Cystoisospora belli, liver disease and hypothesis on the life cycle.

Cystoisospora belli causes chronic diarrhoea, acalculous cholecystitis, cholangiopathy and disseminated cystoisosporosis in patients with AIDS. Clinical manifestations and histological stages during C. belli infection in a patient with AIDS and liver disease were described.

Diagnostic Features of Blastocystis Life Cycle Forms in the Small Intestine in an HIV-Infected Patient.

Purpose: Blastocystis spp. are parasites of the intestinal tract found in many hosts including humans. This pathogen is commonly found in immunocompetent in asymptomatic individuals and in patients with gastrointestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms.

Use of the PCR in a Combined Methodological Approach for the Study of Human Fascioliasis in an Endemic Area.

Purpose: Fascioliasis is a worldwide distributed trematodiasis considered a neglected disease. Diagnosis in humans has been traditionally based on parasitological and immunological techniques. Recently we reported the use of the PCR in stool samples for the individual diagnosis.

Multimethodological Approach to Gastrointestinal Microsporidiosis in HIV-Infected Patients.

Purpose: Microsporidiosis is an opportunistic infection that produces chronic diarrhoea and cholangiopathy in patients with AIDS, mainly caused by two species of microsporidia, Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozon intestinalis. The aim of this work was to develop an integral system for the diagnosis of microsporidiosis of the intestine and biliary tract in HIV-infected patients, comprising microscopic and molecular techniques.

Methods: The study population comprised 143 adult patients of both sexes with diagnosis of HIV infection, with chronic diarrhoea, and with or without HIV-associated cholangiopathy.

First detection of Cryptosporidium DNA in blood and cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-infected patients.

Human cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal infection caused by different species belonging to the genus Cryptosporidium in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. The life cycle of Cryptosporidium sp. when affecting the digestive system is well known but the infection of other organs is less studied.

Fatal canine encephalitozoonosis in Latin America, first report.

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is an obligate, intracellular microsporidian organism capable of establish infection in a wide variety of animals. In carnivores it may cause a sporadic, severe disease in the first few months of life, which usually culminates with the death of the animal. The objective of this study was to report a natural fatal case of encephalitozoonosis in a puppy from Argentina.

First genetic characterization of Fasciola hepatica in Argentina by nuclear and mitochondrial gene markers.

Fasciola hepatica is a trematode showing genetic variation among isolates from different regions of the world. The objective of this work was to characterize for the first time F. hepatica isolates circulating in different regions of Argentina.

Fasciola hepatica infection in humans: overcoming problems for the diagnosis.

Fascioliasis is a zoonosis actually considered as a foodborne trematode disease priority by the World Health Organization. Our study presents three cases of F. hepatica infection diagnosed by direct, indirect and/or imaging diagnostic techniques, showing the need of the combined use of them.

Human fascioliasis endemic areas in Argentina: multigene characterisation of the lymnaeid vectors and climatic-environmental assessment of the transmission pattern.

Background: In South America, fascioliasis stands out due to the human endemic areas in many countries. In Argentina, human endemic areas have recently been detected. Lymnaeid vectors were studied in two human endemic localities of Catamarca province: Locality A beside Taton and Rio Grande villages; Locality B close to Recreo town.

Pulmonary toxoplasmosis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in the era of antiretroviral therapy.

Toxoplasmosis is a severe opportunistic infection in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The lung is a major site of infection after the central nervous system. In this report we described two cases of pneumonia due to Toxoplasma gondii infection in HIV patients with antiretroviral therapy.

Genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium identified in clinical samples from cities in Brazil and Argentina.

The identification and characterisation of Cryptosporidium genotypes and subtypes are fundamental to the study of cryptosporidiosis epidemiology, aiding in prevention and control strategies. The objective was to determine the genetic diversity of Cryptosporidium in samples obtained from hospitals of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Samples were analysed by microscopy and TaqMan polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for Cryptosporidium detection, genotyped by nested-PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the 18S rRNA gene and subtyped by DNA sequencing of the gp60 gene.

First report of Cystoisospora belli parasitemia in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Cystoisospora belli in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been described as cause of chronic diarrhea and disseminated cystoisosporosis. Diagnosis of intestinal cystoisosporosis can be achieved at the tissue level in the villus epithelium of the small bowel. Disseminated cystoisosporosis is diagnosed by microscopy identification of unizoite tissue cysts in the lamina propria of the intestine.

Molecular diagnosis of natural fasciolosis by DNA detection in sheep faeces.

Fasciolosis is an important parasitic zoonosis considered the most important helminth infection of ruminants in tropical countries. The aim of this study was to develop a PCR assay for the sensitive and specific detection of F. hepatica in formalin preserved sheep faeces.

Molecular identification of protozoa causing AIDS-associated cholangiopathy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Background: Several species of microsporidia and coccidia are protozoa parasites responsible for cholan-giopathy disease in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The goals of this work were to identift opportunistic protozoa by molecular methods and describe the clinical manifestations at the gastrointestinal tract and the biliary system in patients with AIDS-associated cholangiopathy from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Material And Methods: This study included 11 adult HIV-infected individuals with diagnosis ofAIDS- associated cholangiopathy.

First case report of infection caused by Encephalitozoon intestinalis in a domestic cat and a patient with AIDS.

Microsporidia are eukaryotic, intracellular obligate parasites that infect invertebrate and vertebrate animals, and have emerged as important opportunistic parasites in AIDS patients. We used light microscopy to detect microsporidial spores in stool samples of a domestic cat confirmed as Encephalitozoon intestinalis by PCR, owned by an AIDS patient with chronic diarrhea and E. intestinalis infection.

[Identification of Cryptosporidium hominis in a patient with sclerosing cholangitis and AIDS].

Cryptosporidium hominis (C hominis) is the most common protozoan parasite recognized in human patients with AIDS. We report the clinical features of a patient with chronic diarrhea and AIDS-related sclerosing cholangitis. The imaging studies with ultrasonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography disclosed intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile duct changes identical to those seen in sclerosing cholangitis.

Molecular characterization of Cystoisospora belli and unizoite tissue cyst in patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

Cystoisospora belli is a coccidian protozoan that can cause chronic diarrhoea, acalculous cholecystitis and cholangiopathy in AIDS patients. We applied molecular methods to identify Cystoisospora at species level in AIDS patients presenting with and without the presence of unizoites in lamina propria. Coprological and histological analyses were performed in stool and/or biopsy samples from 8 Cystoisospora-infected patients.

Systemic sarcocystosis in a patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Sarcocystis sp is a tissue coccidian parasite in humans that causes intestinal and muscular sarcocystosis in immunocompetent patients. Intestinal sarcocystosis can be diagnosed at the tissue level in the lamina propria of the small bowel and by fecal examination. Muscular sarcocystosis is diagnosed by microscopic examination of muscle biopsies.

PCR diagnosis of Fasciola hepatica in field-collected Lymnaea columella and Lymnaea viatrix snails.

Fasciolosis, caused by the trematode Fasciola hepatica, is a zoonosis of economic importance in livestock that is emerging as a chronic disease in humans. The intermediate hosts are lymnaeid snails, in which diagnosis of infection is traditionally based on cercarial shedding, tissue sectioning and crushing. We developed a PCR assay for the sensitive and specific detection of F.

[A focus study from a case of human fascioliasis in Neuquén].

An epidemiological focal study was performed in Loncopué, Neuquén, Argentina, in November 2002 to detect the origin of the infection in a human case of fascioliasis confirmed by an indirect-ELISA test, six months before the study. Thirty five individual fecal samples were taken from domestic livestock, and watercress plants and snails were collected from the irrigation ditches connected to a main canal in the surroundings of the patient's house. A new blood sample was taken from the already recovered patient.

Diagnosis of Enterocytozoon bieneusi by the polymerase chain reaction in archival fixed duodenal tissue.

This study involved ninety five formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded duodenal biopsy specimens retrieved from hospital files that were microscopically observed for the presence of microsporidia. Eleven samples that revealed compatible organisms were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with four different protocols for the detection of Enterocytozoon bieneusi. Amplicons of the right size were obtained by at least one method for nine samples, remaining two negative ones.

[Cyclospora cayetanensis in patients with AIDS and chronic diarrhea].

Cyclospora spp. is a protozoan parasite responsible for significant gastrointestinal disease in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. We report the clinical features of two patients with chronic diarrhea and intestinal cyclosporosis caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis.

Identification and characterization of an interspersed repetitive DNA fragment in Plasmodium vivax with potential use for specific parasite detection.

We cloned and characterized a Plasmodium vivax repeat element of 7872bp named PvRE7.8. Several internal tandem repeats were found along the sequence.