Schistosoma haematobium eggs and Schistosoma DNA levels were measured in urine samples from 708 girls recruited from 18 randomly sampled primary schools in South Africa. Microscopic analysis of two 10-mL urine subsamples collected on three consecutive days confirmed high day-to-day variation; 103 (14.5%) girls had positive results at all six examinations, and at least one positive sample was seen in 225 (31.8%) girls. Schistosoma-specific DNA, which was measured in a 200-μL urine subsample by using real-time polymerase chain reaction, was detected in 180 (25.4%) cases, and levels of DNA corresponded significantly with average urine egg excretion. In concordance with microscopic results, polymerase chain reaction results were significantly associated with history of gynecologic symptoms and confirmed highly focal distribution of urogenital schistosomiasis. Parasite-specific DNA detection has a sensitivity comparable to single urine microscopy and could be used as a standardized high-throughput procedure to assess distribution of urogenital schistosomiasis in relatively large study populations by using small sample volumes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.13-0406 | DOI Listing |
Infect Dis (Lond)
January 2025
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Background: Whether a detected virus or bacteria is a pathogen that may require treatment, or is merely a commensal 'passenger', remains confusing for many infections. This confusion is likely to increase with the wider use of multi-pathogen PCR.
Objectives: To propose a new statistical procedure to analyse and present data from case-control studies clarifying the probability of causality.
J Infect Dev Ctries
December 2024
Department of Gastroenterology, Pamukkale University School of Medicine, Denizli,Turkey.
Introduction: This study investigated the role of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23)/Klotho in the mortality of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), excluding those with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2021 to May 2022. Patients who tested positive for COVID-19 via polymerase chain reaction and were hospitalized, were classified into two groups (survivors and non-survivors) at the end of their hospital follow-up.
J Infect Dev Ctries
December 2024
Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, SE, Brazil.
Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly impacted public transportation systems worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the rate of COVID-19 positivity and its associated factors among users of public transportation in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions of Brazil during the pre-vaccination phase of the pandemic.
Methodology: This ecological study, conducted in Aracaju city in Northeast Brazil, is a component of the TestAju Program.
Introduction: China implemented a dynamic zero-COVID strategy to curb viral transmission in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This strategy was designed to inhibit mutation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19. This study explores the dynamics of viral evolution under stringent non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) through real-world observations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChin Med J (Engl)
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Obstetric & Gynecologic Diseases, Beijing 100730, China.
Background: Fibrosis of the connective tissue in the vaginal wall predominates in pelvic organ prolapse (POP), which is characterized by excessive fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and abnormal deposition of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Our study aimed to investigate the effect of ECM stiffness on vaginal fibroblasts and to explore the role of methyltransferase 3 (METTL3) in the development of POP.
Methods: Polyacrylamide hydrogels were applied to create an ECM microenvironment with variable stiffness to evaluate the effects of ECM stiffness on the proliferation, differentiation, and expression of ECM components in vaginal fibroblasts.
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