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Giardia Sp. (giardia + sp)
Selected AbstractsGastroduodenal opportunistic infections and dyspepsia in HIV-infected patients in the era of Highly Active Antiretroviral TherapyJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Ana Luiza Werneck-Silva Abstract Background and Aim:, Dyspeptic symptoms are frequently reported by human immunodefficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy. Whether opportunistic infections are a cause of dyspepsia is still unknown. In this study we prospectively compare the prevalence of gastrointestinal opportunistic infections in dyspeptic versus non-dyspeptic HIV-infected patients with advanced immunodeficiency. Patients and Methods:, Six hundred and ninety HIV-infected patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with mucosal biopsies from the stomach and duodenum. Group 1: 500 patients (161 women, 339 men; mean age 38.8 years; mean CD4 count 154.3 cells/mm3 with dyspeptic symptoms such as epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting and fullness. Group 2: 190 patients (169 men, 21 women; mean age 40.7 years; mean CD4 count 171.6 cell/mm3) with no dyspeptic symptoms. Results:, Group 1: Gastrointestinal opportunistic infections were observed in eight (1.6%), and non-opportunistic parasites in two (0.4%), patients. They were: Cytomegalovirus (four patients), Cryptosporidium sp. (two patients), Schistosoma mansoni sp. (one patient), Strongyloides stercoralis (one patient) and Giardia sp. (two patients). In five patients esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed no mucosal lesions. Group 2: Giardia sp. was detected in two patients (1.1%: P = 0.07947). Conclusion:, Gastrointestinal opportunistic infections were shown in a small number of HIV-infected patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy with advanced immunodeficiency. Although gastrointestinal opportunistic infections were detected exclusively in the dyspeptic patient group, they could not be related to these symptoms, since the number of infected patients was not statistically significant. To correctly diagnose opportunistic infections, multiple biopsy specimens may be necessary even from normal-appearing mucosa. [source] Local variation of haemoparasites and arthropod vectors, and intestinal protozoans in spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus) from four montane wadis in the St Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, EgyptJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 1 2006A. Bajer Abstract Haemoparasite infections and infestations with potential arthropod vectors were assessed in spiny mice Acomys dimidiatus from four wadis in the arid montane region of the southern Sinai in Egypt in late summer 2000. Five taxa of haemoparasites (Haemobartonella spp. 80%, Hepatozoon sp. 20.6%, Trypanosoma acomys 17.5%, Bartonella spp. 2.5% and Babesia sp. 1.9%) were recorded. Additionally, infections with two intestinal protozoa, Cryptosporidium cf. parvum and Giardia sp., were quantified, both with similar prevalence (17.0 and 17.6%, respectively). 17.9% of mice carried fleas (Parapulex chephrensis and Xenopsylla dipodilli) and 32.1% had lice (Polyplax oxyrrhyncha and Polyplax brachyrrhycha combined). Marked differences in the prevalence and abundance of infections were detected between the four wadis, particularly with respect to T. acomys, Hepatozoon sp. and fleas, which were largely aggregated in just two of the four sites (Wadis Gharaba and Tlah). In contrast, the intestinal protozoa were more common, and abundance was higher, in Wadi El Arbaein. Intrinsic factors also contributed to a variation in prevalence, with strong age-dependent increases in the prevalence and abundance of Hepatozoon sp., higher mean species richness, prevalence of Cr. cf. parvum, and abundance of Giardia sp. and Hepatozoon sp. in female mice. Haemobartonella spp. showed an age-dependent reduction in abundance and higher abundance among male mice. A weak association was found between the prevalence of T. acomys and its putative flea vector. The single extrinsic factor in the study, site of capture, was more important than the intrinsic factors in explaining variation in the prevalence and abundance of haemoparasites, intestinal protozoa and arthropod vectors. In the high mountains of southern Sinai, the parasite fauna of spiny mice is distinct in each wadi, and hence we expect the parasites to exert spatially different co-evolutionary pressures on their hosts, with a resultant variation in host life histories. [source] Ecology of the gastrointestinal parasites of Colobus vellerosus at Boabeng-Fiema, Ghana: Possible anthropozoonotic transmissionAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Julie A. Teichroeb Abstract Parasite richness and prevalence in wild animals can be used as indicators of population and ecosystem health. In this study, the gastrointestinal parasites of ursine colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus) at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS), Ghana, were investigated. BFMS is a sacred grove where monkeys and humans have long lived in relatively peaceful proximity. Fecal samples (n = 109) were collected opportunistically from >27 adult and subadult males in six bisexual groups and one all-male band from July 2004 to August 2005. Using fecal floatation, we detected three protozoans (two Entamoeba sp., Isospora sp.), five nematodes (Ascaris sp., Enterobius sp., Trichuris sp., two strongyle sp.), and one digenean trematode. Using fluorescein labeled antibodies, we detected an additional protozoan (Giardia sp.), and with PCR techniques, we characterized this as G. duodenalis Assemblage B and also identified a protistan (Blastocystis sp., subtype 2). The most prevalent parasite species were G. duodenalis and Trichuris sp. Parasites were more prevalent in the long wet season than the long dry. Parasite prevalence did not vary by age, and average parasite richness did not differ by rank for males whose status remained unchanged. However, males that changed rank tended to show higher average parasite richness when they were lower ranked. Individuals that spent more time near human settlements had a higher prevalence of Isospora sp. that morphologically resembled the human species I. belli. The presence of this parasite and G. duodenalis Assemblage B indicates possible anthropozoonotic and/or zoonotic transmission between humans and colobus monkeys at this site. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Forest fragmentation, the decline of an endangered primate, and changes in host,parasite interactions relative to an unfragmented forestAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2008Thomas R. Gillespie Abstract Forest fragmentation may alter host,parasite interactions in ways that contribute to host population declines. We tested this prediction by examining parasite infections and the abundance of infective helminths in 20 forest fragments and in unfragmented forest in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Over 4 years, the endangered red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus) declined by 20% in fragments, whereas the black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza) in fragments and populations of both colobines in unfragmented forest remained relatively stable. Seven nematodes (Strongyloides fulleborni, Strongyloides stercoralis, Oesophagostomum sp., an unidentified strongyle, Trichuris sp., Ascaris sp., and Colobenterobius sp.), one cestode (Bertiella sp.), and three protozoans (Entamoeba coli, Entamoebahistolytica/dispar, and Giardia sp.) were detected. Infection prevalence and the magnitude of multiple infections were greater for red colobus in fragmented than in unfragmented forest, but these parameters did not differ between forests for black-and-white colobus. Infective-stage colobus parasites occurred at higher densities in fragmented compared with unfragmented forest, demonstrating greater infection risk for fragmented populations. There was little evidence that the nature of the infection was related to the size of the fragment, the density of the host, or the nature of the infection in the other colobine, despite the fact that many of the parasites are considered generalists. This study suggests that forest fragmentation can alter host,parasite dynamics and demonstrates that such changes can correspond with changes in host population size in forest fragments. Am. J. Primatol. 70:222,230, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Feline diarrhoea associated with Tritrichomonas cf. foetus and Giardia co-infection in an Australian catteryAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 11 2008SA Bissett A 10-week-old female Ocicat was presented at a primary care feline veterinary practice for failure to thrive and diarrhoea. Numerous trophozoites, atypical for Giardia sp., were detected on a direct faecal examination, in addition to Giardia cysts. Although the failure to thrive and diarrhoea resolved following treatment for giardiasis, further diagnostic tests performed on faecal specimens from the kitten and 15 other Ocicats from the same cattery, including culture of trophozoites in In PouchÔ medium, PCR testing and molecular sequencing of PCR amplicons, confirmed infection with Tritrichomonas cf. foetus. This is the first report in Australia of feline trichomoniasis, which appears to be an emerging infectious disease of cats. Pertinent information regarding the clinical features, diagnosis, therapy, and potential source of feline trichomoniasis within Australia are discussed. [source] | |||||||||||||