Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a severe life threatening parasitosis requiring early management of cases. It is an emerging disease in the Mediterranean region with a spread of endemic areas and an increase in case incidence. The patient profile has also evolved with more affected adults, presenting generally non-specific symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report here a case of simultaneous cutaneous and visceral manifestations due to diagnosed in an immunocompetent adult. We describe a 74-year-old woman from Tunis, Tunisia, who presented a biologically confirmed visceral leishmaniasis infection concomitant with arm ulceration which appeared 2 years before. DNA was detected by ITS PCR in both buffy coat and dermal scrapping of the arm lesion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmoebae are single-celled parasites frequently colonizing human gut. However, few molecular tools are available for accurate identification. Here, we evaluated a panel of polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) targeting Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba hartmanni, Entamoeba polecki, Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba bütschlii.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCryptosporidium spp. are a major cause of gastrointestinal diseases in humans worldwide. While a single subtype of Cryptosporidium hominis has been shown to be responsible for several large outbreaks related to water contamination in developed countries, little is known about the epidemiology of C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn spite of its elimination from Tunisia, malaria remains a public health concern due to the severity of the disease and risk of its reintroduction. The vulnerability of our country is related to the persistent anophelism and to the existence of a potential reservoir represented by imported cases. In the absence of a stay in an endemic area, the suspicion of malaria remains a rare event.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The prevalence of intestinal parasitosis is very different according to countries. Therefore, it is always interesting to update the data in Tunisia to better direct control measures.
Aim: The objectives of this survey were to estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in the region of Tunis, to study their evolution and to establish various combinations of intestinal protozoa.
We report the first case of an imported Plasmodium ovale relapse in a Tunisian man who developed malaria three years after leaving sub- Saharan Africa. A 29-year-old Tunisian man consulted in September 2011 because of a fever, myalgia, and headache that had begun eight days earlier and persisted despite treatment with oral antibiotics. On questioning, the patient stated that he had resided three years ago for six months in Ivory Coast, where he acquired malaria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFour cases of airport malaria were notified for the first time in Tunisia during the summer of 2013. All patients were neighbours living within 2 km of Tunis International Airport. They had no history of travel to malarious countries, of blood transfusion or of intravenous drug use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the identification and typing of a congenital toxoplasmosis case in a diabetic pregnant young woman living in Tunis. The Toxoplasma DNA extracted from amniotic fluid was detected by Real Time PCR and subjected to a multilocus genetic characterisation of the strain at markers: 3'SAG2, 5'SAG2, New SAG2, SAG3, GRA6, BTUB, APICO, PK1, KT850 and UPRT1. An atypical genotype of T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clinical manifestation due to infection by Toxoplasma gondii is closely linked to the infecting strain of the parasite. Several genetic markers are available to determinate its genotype but few of them are able to discriminate between the three predominant lineages, namely types I, II and III. The number of markers decreases when atypical, recombinant/mixed genotypes need to be identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we determined the Toxoplasma gondii genotype in amniotic fluid, placenta, and cerebrospinal fluid samples from 14 congenital toxoplasmosis cases in Tunisia, North Africa. Direct genotypic characterization of T. gondii strains was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of six genetic markers (3'SAG2, 5' SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, and APICO) and thereafter, was analyzed by restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Tunisia, serological diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women is generally ordered on the first prenatal consultation. As primary tools, IgG and IgM tests are done. Subsequent serological testing is performed to date infection in case of IgM positivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Malaria has been eradicated in Tunisia since 1979. Although it continues to be evoked in the case of fever after travel to an endemic zone, its diagnosis is however difficult during relapses, notably when they are delayed.
Observation: A 50 year-old man having lived in Mauritania from 1978 to 1982 was hospitalized for interstitial pneumopathy and urarthritis.
The aim of this study is to specify the role of rapid tests in the screening of childhood urinary tract infection. During the period between july to december 1998, 572 urinary samples were collected from pediatric out-patient in Hôpital d'Enfants de Tunis and aged from 1 month to 15 years. Only 75 samples (12.
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