Screening for parasites in migrant children.

Background: Globalization has pushed population movements in the last decades, turning imported diseases into the focus. Due to behavioral habits, children are at higher risk of acquiring parasitosis. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of parasites in migrant children and factors associated with parasitic diseases.

Eosinophilia in Migrant Children: How Should We Proceed?

Background: The diagnostic approach to eosinophilia is complex, given the numerous reported etiologies. Intestinal parasites (especially helminths) are a concern in children from high-burden settings. We describe the diagnostic approach and clinical management of eosinophilia in a cohort of migrant children.

Imported Mansonella perstans infection in Spain.

Background: Mansonella perstans infection can be considered one of the most neglected tropical infectious diseases. Very few studies have reported on the clinical picture caused by infection with this nematode. Therefore, our study was aimed to describe the clinical patterns and treatment of imported M.

Loiasis in sub-Saharan migrants living in Spain with emphasis of cases from Equatorial Guinea.

Background: Loiasis is an uncommon and poorly understood parasitic disease outside endemic areas of Africa. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and biological patterns and treatment of imported loiasis by sub-Saharan migrants diagnosed in Madrid, Spain.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted with sub-Saharan immigrants seen at the Tropical Medicine Unit of the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, Spain, a reference center, over 19 years.

Dermatological manifestations in onchocerciasis: A retrospective study of 400 imported cases.

Introduction: Onchocerciasis is caused by Onchocerca volvulus and mainly leads to pruritus and skin and visual disorders, including blindness. Seventeen million people are infected in 38 countries; 31 of these are in sub-Saharan Africa, six in Latin America and one on the Arabian Peninsula. More than 99% of cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa where 120 million people are at risk of infection.

Imported Dengue Infection in a Spanish Hospital with a High Proportion of Travelers from Africa: A 9-Year Retrospective Study.

Epidemiological data on dengue in Africa are still scarce. We investigated imported dengue infection among travelers with a high proportion of subjects from Africa over a 9-year period. From January 2005 to December 2013, blood samples from travelers with clinical suspicion of dengue were analyzed.

[Microbiological diagnosis of imported malaria].

Current diagnosis of malaria is based on the combined and sequential use of rapid antigen detection tests (RDT) of Plasmodium and subsequent visualization of the parasite stained with Giemsa solution in a thin and thick blood smears. If an expert microscopist is not available, should always be a sensitive RDT to rule out infection by Plasmodium falciparum, output the result immediately and prepare thick smears (air dried) and thin extensions (fixed with methanol) for subsequent staining and review by an expert microscopist. The RDT should be used as an initial screening test, but should not replace microscopy techniques, which should be done in parallel.

Performance of a new gelled nested PCR test for the diagnosis of imported malaria: comparison with microscopy, rapid diagnostic test, and real-time PCR.

Microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the techniques commonly used for malaria diagnosis but they are usually insensitive at very low levels of parasitemia. Nested PCR is commonly used as a reference technique in the diagnosis of malaria due to its high sensitivity and specificity. However, it is a cumbersome assay only available in reference centers.

Is there interference in the interpretation of the tuberculin skin test in children with intestinal parasitic infestation?

Background: Infestation by intestinal parasites could be a cause of a false-negative tuberculin skin test (TST) result.

Objective: To evaluate TST results in a population of immigrants and internationally adopted children and to analyze whether intestinal parasitic infestation may modify or not TST results.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study which includes adopted children or immigrants evaluated in our hospital between January 2003 and December 2008.

Imported submicroscopic malaria in Madrid.

Background: Submicroscopic malaria (SMM) can be defined as low-density infections of Plasmodium that are unlikely to be detected by conventional microscopy. Such submicroscopic infections only occasionally cause acute disease, but they are capable of infecting mosquitoes and contributing to transmission. This entity is frequent in endemic countries; however, little is known about imported SMM.

[Assessment of two commercially available immunochromatographic assays for a rapid diagnosis of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in human fecal specimens].

Introduction: To assess and compare the performance of two immunochromatographic tests for the simultaneous detection of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in faeces.

Materials And Methods: In this study 254 faeces samples were tested using the two immunochromatography strips Cryto-Giardia (CerTest Biotec) and Stick Crypto-Giardia (Operon).

[Cyclospora cayetanensis outbreak in travelers to Cuba].

Initially described in travelers, outbreaks of cyclosporiasis were soon linked to imported food products. An outbreak of cyclosporiasis in Spanish travelers is described. After identification of Cyclospora cayetanensis in stool analyses, a specific questionnaire was completed.

Cyclosporiasis: a point source outbreak acquired in Guatemala.

Background: Cyclosporiasis is a disease due to Cyclospora cayetanensis, an emerging coccidian parasite first described in 1979. It is an orally transmitted disease that is more frequent in tropical and subtropical areas. Cyclospora cayetanensis has been mainly described as a cause of travelers' diarrhea.

Sensitivity of laser light depolarization analysis for detection of malaria in blood samples.

Automated light depolarization analysis could be a useful tool for diagnosing malarial infections. This work discusses the results of a diagnostic efficacy study on 411 samples from patients with suspected malaria infection performed with a Cell-Dyn 4000 analyser. Light dispersed at 90 degrees and depolarized can be used for identifying and counting eosinophils.