Introduction And Importance: The tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato is the causative agent of cystic echinococcosis (CE), often known as hydatid disease. Over two-thirds of all occurrences of this zoonotic disease process in humans are caused by hepatic infection. Clinicians should have a low threshold to consider CE as a differential diagnosis in patients with positive serology and suggestive radiological findings, especially in endemic regions, because signs and symptoms are typically non-specific, especially in early disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a disseminated protozoan infection caused by Leishmania donovani that affects almost half a million people annually. In Northern Ethiopia, VL is common in migrant agricultural laborers returning from the lowland sesame fields of Metema and Humera. Recent VL foci have emerged in resident rural populations near the town.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) by identification of the most probable reservoir hosts using parasite isolation and analysis of a possible transmission dynamics of the disease in extra-domestic agricultural fields and rural villages.
Methods: Rodents were collected from selected study sites in kala-azar endemic areas based on information for localities of kala-azar cases for screening of Leishmania infections using parasitological, serological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from March, 2013 to January, 2014. Ketamine (Clorketam Veterinary) was used to anaesthesize the rodents according the prescribed dosage (average 2 mg/kg for intra-venous route).
Little is known about the feeding behavior of hematophagous insects that require plant sugar to complete their life cycles. We studied plant feeding of Lutzomyia longipalpis sand flies, known vectors of Leishmania infantum/chagasi parasites, in a Brazilian city endemic with visceral leishmaniasis. The DNA barcode technique was applied to identify plant food source of wild-caught L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new emerging focus of human cutaneous leishmaniasis (HCL) caused by Leishmania tropica was identified within the province of Settat. This study was performed in order to analyze the reasons of the extension of CL in this area, and to describe the clinico-epidemiological characteristic of this emerging focus during 2007-2012. A total of 553 suspected cases of CL were diagnosed in laboratory of Settat, controlled and confirmed in reference national laboratory of leishmaniasis in Rabat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Phlebotomus orientalis feeds on a variety of wild and domestic animals and transmits Leishmania donovani from hitherto unknown reservoir hosts to humans in extra-domestic habitats in the Metema-Humera lowlands. The aim of this study was to determine the nocturnal activities of P. orientalis and its preferred blood meal hosts.
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