Search results for " Protozoan"
showing 10 items of 85 documents
Humoral immune response in IL-12 and IFN-gamma deficient mice after infection with Cryptosporidium parvum.
2008
Infection with Cryptosporidium spp. causes diarrhoeal disease and has become an important medical and veterinary problem especially in the immunocompromised host. The importance of the adaptive immune response, with CD4+ T-lymphocytes being the major players, has been clearly demonstrated. The requirement of IL-12 and IFN-gamma identifies this response as a Th1-dominated reaction. IFN-gamma is also important in the early phase of the host-parasite interaction. We analysed the outcome of infection in IL-12p40 (IL-12KO) and IFN-gamma (GKO) deficient C57BL/6 mice after primary and secondary challenge with the parasite and, for the first time, we demonstrate the resulting Ig response in sera an…
Morphology and in vitro infectivity of sporozoites of Cryptosporidium parvum.
2009
An important obstacle in studying Cryptosporidium parvum is the lack of a permanent in vitro cultivation system of the parasite. While short-term cultures using various host cell lines have been widely employed, long-term cultures that would facilitate the immortalization of C. parvum isolates have not yet been developed. The description of the complete development of C. parvum in cell-free culture in 2004 has been received with great interest and also with some astonishment. Unfortunately, attempts to reproduce these results with different isolates of C. parvum and also C. hominis have failed. In this report, we provide an alternative interpretation of the nature of a parasite stage that o…
Recurrent leishmaniasis in kidney transplant recipients: Report of 2 cases and systematic review of the literature
2011
The characteristics of 8 episodes of leishmaniasis with atypical manifestations in 2 Italian kidney transplant recipients are analyzed and contextualized among those of 52 other episodes of leishmaniasis observed in 19 transplant recipients found through a systematic review of the international literature. In all the patients, the initial episode was visceral leishmaniasis, which was associated with mucocutaneous involvement in 2 cases. With the exception of 1 case of post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis, 2 episodes of Leishmania endophthalmitis, and 3 episodes of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, all the recurrences were characterized by visceral involvement. The potential role of polymerase cha…
Identification of Cpgp40/15 Type Ib as the Predominant Allele in Isolates of Cryptosporidium spp. from a Waterborne Outbreak of Gastroenteritis in So…
2006
ABSTRACT Cryptosporidium sp. isolates from a waterborne outbreak of diarrhea in France were analyzed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing of the Cpgp40/15 locus. Ninety-one percent of the isolates were Cryptosporidium hominis type Ib. The results of this study and those of studies of other outbreaks suggest that the type Ib allele is the predominant allele associated with waterborne cryptosporidiosis.
Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence varies by cat breed.
2017
Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread zoonotic parasite that is relevant for veterinary and public health. The domestic cat, the definitive host species with the largest worldwide population, has become evolutionarily and epidemiologically the most important host of T. gondii. The outcome of T. gondii infection is influenced by congenital and acquired host characteristics. We detected differences in T. gondii seroprevalence by cat breed in our previous studies. The aims of this study were to estimate T. gondii seroprevalence in selected domestic cat breeds, and to evaluate whether being of a certain breed is associated with T. gondii seropositivity, when the age and lifestyle of the cat are tak…
Comparison of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and PCR for the diagnosis of infection with Trypanosoma brucei ssp. in equids in The Gamb…
2020
Introduction:\ud Infection of equids with Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei) ssp. is of socioeconomic importance across sub-Saharan Africa as the disease often progresses to cause fatal meningoencephalitis. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has been developed as a cost-effective molecular diagnostic test and is potentially applicable for use in field-based laboratories.\ud \ud Part I:\ud Threshold levels for T. brucei ssp. detection by LAMP were determined using whole equine blood specimens spiked with known concentrations of parasites. Results were compared to OIE antemortem gold standard of T. brucei-PCR (TBR-PCR).\ud \ud Results I:\ud Threshold for detection of T. brucei ssp. on …
In vivo and in vitro cytokine profiles and mononuclear cell subsets in sicilian patients with active visceral leishmaniasis
1995
Sera from Sicilian patients with confirmed visceral leishmaniasis (Leishmania donovani infantum) were analysed at the moment of the diagnosis, during the course of the disease and after clinical recovery, for the concentration of IL-10, IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-2. The results show high concentrations of IL-10 and IFN-gamma in the sera at the beginning of infection that return to the normal range following successful chemotherapy. By contrast, PBMC stimulated in vitro with Ag and mitogen produced low levels of IL-10 and IFN-gamma when collected at the time of the diagnosis and normal levels when assayed after recovery. IL-2 was undetected in the sera and was significantly reduced in the supern…
Epidemiology of Toxoplasma and CMV serology and of GBS colonization in pregnancy and neonatal outcome in a Sicilian population
2013
Background: Aim of our study is to analyze the immunological status in pregnancy for two main TORCH agents, Toxoplasma and Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and the results of group B streptococcus (GBS) screening, assessing the risk for congenital infection in a population from Palermo, Italy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of all inborn live newborns who were born in our division during 2012, gathering information about the mother, the pregnancy and neonatal hospitalization at birth. Whenever data were available, we categorized the serologic status of the mothers for Toxoplasma and CMV. We also considered the results of rectal and vaginal swabs for GBS. We compared the resu…
Prevalence of intestinal parasites among inmates in Midwest Brazil.
2017
Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T17:40:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-09-21 Fundacao de Desenvolvimento, Ensino, Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT) Background Intestinal parasitic infections constitute a public health issue in developing countries, with prevalence rates as high as 90%, a figure set to escalate as the socioeconomic status of affected populations deteriorates. Investigating the occurrence of these infections among inmates is critical, since this group is more vulnerable to the spread of a number of infectious illnesses. Methods This cross-sectional, analytical, quantitative study was conducted in July 2015 at prison…
High prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in pigs reared under intensive growing systems: Frequency of ribotypes and associated risk factors
2007
Three hundred and ninety-five pig fecal samples were analyzed looking for Blastocystis sp. using optical microscopy and PCR. A global prevalence of 46.8% has been observed in this study, although relative values of prevalence differ notably according to the strata examined, ranging from 9.3% in sows to 75% in weaners. Statistic analysis of the data included several risk factors such as different management systems, date of sample collection, fecal consistency, age and sex of the animals. The presence of the parasite was statistically associated to the variables "age" and "date of sample collection", being more prevalent in weaners and grower pigs and warm season. Random fragment-length poly…