Background: Gastrointestinal parasite (GIP) infections are a major cause of global morbidity, infecting hundreds of millions of people each year and potentially leading to lifelong infection and serious complications. Few data exist on screening for GIP infections in migrants entering the UK or on the current performance of different traditional diagnostic approaches. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of GIP infections in Nepalese Gurkha recruits screened on arrival in the UK.
Methodology/principal Findings: We present a retrospective analysis of data from screening male adults (18-21 years) who arrived in the UK from Nepal between 2012 and 2020. Three separate faecal samples were obtained from participants at weekly intervals and processed for formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) concentration/light microscopy and charcoal culture. Serum samples were analysed for IgG antibodies to Strongyloides stercoralis by ELISA. Results were available from 2,263 participants, of whom 463 (20.5%, 95% CI 18.8%-22.2%) had a positive diagnostic test for at least one GIP infection. A total of 525 potential infections were identified. Giardia duodenalis was most common (231/2263, 10.2%), followed by S. stercoralis (102/2263, 4.5%), and hookworm species (86/2263, 3.8%). Analysis (microscopy and culture) of the initial stool sample diagnosed only 244/427 (57.1%) faecally identified pathogens, including 41/86 (47.7%) hookworm infections. The proportion of participants infected with any GIP showed a downward trend over the study period. Log-binomial regression showed risk of infection decreasing by 6.1% year-on-year (95% CI 3.2% - 9.0%). This was driven predominantly by a fall in hookworm, S. stercoralis and Trichuris trichiura prevalence.
Conclusions/significance: The level of potentially pathogenic GIP infection in young Nepalese men migrating to the UK is high (20.5%) and requires a combined diagnostic approach including serology and analysis of multiple stool samples incorporating specialised parasitological methods. Advances in molecular approaches may optimise and simplify the intensive screening strategy required.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011931 | DOI Listing |
Gut Microbes
December 2024
Department of Medical Sciences, Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
We investigate the role of homeostatic mechanisms involved in acute, postprandial nutrient metabolism and nutrient-induced systemic inflammation in CKD presence and progression in Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). We assessed postprandial incretins (GLP-1 and GIP), intestinotropic hormone GLP-2, endotoxin LPS, Zonulin (a marker of intestinal permeability), hepatokines, adipokines and NF-kB activation in circulating MNCs during a meal tolerance test in 52 biopsy proven MASH patients randomized to curcumin Meriva or placebo and 26 matched controls. At baseline, MASH-CKD had a lower GLP-2 response and a 2-fold higher postprandial LPS and NF-kB activation in MNCs than MASH patients without CKD, but similar remaining postprandial or fasting parameters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Microbiol
November 2024
Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
Infect Dis Poverty
October 2024
Unité Mixte de Recherche "Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Écologie, Génétique, Évolution et Contrôle" (MIVEGEC): Université Montpellier, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Délégation Régionale Occitanie, Montpellier, France.
J Infect
December 2024
Academic Department of Military Medicine, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre of Defence Pathology, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre of Defence Pathology, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, College of Medical & Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Background: We evaluated the results of examining a single faecal sample for gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) using a combination of traditional methods with multiplex qPCR for helminths and protozoa, compared to a reference standard of examining three faecal samples from each person using traditional diagnostic methods alone.
Methods: Three faecal samples were collected at weekly intervals from 596 healthy Nepalese men. Each sample underwent formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) concentration and light microscopy, and charcoal culture.
BMC Infect Dis
October 2024
Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Geo-information Processing (GIP), University of Twente, Hallenweg 8, Enschede, 7522 NH, The Netherlands.
Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) remains a significant public health concern in West Pokot County, Kenya, where a large outbreak between 2020 and 2022 emphasised the need for improved VL control strategies. However, these measures are partially hampered by limited insight into the geographical distribution of cases and localised outbreaks of the disease. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and spatiotemporal patterns of VL in West Pokot between 2018 and 2022, in order to map the spread of VL transmission and identify regions that should be prioritised for control interventions.
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