Alcoholism and Strongyloides stercoralis: Daily Ethanol Ingestion Has a Positive Correlation with the Frequency of Strongyloides Larvae in the Stools

It has been reported that Strongyloides stercoralis infection is more prevalent in chronic alcoholic patients than in non alcoholics living in the same country. In a retrospective study on the prevalence of S. stercoralis infection in a large sample of alcoholic patients, we demonstrate that this prevalence is significantly higher than in non-alcoholic patients admitted at the same hospital. Moreover, the frequency of the parasite was in close relationship with the daily amount of ingested ethanol, even in the absence of liver cirrhosis, reinforcing the idea that chronic alcoholism is associated with increased susceptibility to Strongyloides infection. Beside the bad hygiene profile of alcoholic patients, which explains high risk for acquisition of the parasite, the high prevalence of S. stercoralis in alcoholics may be in relationship with other effects of ethanol on the intestinal motility, steroid metabolism and immune system, which could enhance the chance of autoinfection and the survival and fecundity of females in duodenum. In this way, the number of larvae in the stools is higher in alcoholic patients, increasing the chance of a positive result in a stool examination by sedimentation method

The \u201cVisiting in italy\u201d project: origins, organisation and prospects

Visiting has its theoretical roots in the research of Lewin, and began in England in the early 2000s when the Community of Communities network, led by Rex Haigh, introduced this project structured on both peer- and self-review for monitoring the quality of treatment settings (for adults, minors, prisoners, etc.) and earning accreditation and financing from the National Health Service. The Italian Visiting project, which Mito&Realt\ue0 designed, proposed and formally introduced in 2010, has the aim of encouraging communities to get to know each other through a process of assessing therapeutic and structural factors for the purpose of better identifying TCs\u2019 weaknesses and strengths and encouraging immediate action with regard to problems by defining annual improvement goals and collaborating with the other participating TCs. This shared involvement is aimed at the creation of a TC network to counter isolation and establish a set common quality standards (benchmarks). The ultimate goal is to generate a circular exchange of good practices, procedures and materials, making more evolved experiences accessible to communities that have been unable to produce them. An essential feature of the Visiting project is the absence of that judgemental aspect often implicit to assessments in general. The authors illustrate the origins and dissemination of the Visiting approach through the development of two variations, pointing out the common methodological and procedural aspects and, to some extent, the instruments that make each of them fully comparable with the others, as well as the differences, which make possible a wealth of experiential exchange

Strongyloides stercoralis : global distribution and risk factors

The soil-transmitted threadworm, Strongyloides stercoralis, is one of the most neglected among the so-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). We reviewed studies of the last 20 years on S. stercoralis's global prevalence in general populations and risk groups.; A literature search was performed in PubMed for articles published between January 1989 and October 2011. Articles presenting information on infection prevalence were included. A Bayesian meta-analysis was carried out to obtain country-specific prevalence estimates and to compare disease odds ratios in different risk groups taking into account the sensitivities of the diagnostic methods applied. A total of 354 studies from 78 countries were included for the prevalence calculations, 194 (62.4%) were community-based studies, 121 (34.2%) were hospital-based studies and 39 (11.0%) were studies on refugees and immigrants. World maps with country data are provided. In numerous African, Asian and South-American resource-poor countries, information on S. stercoralis is lacking. The meta-analysis showed an association between HIV-infection/alcoholism and S. stercoralis infection (OR: 2.17 BCI: 1.18-4.01; OR: 6.69; BCI: 1.47-33.8), respectively.; Our findings show high infection prevalence rates in the general population in selected countries and geographical regions. S. stercoralis infection is prominent in several risk groups. Adequate information on the prevalence is still lacking from many countries. However, current information underscore that S. stercoralis must not be neglected. Further assessments in socio-economic and ecological settings are needed and integration into global helminth control is warranted