This study retrospectively analyzed demographic factors that may affect the prevalence of intestinal parasites among Guatemalan school children. The findings of the study showed that young age, wet season, female gender, and severe malnutrition all correlated positively with increased rates of infection. Clinical visits were performed on 10,586 school children aged 5-15 years over a four-year p...

To assess the type and load of helminths in wastewater and the quality of treatment, we examined the raw and treated wastewater of 8 wastewater treatment plants (WTP) in Tehran and 2 in Isfahan for the presence of helminth eggs during 2002-2003. Wastewater samples obtained from both inlet and effluent of each treatment plant were examined on several occasions using the modified Bailenger method...

Pleurotus eryngii is a mushroom growing in the Bakhtiari province of Iran and is known as a mountain fungus. The fresh fungus is used as a food, and when dried its powder has been used as an anthelmintic drug. We decided to study the anthelmintic activity of P. eryngii on Hymenolepis nana (cestode) and Syphacia obvelata (nematode), using experimental animals. Water extract of P. eryngii wa...

Food-handlers (n = 1500) attending the public health laboratory in Khartoum, Sudan, for annual check-ups were screened for intestinal parasites by 3 different techniques (direct faecal examination, formol-ether concentration and floatation) to evaluate the adequacy of annual screening. Results showed that 29.4% of food-handlers were harbouring intestinal protozoa in stool samples: Entamoeba col...

Using both traditional methods and broad-range 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) polymerase chain reaction, we examined 2 cases of lethal cestodiasis, in which the disease agent had been poorly identified or misidentified. In one case, involving a patient with AIDS, we identified the human dwarf tapeworm, Hymenolepis nana, as a cause of aberrant metastatic larval disease. In the second case with similar...

The majority of helminth parasites that are considered by WHO to be the cause of 'neglected diseases' are zoonotic. In terms of their impact on human health, the role of animal reservoirs and polyparasitism are both emerging issues in understanding the epidemiology of a number of these zoonoses. As such, Hymenolepis (Rodentolepis) nana, Echinococcus canadensis and Ancylostoma ceylanicum all qua...

We present a field-portable lens-free optical tomographic microscope, which enables sectional-imaging of a large sample volume (~20 mm) with an axial-resolution of <7 μm. This platform, weighing ~110 grams, employs cost-effective lightemitting diodes and an optoelectronic sensor array to record in-line projection holograms of objects placed on a sensor-chip along different directions of illumin...

Haematological studies in helminthiasis reveal drastic alterations in the white blood cells (leucocytes), and its various components like neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and eosinophils. The use of proper anthelmintic agent, restores normalcy in the infected host. These variations during helminth infections reflect the host defense status in combating the parasitic attack. The present study...