Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis in a patient with syphilis. Identification of antitreponemal antibody and treponemal antigen in renal tissue.

A 37-year-old man presented with biopsy-proved rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and a strongly positive fluorescent treponemal antibody result. The patient was treated with hemodialysis, plasmapheresis, methylprednisolone, and penicillin, with rapid improvement and stabilization of renal function. Antibody was eluted from the frozen renal tissue and demonstrated a strongly positive reaction to the treponemal antigen when used in the fluorescent treponemal antibody test.

Dermatitis caused by cercariae of Orientobilharzia turkestanicum in the Caspian Sea area of Iran.

Cercarial dermatitis is very common among rice farmers in the Caspian Sea area of Iran. The characteristic eggs of Orientobilharzia turkestanicum were found in the feces of a plowing bull. Fifty-six percent of uninfected Lymnaea gedrosiana maintained at 24-25 degrees C produced cercariae, identical to those from natural infections, 21 days after exposure to the miracidia obtained from the feces of the bull.

Unisexual infections with Schistosoma haematobium in the white mouse.

In unisexual infections with an Iranian strain of Schistosoma haematobium in white mice, female worms matured normally and deposited eggs in the liver but these eggs did not contain miracidia. Both female and male worms grew to more than half the length of corresponding mated worms in bisexual infections, and males acquired the normal number of testes.

Evaluation of the effect of different methods of control of soil-transmitted helminths in Khuzestan, southwest Iran.

Three methods of control of soil-transmitted helminths, namely, sanitation, mass-treatment, and sanitation plus mass-treatment, were tried in 15 villages in Khuzestan, southwest Iran. Stool samples from the inhabitants of each village were examined both quantitatively and qualitatively just before starting each control method and again about 4 years later, except for the inhabitants of one village whose stools were re-examined 7 months after moving to a new settlement. Sanitation measures consisted of one latrine for each family and the provision of a sanitary water supply in each village.