Prevalence and risk factors of helminths and intestinal protozoa infections among children from primary schools in western Tajikistan

BACKGROUND: Intestinal parasitic infections represent a public health problem in Tajikistan, but epidemiological evidence is scarce. The present study aimed at assessing the extent of helminths and intestinal protozoa infections among children of 10 schools in four districts of Tajikistan, and to make recommendations for control. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in early 2009. All children attending grades 2 and 3 (aged 7-11 years) from 10 randomly selected schools were invited to provide a stool sample and interviewed about sanitary situation and hygiene behaviour. A questionnaire pertaining to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics was addressed to the heads of households. On the spot, stool samples were subjected to duplicate Kato-Katz thick smear examination for helminth diagnosis. Additionally, 1-2 g of stool was fixed in sodium acetate-acetic acid formalin, transferred to a specialized laboratory in Europe and examined for helminths and intestinal protozoa. The results from both methods combined served as diagnostic 'gold' standard. RESULTS: Out of 623 registered children, 602 participated in our survey. The overall prevalence of infection with helminths and pathogenic intestinal protozoa was 32.0% and 47.1%, respectively. There was pronounced spatial heterogeneity. The most common helminth species was Hymenolepis nana (25.8%), whereas the prevalences of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Enterobius vermicularis were below 5%. The prevalence of pathogenic intestinal protozoa, namely Giardia intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar was 26.4% and 25.9%, respectively. Almost half of the households draw drinking water from unimproved sources, such as irrigation canals, rivers and unprotected wells. Sanitary facilities were pit latrines, mostly private, and a few shared with neighbours. The use of public tap/standpipe as a source of drinking water emerged as a protective factor for G. intestinalis infection. Protecte spring water reduced the risk of infection with E. histolytica/E. dispar and H. nana. CONCLUSIONS: Our data obtained from the ecological 'lowland' areas in western Tajikistan call for school-based deworming (recommended drugs: albendazole and metronidazole), combined with hygiene promotion and improved sanitation. Further investigations are needed to determine whether H. nana represents a public health problem

A new species of cosmocercoides (Nematoda; cosmocercidae) and other helminths in leptodactylus latrans (anura; leptodactylidae) from Argentina

Cosmocercoides latrans n. sp. (Cosmocercidae) from the small intestine of Leptodactylus latrans (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Northeastern Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina is described. The new species can be distinguished from their congeners by a combination of the characters, among which stands out the number of rosette papillae, the lack of gubernaculum and the presence of lateral alae in both sexes. There are over 20 species in the genus Cosmocercoides, and Cosmocercoides latrans n. sp. represents the third species from the Neotropical realm and the second for Argentina. Additionally, seven previously known taxa are reported; Pseudoacanthocephalus cf. lutzi, Catadiscus uruguayensis, Rauschiella palmipedis, Aplectana hylambatis, Cosmocerca parva, Schrankiana sp. and Rhabdias elegans; providing literature records and information on distribution and host-parasite relationships.Fil: Draghi, Regina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Drago, Fabiana Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Lunaschi, Lía Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentin

The multifaceted genomic history of Ashaninka from Amazonian Peru

Despite its crucial location, the western side of Amazonia between the Andes and the source(s) of the Amazon River is still understudied from a genomic and archaeogenomic point of view, albeit possibly harboring essential information to clarify the complex genetic history of local Indigenous groups and their interactions with nearby regions,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 including central America and the Caribbean.9,10,11,12 Focusing on this key region, we analyzed the genome-wide profiles of 51 Ashaninka individuals from Amazonian Peru, observing an unexpected extent of genomic variation. We identified at least two Ashaninka subgroups with distinctive genomic makeups, which were differentially shaped by the degree and timing of external admixtures, especially with the Indigenous groups from the Andes and the Pacific coast. On a continental scale, Ashaninka ancestors probably derived from a south-north migration of Indigenous groups moving into the Amazonian rainforest from a southeastern area with contributions from the Southern Cone and the Atlantic coast. These ancestral populations diversified in the variegated geographic regions of interior South America, on the eastern side of the Andes, differentially interacting with surrounding coastal groups. In this complex scenario, we also revealed strict connections between the ancestors of present-day Ashaninka, who belong to the Arawakan language family,13 and those Indigenous groups that moved further north into the Caribbean, contributing to the early Ceramic (Saladoid) tradition in the islands.14,1

Evolution of Pre-Columbian Metallurgy from the North of Peru’ Studied with a Portable Non-Invasive Equipment Using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence

On the north coast of present-day Peru, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, prospered approximately between 1000 BC and 1375 AD, several relevant cultures: Chavín (1000-200 BC), Vicús and Frías (200 BC - 300 AD), Moche (400 BC-700 AD), Sicán (700-1375 AD). These cultures are interconnected and characterized by a high metallurgical ability, demonstrated by the presence of beautiful artifacts on gold, silver and copper alloys. More than hundred metal artefacts from these cultures were analyzed with a portable equipment which uses the non-destructive and non-invasive technique of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). Following objects were analyzed: (1) gold, silver and copper objects from the Chavín culture (Museo Municipal of Piura and and Museo Enrico Poli in Lima); (2) gold and silver objects from the Vicús and Frías cultures (Museo Municipal of Piura); (3) gold, silver and copper objects from the Moche culture (“Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán”, “Museo de Sitio de Huaca Rajada” in Lambayeque and Museo Enrico Poli in Lima); (4) gold, silver and copper objects from the Sicán culture (Museum of Sicán, Ferrañafe). Portable equipments were employed, mainly composed of a small size X-ray tube and a thermoelectrically cooled, small size, Si-PIN or Si-drift X-ray detectors. The main characteristics of the EDXRF-technique is of being non destructive and multi-elemental. Standard samples of gold and silver alloys were employed for calibration and quantitative analysis. The aims of this campaign of analysis were: (1) to analyze a large number of objects; (2) to differentiate gold, gilded copper and tumbaga (this last being a poor gold alloy enriched at the surface by depletion gilding); (3) to correlate, when possible, composition of analyzed alloys to the specific culture; (4) to determine a possible evolution of metallurgy; (5) to better determine characteristics and beginning time of tumbaga production. It was determined that the analyzed artefacts are composed of gold, silver and copper alloys, of gilded copper or silver and tumbaga, the last being a poor gold-alloy rich on copper and enriched at the surface by depletion gilding, i.e. by removing copper from the surface. About 120 alloys were analyzed. In the case of gold, silver and copper alloys, their composition was determined by EDXRF-analysis by employing standard alloys. In the case of gilded copper (or gilded silver) and of copper based tumbaga, the ratios Cu(Kα/Kβ) andAu(Lα/Lβ) were determined from the X-ray spectra, first to clearly differentiate gold, gilded metal and tumbaga, and then to determine the gilding thickness. Concerning the correlation composition-culture, it seems that the Chavín did not use to mix copper in the gold alloy. This element, with a mean concentration of 1.5%, is only present in Au-alloys as in nature. Further, silver was measured in all cultures of the north of Peru at relatively high levels of purity, but by the Chavín was associated to Cu and Pb, by the Moche to Cu and Au, by the Sicán to Cu, Au, Pb and Br. Also copper was measured in all cultures of the north of Peru at high levels of purity. However, this element seems to contain small quantities of Zn by the Chavín, is almost pure by the Moche, and contains as by the Sicán. With reference to copper based tumbaga, it is not clear when it was “produced” for the first time in the north of Peru, may be by the Vicús; in any the largest number of tumbaga was produced by the Moche, and are characterized by a mean “equivalent” Au-thickness of ~2.5 μm

Multilayered artifacts in the pre-Columbian metallurgy from the North of Peru

Three types of alloys were recognized when analyzing pre-Columbian artifacts from the North of Peru: gold, silver, and copper alloys; gilded copper and silver; silvered copper; tumbaga, i.e., copper or silver enriched on gold at the surface by depletion gilding. In this paper, a method is described to differentiate gold alloys from gilded copper and from copper-gold tumbaga, and silver alloys from silvered copper and copper-silver tumbaga. This method is based on the use of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, i.e., on a sophisticated analysis of XRF-spectra carrying out an accurate determination of Cu(K (alpha) /K (beta) ), Ag(K (alpha) /K (beta) ), Au(L (alpha) /L (beta) ), and Au-L (alpha) /Cu-K (alpha) or Ag-K (alpha) /Cu-K (alpha) ratios. That implies a dedicated software for the quantitative determination of the area of X-ray peaks. This method was first checked by a relevant number of standard samples and then it was applied to pre-Columbian alloys from the North of Peru