Schistosomiasis at the Crossroad to Elimination: Review of Eclipsed Research with Emphasis on the Post-Transmission Agenda.

While chronic schistosomiasis is pathologically well defined, the acute form of the disease is less well understood. It is generally agreed that early lesions, such as lung nodules and bladder polyps, are reversible, which impedes identification of the time elapsed since exposure. The intermediate stage between the acute and the chronic forms of schistosomiasis requires further investigation, as does the clinical stage due to lesions remaining after treatment.

Intestinal parasites in segregated minority communities of Slovakia: results from a cross-sectional survey in children.

In Slovakia, the Roma population forms the second-largest ethnic minority. A large part of the Roma is semi-nomadic or lives in segregated settlements with poor living standards and limited access to health facilities. More than 40 years ago, a cross-sectional survey revealed a high prevalence of parasitic infections.

Migration of the people and parasites: facts from survey of 5511 foreigners.

In the course of the years 1983-1989, 5511 foreigners in the age of 20 to 40 years old from 87 countries were examined for human parasites. Everyone was examined within 1 months of arrival in the Czech Republic in the Active Case Detection (ACD) program. The intensity of infection was measured in those parasites which do not reproduce in the human body.

Distribution of [3H]cholesterol-labelled liposomes with or without praziquantel in mice infected with Mesocestoides corti (Cestoda) tetrathyridia.

The anthelmintic drug praziquantel (PZQ) has a short half-life in the circulation, necessitating repeated daily administration of PZQ for the therapy of larval stages of cestodes. The effect of incorporation of PZQ into multilamellar liposomes on their biodistribution in Mesocestoides corti (syn. M.

Impact of antifibrotic treatment of the course of Schistosoma mansoni infection in murine model.

Administration of an antifibrotic agent as an adjunct to antihelmintic treatment with the objective of morbidity reduction was investigated in the murine schistosomiasis mansoni model. Antifibrotic, beta-aminopropionitrile treatment has a profound effect on the cellular matrix composition of the liver granuloma of Schistosoma mansoni infected mice when given alone, resulting in increase macrophage infiltration. These macrophages, in response to stimulation with soluble egg antigen or lipopolysaccharide produced elevated levels of nitric oxide but low levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha compared to untreated infected mice.

Human schistosomiasis in Puerto Rico: reduced prevalence rate and absence of Biomphalaria glabrata.

A combined epidemiologic and malacologic survey of schistosomiasis in Puerto Rico was carried out in areas where previous surveys had reported the prevalence of the disease. This limited survey, with 495 persons examined, found a low prevalence (0.6%) of Schistosoma mansoni infections.

Immune response of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni is modulated by antifibrotic treatment.

Mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni treated with beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN), an antifibrotic agent, and the antischistosomal drug praziquantel (PZQ) were resistant to challenge for up to 5 weeks post-treatment. The combined treatment resulted in profound changes to the liver granuloma cell matrix and the composition and function of the cellular infiltrate. Although granulocytes always predominated in the infiltrate, the proportion of the cells which were macrophages was higher in mice treated with BAPN alone (39.

Reduction in tissue egg load and maintenance of resistance to challenge in mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni, following combined treatment with praziquantel and an antifibrotic agent.

Antifibrotic therapy with beta-aminoproprionitrile (BAPN), when combined with praziquantel (PZQ) treatment of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni, led to a marked change in the temporal pattern of parasite egg excretion. The rate of egg excretion was higher and terminated sooner and the tissue egg load was smaller in mice treated with BAPN and PZQ than in mice treated with PZQ alone. Some of the mice that received the combined treatment were challenged 2 or 5 weeks after PZQ treatment; they retained a high level of resistance to challenge, similar to that observed in untreated, infected mice.

Schistosoma mansoni eggs as a target for praziquantel: efficacy of oral application in mice.

A study was undertaken to investigate the effect of administering a double oral dose of praziquantel (PZQ), given 9 days apart, on the egg viability in Schistosoma mansoni infected mice. The viability of eggs trapped in the tissues and those excreted in the faeces was determined using morphological (oogram) and function (egg hatching) criteria. Nine days after the first dose of PZQ, 90.

Alkaline phosphatase as marker of Schistosoma mansoni egg viability.

A reliable assessment of the viability of schistosome eggs trapped in host tissues is difficult. The use of a coupling azo dye method for the detection of alkaline phosphatase (AlP) in Schistosoma mansoni ova was found to be a specific and sensitive method for differentiating between viable and dead eggs, and can be used in both immature and mature eggs. In fully developed miracidia within an egg, AlP activity was demonstrated in germ cells and in the sensory endings neural cells.

Schistosoma mansoni: determination of the sex of cercariae using a nonradioactively labelled DNA probe.

Cercarial sex determination protocol which utilizes nonradioactive nucleic acid labelling with digoxigenin (DIG)-11-dUTR, offers a rapid "clean" identification of the sex of Schistosoma mansoni cercaria. DIG labelled pW1-DNA (plasmid female-specific genomic DNA clone--W1) hybridized with the native cercarial DNA, and hybridization signals are visualized with Lumigen PPD. Results obtained are comparable with those obtained with the 32P labelled pW1.

[The clinical picture of imported malaria and its relation to P. falciparum parasitemia].

The paper summarizes the results of clinical examinations of imported malaria in 48 patients, semi-immune foreigners infected with P. falciparum and P. vivax/P.

Pattern of malaria imported by foreign residents under active survey.

An active of imported malaria was carried out on 1432 foreign residents entering Czechoslovakia between 1986-1989. The survey group consisted of adult aged 18-35 years who arrived from malaria endemic regions. Of 660 people surveyed who were from regions of Africa south of the Sahara, 10% were positive for Plasmodium falciparum.

Change of isoenzyme pattern during long-term polyxenic cultivation of Entamoeba histolytica.

Isoenzymes of phosphoglucomutase and hexokinase were repeatedly evaluated using starch gel electrophoresis in polyxenic cultures of Entamoeba histolytica. In two out of 18 strains spontaneous changes of isoenzyme patterns were recorded. While originally they were categorized into virulent group of zymodemes, following isoenzyme analysis classified them as non-virulent.

Experimental schistosomiasis mansoni: modulation of granulomas by inhibition of collagen cross-link formation. Preliminary report.

beta-Aminopropionitrile (BAPN) is an inhibitor of the lysyl oxidase required for cross-link formation in collagen maturation. The efficacy of BAPN, alone or in association with the anti-schistosomal drug, praziquantel (PZQ), was primarily assessed by measuring the reduction in liver and intestinal egg loads in murine schistosomiasis mansoni. Depending on the treatment group (PZQ, BAPN, BAPN + PZQ), organ-specific effects were observed using microscope image analysis.

Malariometric survey in Keoudom District, Laos: sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum to anti-malarials and automedication with chloroquine.

A malariometric survey was conducted in the Keoudom District, in the northern part of Vientiane Province, Laos, where an artificial dam-lake on the Nam River is located. The parasite rate of the whole cohort representing 1,105 subjects was 2.44% with the predominance of Plasmodium vivax (70%), while P.

Comparative morphology of eggs of the Haplorchiinae (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) and some other medically important heterophyid and opisthorchiid flukes.

The egg morphology of the following medically important small flukes from Southeast Asia and Far East were studied: Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis (Opisthorchiidae), Haplorchis taichui, H. pumilio, H. yokogawai, Stellantchasmus falcatus and Metagonimus sp.