A new focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica in northern Jordan.

An endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica was identified in the district of Bani Kinana, northern Jordan. Fifty-five autochthonous cases were detected from February to September 1994 in a population of about 50,000. Most cases (74.

In vitro cultivation of Trypanosoma acomys: production of insect stages and bloodstream forms.

When Trypanosoma acomys bloodstream forms were cultivated at 37 degrees C in Schneider's Drosophila medium supplemented with 20% (v/v) heat-inactivated foetal calf serum (FCS), with Microtus agrestis embryonic fibroblasts in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 20% FCS or in Baltz's medium supplemented with 10% FCS, the parasites transformed and largely remained as epimastigotes. Epimastigotes were also usually the commonest stage observed when the parasites were co-cultivated with a mosquito cell line at 27 degrees C. However, if these cultures were initiated with the supernatant suspensions from fibroblast cultures that had been cryopreserved, trypomastigotes, including bloodstream-like forms, were the predominant stage for the first 4 days of culture.

The impact of live animal importation on the epizootiology of foot-and-mouth disease in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia imports annually more than 6 millions live ruminants for slaughter. The majority of these animals are imported from countries where foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is enzootic. Serotypes of FMD virus not incorporated in the vaccine currently used in Saudi Arabia (e.

Serological survey of foot and mouth disease in Saudi Arabia.

An immunodiffusion test using foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus infection-associated (VIA) antigen was used to detect precipitating antibodies in serum samples collected from non-vaccinated indigenous ruminants raised in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Of 5,985 sheep sera, 1,371 goat sera, 1,052 cattle sera and 694 serum samples from unspecified species of ruminants, precipitating activity was detected in 1,209 (20%), 127 (9%), 172 (16%) and 38 (5%) samples, respectively. In addition, 100 sera showing precipitating activity against VIA antigen originating from 13 different regions were tested for the presence of naturally-occurring neutralising antibodies against the four serotypes of FMD virus (O, A, Asia 1, and C) currently prevalent in the region and incorporated in the vaccine being used.

Analysis of mixed foot-and-mouth disease virus infections in Saudi Arabia: prolonged circulation of an exotic serotype.

Plaque purification of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) type O viruses isolated from cattle in Saudi Arabia showed the presence of mixed serotype infections. Sixteen out of 31 samples collected between 1985 and 1991 also contained Asia 1 virus, a serotype which had previously only been isolated from a single outbreak in that country in 1980. Nucleotide sequences of the Asia 1 component of all these samples revealed little variation and showed that they were closely related to both a Russian lapinized vaccine virus strain (Asia 1/Tadzhikistan/64), and to a field isolate from Turkey (Asia 1/TUR/15/73).

Serodiagnosis and seroepidemiology of human unilocular hydatidosis in Jordan.

A total of 2182 serum samples from 38 patients with surgically confirmed unilocular hydatidosis, 19 clinically assessed patients, 15 patients with parasitic infections other than hydatidosis, 104 hospital outpatients, and 2006 normal Jordanians were serodiagnosed for the presence of IgG antibodies against hydatid fluid, circulating immune complexes (CIC), and/or hydatid circulating antigen (CA). Anti-hydatid IgG antibodies were detected in the sera of 77.4% of patients with hydatid disease and persist for very long periods postsurgery.

Epizootiology of foot and mouth disease in Saudi Arabia: II. Current status on dairy farms and control measures in operation.

Specifically-designed questionnaires were distributed to the managers and/or veterinarians of all dairy farms in Saudi Arabia in order to obtain data on the occurrence of foot and mouth disease (FMD) on these farms from 1971 to 1989, as well as data on current control measures. Of 39 farms, 27 responded to the questionnaire and 15 (56%) reported FMD outbreaks. Notification and collection of samples for diagnosis were not performed consistently.

Epizootiology of foot and mouth disease in Saudi Arabia: I. Analysis of data obtained through district field veterinarians.

Data on the epizootiological status of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in all districts of Saudi Arabia were obtained through responses to a specifically-designed questionnaire from field veterinarians working in different Directorates of Agriculture throughout the country. Suspected clinical occurrence of the disease was reported in seventeen of the twenty-three Directorates. The animal species affected were mainly cattle (in fifteen Directorates) and sheep (in eight Directorates).

Prevalence of malocclusion in the primary and early mixed dentition in a group of Egyptian children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.

This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of malocclusion in the primary and early mixed dentition for a group of Egyptian children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate following surgical rep. air of the anomaly. The material consisted of 35 children (20 males and 15 females) with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate aged 3 to 7 years who were compared with 60 non-cleft Egyptian children (37 males and 23 female) of the same age.

Application of double sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease in Saudi Arabia.

Using foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) diagnostic reagents provided by the FMD-World Reference Laboratory, Pirbright (United Kingdom), an indirect sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied for local diagnosis of FMD in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Testing epithelial tissues and/or vesicular fluids, it was possible to carry out serotyping of FMD virus before its isolation in cell cultures. All the field samples received as well as the oesophageal pharyngeal fluids collected from apparently healthy animals were inoculated onto primary bovine kidney cell cultures and the isolated FMD viruses then serotyped by ELISA.

Clinico-immunogenetic study on Egyptian multicase tuberculous families.

Thirteen multicase Egyptian families (having more than one sib affected) with pulmonary tuberculosis have been studied. They include 26 parents (4 were tuberculous) and 53 sibs (30 tuberculous and 23 healthy). For all of them the following have been carried out: (a) Clinical, radiological, and bacteriological examination for diagnosis and evaluation of the disease severity; HLA-antigen determination using 9(A), 16(B) and 6(DR) antigens.

Echinococcus granulosus: possible formation of a shelled egg in vitro.

What appeared to be the early stages in the formation of a single egg with a striated embryophore was observed in an in vitro culture of Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces isolated from sheep hydatid cysts in North Jordan. The 'egg' measured 19 x 19 microns in diameter and was formed in an intermediate vesicular/monozoic form which was never previously reported from a culture. This is the first report of an apparently shelled egg forming in an in vitro culture, but although promising, cannot be regarded as being unequivocal and will require confirmation by further work.

Development of a live cell culture camelpox vaccine.

A Saudi isolate of camel orthopoxvirus was serially propagated on monolayers of camel kidney cell cultures. The attenuation of the 78th passage was tested in two susceptible camels. Two other susceptible camels were inoculated with vaccinia virus four times propagated in camel kidney cell cultures.

In vitro culture of the strobilar stage of Echinococcus granulosus of sheep and donkey origin from Jordan.

Protoscolices of Echinococcus granulosus isolated from hydatid cysts of sheep and donkeys in Jordan were cultured in vitro using a modified diphasic culture system. Protoscolices from these two sources manifested differences in the mode of development, evagination and growth rates. Protoscolices isolated from sheep cysts grew in vitro in the polyzoic direction up to the three- to four-segmented mature worms, reaching a length of 2.

The behaviour and dispersal of sandflies in Ras el Naqb, south Jordan with particular emphasis on Phlebotomus kazeruni.

The behaviour and dispersal of sandflies from an enclosed cave were investigated during the summer of 1988 in Ras el Naqb by the mark-release-recapture technique. Nine species of sandflies were reported during this study including 5 Phlebotomus and 4 Sergentomyia species. P.

Urbanization--how does it affect the behaviour of sandflies?

The effect of building activities on the abundance of sandflies was investigated in Jordan. A total of 3442 sandflies were collected. The largest collections were made from natural habitats, uninhabited and inhabited houses.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis.

This study evaluates the sensitivity and specificity of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen. Twenty seven of the 35 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis had positive serology with an antibody titre of 10 nineteen of them had positive serology with an antibody titre of 100. All the 27 patients with positive serology were either smear or culture positive or both.

Trypanosoma acomys (Wenyon, 1909): continuous culturing with a mouse fibroblast cell-line (A9).

The continuous culturing of Trypanosoma acomys in the presence of a murine areolar-adipose cell line (A9) was possible for the 1st time. The trypanosomes were cultured at 37 degrees C with A9 in DMEM supplemented with 20% heat inactivated fetal bovine serum, using an initial inoculum from primary cultures of lung or blood clots from infected spiny mice. The cultures were maintained for 115 days and underwent 15 passages before termination and cryopreservation.

Preliminary studies on enzootic bovine leukosis in Saudi dairy farms.

The occurrence of sporadic cases of enzootic bovine leukosis in commercial dairy farms in Saudi Arabia was recently confirmed and found to be associated with importation of breeding heifers. Immunodiffusion test was applied to screen the prevalence of infection with bovine leukemia virus among local traditional and dairy cattle. All the 102 examined local cattle were negative, while out of the 1329 tested dairy animals (originating from 23 farms), 268 (from 16 farms) showed precipitating activity.

Occurrence of zoosporic and terrestrial fungi in some ponds of Kharga Oases, Egypt.

Thirty-nine species belonging to 13 genera of zoosporic fungi were collected from 33 water samples on sesame and hemp seeds as baits at 22 degrees C. Five genera were isolated in high occurrence: Allomyces (2 species), Achlya (9 species), Dictyuchus (4 species), Pythium (5 species) and Saprolegnia (5 species). Aphanomyces (4 species) and Isoachlya (2 species) were of moderate frequencies.

Fungal flora associated with combine harvester wheat and sorghum dusts from Egypt.

107 species and 8 species varieties belonging to 44 genera were collected from combine harvester wheat and sorghum dusts (35 genera and 91 species + 4 varieties) and from the atmosphere of their hay sites (26 genera and 69 species + 4 varieties) on glucose- and cellulose-Czapek's Dox agar at 28 degrees C and 45 degrees C. The mycoflora of wheat and sorghum dusts were basically similar on the two types of media and the most common fungi were: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A.

Keratinophilic fungi and other moulds associated with air-dust particles from Egypt.

One-hundred and eleven species and three species varieties belonging to 39 genera were collected from 50 dust samples on the five media used at 28 degrees C. Using the hair-baiting technique with horse hair, 10 species of Chrysosporium were isolated: C. asperatum, C.

Keratinophilic and other fungi isolated from combine harvester wheat and sorghum dusts and from the atmosphere of winnow sites in Egypt.

Three methods were used for the isolation of fungi in the present investigation: the dilution-plate method, hair-baiting technique with horse hairs and the "exposed plate" method. Sabouraud's glucose agar at 28 degrees C was also used as isolation medium. 102 species and 2 species varieties belonging to 36 genera were collected from combine harvester wheat and sorghum dusts and from the atmosphere of hay or winnow sites.

Experimental treatment of Brucella melitensis infection in sheep with oxytetracycline alone or combined with streptomycin.

The efficacy of oxytetracycline (OTC) alone or combined with streptomycin in the treatment of 118 Najdi ewes believed to have been naturally infected with Brucella melitensis, was evaluated by culture of selected tissues and organs at slaughter. Groups of sheep were given 250, 500 or 1,000 mg of OTC intraperitoneally (i/p) daily for six weeks and in the respective groups at necropsy 52, 69 and 100% of sheep were found to be Brucella-free. Treatment with 250 mg OTC (daily for six weeks i/p) combined with 1,000 mg streptomycin (daily for three weeks intramuscularly) increased the percentage of Brucella-free sheep to 82%.