analyzed according to genetic and taxonomic criteria and classified as Spirometra erinaceieuropaei or Spirometra decipiens depending on the morphology. Morphologically, S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens are different in that the spirally coiled uterus in S. erinaceieuropaei has 5-7 complete coils, while in S. decipiens it has only 4.5 coils. In addition, there is a 9.3% (146/1,566) sequence different between S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens in the cox1 gene. Partial cox1 sequences (390 bp) from 35 Korean isolates showed 99.4% (388/390) similarity with the reference sequence of S. erinaceieuropaei from Korea (G1724; GenBank KJ599680) and an additional 15 Korean isolates revealed 99.2% (387/390) similarity with the reference sequences of S. decipiens from Korea (G1657; GenBank KJ599679). Based on morphologic and molecular databases, the estimated population ratio of S. erinaceieuropaei to S. decipiens was 35: 15. Our results indicate that both S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens found in Korea infect humans, with S. erinaceieuropaei being 2 times more prevalent than S. decipiens. This study is the first to report human sparganosis caused by S. decipiens in humans in Korea.
Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Cat Diseases/parasitology ; Cats ; Dog Diseases/parasitology ; Dogs ; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics ; Female ; Helminth Proteins/genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Sparganosis/diagnosis/*parasitology ; Spirometra/anatomy & histology/classification/*genetics/*isolation & purification ; Young Adult

The genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium remains largely unstudied in comparison to that of Schistosoma mansoni. To characterize the extent of genetic diversity in S. haematobium among its definitive host (humans), we collected S. haematobium eggs from the urine of 73 infected schoolchildren at 5 primary schools in White Nile State, Sudan, and then performed a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA marker ITS2 by PCR-RFLP analysis. Among 73 S. haematobium egg-positive cases, 13 were selected based on the presence of the S. haematobium satellite markers A4 and B2 in their genomic DNA, and used for RFLP analysis. The 13 samples were subjected to an RFLP analysis of the S. haematobium ITS2 region; however, there was no variation in size among the fragments. Compared to the ITS2 sequences obtained for S. haematobium from Kenya, the nucleotide sequences of the ITS2 regions of S. haematobium from 4 areas in Sudan were consistent with those from Kenya (> 99%). In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that most of the S. haematobium population in Sudan consists of a pan-African S. haematobium genotype; however, we also report the discovery of Kenyan strain inflow into White Nile, Sudan.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Child ; DNA, Helminth/genetics ; Female ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Ovum/classification/cytology ; Parasite Egg Count ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Schistosoma haematobium/*genetics/*isolation & purification/physiology ; Schistosomiasis haematobia/diagnosis/epidemiology/*parasitology/urine ; Students ; Sudan/epidemiology ; Urine/*parasitology

A total 7 outbreaks of trichinellosis have occurred in Korea, mostly as a result of consumption of raw wild boar (Sus scrofa) meat. Since only 1 serological survey on wild boars had yet been performed in Korea, the present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of trichinellosis in wild boars and some species of rodents by artificial digestion and serological examinations in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do, the endemic area of trichinellosis. Both the wild boar and rodent muscle samples revealed no Trichinella larvae by direct examination and artificial digestion method. However, serological examinations revealed that 4 wild boar sera samples out of 118 (3.4%) were positive to Trichinella antigen. Although the recovery of Trichinella larvae ended in a failure, it is proved for the first time that the sylvatic cycle of Trichinella has been maintained in wild boars of Gangwon-do, Korea.
Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth/*blood ; Antigens, Helminth/blood ; Female ; Male ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Sus scrofa ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/*blood/diagnosis/epidemiology/parasitology ; Trichinella/classification/genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification

Hepatic echinococcosis, also called echinococcosis, is a health-threatening disease commonly found in pasture, and belongs to parasitic zoonoses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and the risk factors of echinococcosis in Qinghai province in order to provide fundamental data for prevention and control of echinococcosis in Qinghai province. A total of 23 445 people from 21 counties were enrolled in this study by multi-stage stratified random sampling. Echinococcosis was diagnosed by using B-mode ultrasonography and serological tests. The results showed that the prevalence of echinococcosis was 4.47% (95%CI: 4.21%-4.73%) and serum positive rate (seroprevalence) was 15.47% (95%CI: 14.92%-16.02%) in 2010. The distribution of echinococcosis differed in age, sex, ethnicity, occupation and regions in Qinghai (P<0.05). GLMM analysis revealed that gender (female vs. male), ethnicity (Tibetan vs. other ethnicities), profession (herders vs. other professions) and region (autonomous prefectures vs. cities) were significant risk factors for echinococcosis (P<0.05). It was concluded that the prevalence of echinococcosis in 2010 was about 4% in Qinghai province, and the distribution of echinococcosis in Qinghai was associated with age, sex, ethnicity and profession.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth ; blood ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Echinococcosis, Hepatic ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; parasitology ; Echinococcus ; immunology ; physiology ; Epidemics ; prevention & control ; Female ; Host-Parasite Interactions ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupations ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Sex Factors ; Ultrasonography ; Young Adult

The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of Dirofilaria immitis infection among stray cats in Korea using nested PCR. We included 235 stray cats (121 females and 114 males) and evaluated each for the presence of feline heartworm infection. Blood samples were collected from 135 cats in Daejeon, 50 cats in Seoul, and 50 cats from Gyeonggi-do (Province). Of the 235 DNA samples, 14 (6.0%) were positive for D. immitis. The prevalence of infection in male cats (8/114, 7.0%) tended to be higher than that in female cats (6/121, 5.0%), but the difference was not statistically significant. In each location, 8, 2, and 4 cats were positive for infection, respectively, based on DNA testing. No significant differences in the prevalence were observed among the geographic regions, although the rate of infection was higher in Gyeonggi-do (8.0%) than Daejeon (5.9%) and Seoul (4.0%). We submitted 7 of the 14 D. immitis DNA-positive samples for sequencing analysis. All samples corresponded to partial D. immitis cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences with 99% homology to the D. immitis sequence deposited in GenBank (accession no. FN391553). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey using nested PCR to analyze the prevalence of D. immitis in stray cats in Korea.
Animals ; Blood/parasitology ; Cat Diseases/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Cats ; DNA, Helminth/chemistry/genetics ; Dirofilaria immitis/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Dirofilariasis/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics ; Female ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods ; Prevalence ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology

Epidemiological situation of taeniasis in Mongolia was assessed based on mitochondrial DNA identification of the parasite species. Multiplex PCR was used on a total of 194 proglottid specimens of Taenia species and copro-PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays were utilized for detection of copro-DNA of 37 fecal samples from taeniasis patients submitted to the Mongolian National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) from 2002 to 2012. In addition, 4 out of 44 calcified cysts in beef kept in formalin since 2003 were evaluated for histopathological confirmation of cattle cysticercosis. All proglottid specimens and stool samples were confirmed to be Taenia saginata by multiplex PCR and by copro-PCR and LAMP, respectively. Cysts collected from cattle were morphologically confirmed to be metacestodes of Taenia species. T. saginata taeniasis was identified from almost all ages from a 2-year-old boy up to a 88-year-old woman and most prominently in 15-29 age group (37%, 74/198) followed by 30-44 age group (34.8%, 69/198 ) from 15 of Mongolia's 21 provinces, while cattle cysticerci were found from 12 provinces. The highest proportion of taeniasis patients was in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Cattle/parasitology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cysticercosis/*epidemiology/parasitology ; DNA, Helminth/*genetics ; DNA, Mitochondrial/*genetics ; Feces/parasitology ; Female ; Geography ; Humans ; Male ; Meat/parasitology ; Middle Aged ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Mongolia/epidemiology ; Neglected Diseases/epidemiology ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/veterinary ; Questionnaires ; Taenia saginata/*genetics ; Taenia solium/genetics ; Taeniasis/*epidemiology/parasitology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the frequency of anti-Toxocara spp. antibodies in an adult healthy population.

METHODSThe study was performed by interviewing 253 blood donors, from 19 to 65 years of age, in a hematological centre in Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, southeast Brazil. A survey was applied to blood donors in order to evaluate the possible factors associated to the presence of antibodies, including individual (gender and age), socioeconomic (scholarship, familial income and sanitary facilities) and habit information (contact with soil, geophagy, onycophagy and intake of raw/undercooked meat) as well as the presence of dogs or cats in the household. ELISA test was run for detection of the anti-Toxocara spp. IgG antibodies. Bivariate analysis followed by logistic regression was performed to evaluate the potential risk factors associated to seropositivity.

RESULTSThe overall prevalence observed in this study was 8.7% (22/253). Contact with soil was the unique risk factor associated with the presence of antibodies (P=0.017 8; OR=3.52; 95% CI=1.244-9.995).

CONCLUSIONSThe results of this study reinforce the necessity in promoting preventive public health measures, even for healthy adult individual, particularly those related to the deworming of pets to avoid the soil contamination, and hygiene education of the population.

Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Antibodies, Helminth ; blood ; Brazil ; epidemiology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Toxocara ; isolation & purification ; Toxocariasis ; epidemiology ; parasitology ; Young Adult

The prevalence of liver and intestinal fluke infections was determined by surveying inhabitants of Hengxuan, Fusui, and Shanglin villages which were known to be endemic for liver flukes in Guangxi, China in May 2010. A total of 718 people were examined for helminth eggs by the Kato-Katz thick smear technique, ultrasonography, immunoaffinity chromatography, and DNA sequencing. The overall egg positive rate was found to be 59.6% (28.0-70.6%) that included mixed infections with liver and intestinal flukes. Cases showing higher than 20,000 eggs per gram of feces (EPG) were detected between 1.3% and 16.2%. Ultrasonographic findings exhibited overall 28.2% (72 of 255 cases) dilatation rate of the intrahepatic bile duct. Clonorchis sinensis infection was detected serologically in 88.3% (38 of 43 cases) among C. sinensis egg positive subjects by the immunoaffinity chromatography using a specific antigen for C. sinensis. For differential diagnosis of the liver and intestinal flukes, more precise PCR and nucleotide sequencing for copro-DNA were performed for 46 egg positive cases. Mixed infections with C. sinensis and Metagonimus yokogawai were detected in 8 of 46 egg positive cases, whereas 29 specimens were positive for Haplorchis taichui. Ultrasonographic findings and immunoaffinity chromatography results showed usefulness, even in a limited way, in figuring out of the liver fluke endemicity.
Animals ; China/epidemiology ; Chromatography, Affinity ; Clonorchiasis/*epidemiology/parasitology/ultrasonography ; Clonorchis sinensis/genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification ; Coinfection ; DNA, Helminth/chemistry/genetics ; Feces/parasitology ; Female ; Heterophyidae/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Intestines/*parasitology ; Liver/*parasitology ; Parasite Egg Count ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Trematode Infections/*epidemiology/parasitology/ultrasonography

The 5th outbreak of trichinosis occurred in a mountainous area of North Vietnam in 2012, involving 24 patients among 27 people who consumed raw pork together. Six of these patients visited several hospitals in Hanoi for treatment. Similar clinical symptoms appeared in these patients within 5-8 days after eating infected raw pork, which consisted of fever, muscle pain, difficult moving, edema, difficult swallowing, and difficult breathing. ELISA revealed all (6/6) positive reactions against Trichinella spiralis antigen and all cases showed positive biopsy results for Trichinella sp. larvae in the muscle. The larvae detected in the patients were identified as T. spiralis (Vietnamese strain) by the molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (cox3) gene.
Adult ; Animals ; Antigens, Helminth/analysis/immunology ; *Disease Outbreaks ; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Larva ; Male ; Meat/*parasitology ; Mitochondria/genetics ; Muscles/parasitology/pathology ; Swine ; Trichinella spiralis/genetics/immunology/*isolation & purification ; Trichinellosis/*epidemiology/parasitology/pathology ; Vietnam/epidemiology