Detection of Entamoeba histolytica DNA in the Saliva of Amoebic Liver Abscess Patients Who Received Prior Treatment with Metronidazole

Saliva is an easily-accessible and a non-invasive clinical specimen alternate to blood and liver pus. An attempt was made to detect Entamoeba histolytica DNA released in the saliva of amoebic liver abscess (ALA) patients by applying 16S-like rRNA gene-based nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction (NM-PCR). The NM-PCR detected E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of eight (28.6%) of 28 ALA patients. The NM-PCR result was negative for E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of all the eight ALA patients who were tested prior to treatment with metronidazole but was positive in the saliva of eight (40%) of 20 ALA patient who were tested after therapy with metronidazole. The NM-PCR detected E. histolytica DNA in liver abscess pus of all 28 (100%) patients with ALA. The TechLab E. histolytica II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was positive for E. histolytica Gal/GalNAc lectin antigen in the liver abscess pus of 13 (46.4%) of the 28 ALA patients. The indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test was positive for anti-amoebic antibodies in the serum of 22 (78.6%) of the 28 ALA patients and 2 (5.7%) of 35 healthy controls. The present study, for the first time, demonstrates the release of E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of ALA patients by applying NM-PCR

Estudo sorológico da cisticercose em pacientes com HIV

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) has attained the importance of one of the most common cause of focal brain lesions in patients infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Adequate data regarding the rate of this co-infection is lacking. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of cysticercosis among HIV patients residing in Puducherry or its neighboring districts of Tamil Nadu State, India. A total of one hundred blood samples were collected from HIV seropositive cases visiting JIPMER hospital, Puducherry, between June 2007 and May 2008. Enzyme immunotransfer blot (EITB) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to demonstrate anti- T. solium larval stage antibodies and Co-agglutination (Co-A) test was used to detect T. solium larval stage antigens in sera. Two HIV seropositive cases were found positive for anti-T. solium larval stage antibody by EITB and four were positive by ELISA. Only one sample was positive by both EITB and ELISA. No serum sample was found positive for T. solium larval stage antigen by Co-A test. The overall seropositivity detected by all the methods was 5% in this study group. The accurate clinical diagnosis of NCC in HIV is difficult due to deranged immunological parameters in the HIV infected patients. The results of this study provides important data on the prevalence of cysticercosis in HIV positive patients in Puducherry and neighboring areas which was previously unknown. This study will also increase awareness among physicians and public health agencies about T. solium cysticercosis in the selected group.Neurocisticercose (NCC) tem alcançado a importância de uma das mais comuns causas de lesões focais no cérebro em pacientes infectados pelo HIV (vírus da imunodeficiência adquirida). Dados adequados relativos à frequencia desta co-infecção estão faltando. Portanto, o presente estudo foi realizado para determinar a prevalência da cisticercose entre pacientes com HIV residindo em Puducherry ou distritos vizinhos do Estado de Tamil Nadu, India. Um total de cem amostras foram coletadas de casos soropositivos do Hospital JIPMER, Puducherry, entre junho de 2007 e maio de 2008. "Enzyme immunotransfer blot" (EITB) e ELISA foram utilizados para demonstrar anticorpos contra a fase larval do T. solium. Testes de co-aglutinação (Co-a) foram usados para demonstrar antígenos da fase larval do T. solium no soro. Dois casos HIV soropositivos foram positivos para anticorpos contra a fase larval do T. solium por EITB e quatro foram positivos por ELISA. Somente uma amostra foi positiva por ambos EITB e ELISA. Nenhuma amostra de soro foi positiva para antígeno da fase larval do T. solium pelo teste Co-a. A soropositividade total detectada por todos os métodos foi 5% neste grupo de estudo. O diagnóstico clínico exato de NCC em HIV é difícil devido aos desordenados parâmetros imunológicos nos pacientes infectados pelo HIV. Os resultados deste estudo fornecem dados importantes sobre a prevalência da cisticercose em pacientes HIV positivos em Puducherry e áreas vizinhas que eram previamente desconhecidos. Este estudo também aumentará a atenção dos médicos e agências de saúde pública sobre a cisticercose por T. solium em grupo selecionado

Dot-Elisa para avaliação da parede do cisto hidático, protoscoleces e antígenos do fluido do cisto hidático no sorodiagnóstico da equinococose cística

The aim of the present study is to evaluate cyst wall and protoscolex as an alternate source of antigen in serodiagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (CE). A total of 90 blood samples, 30 each of confirmed CE cases, disease controls and healthy controls were collected. Dot-ELISA using cyst wall, protoscolex and cyst fluid were used to demonstrate anti-hydatid antibodies. The sensitivity of Dot-ELISA using cyst wall, protoscolex and cyst fluid was 96.66%, 86.66% and 93.33% respectively and the specificity of the assay was 70% for Dot-ELISA using cyst fluid, protoscolex and cyst wall antigens. Results of the present study show that cyst wall and protoscolex can also be an useful source of antigen in detection of hydatid antibodies in the serodiagnosis of CE.O propósito do presente trabalho é avaliar a parede cística e protoscolex como fontes alternativas de antígeno no sorodiagnóstico de equinococose cística (CE). De um total de 90 amostras de sangue, foram coletadas 30 de casos CE confirmados, 30 de controles de doença e 30 controles saudáveis. Dot-Elisa usando parede cística, protoscolex e fluido cístico foi utilizada para demonstrar anticorpos anti-hidáticos. A sensitividade de Dot-Elisa usando parede cística, protoscolex e fluido cístico foi de: 96,66%, 86,66% e 93,33% respectivamente e a especificidade do ensaio de 70% para Dot-Elisa usando fluido cístico, protoscolex e antígeno da parede cística. Resultados do presente estudo mostram que parede cística e protoscolex podem ser fontes úteis de antígeno na detecção de anticorpos hidáticos no sorodiagnóstico do CE

Pregnancy outcome in preterm premature rupture of membranes between 24 to 34 weeks of gestation

Background: Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is spontaneous rupture of the fetal membranes before 37 completed weeks and before onset of labour which complicates 3-5% of all pregnancies. Studies regarding PPROM in very early gestation are lacking. The primary objective was to assess the maternal and perinatal outcome in preterm premature rupture of membranes and secondary objective was to assess the colonization of group B Streptococci (GBS) and Listeria monocytogenes in patients with PPROM.Methods: This prospective study was performed on 175 antenatal women with PPROM between 24 to 34 weeks of gestation.Results: Majority of women (54.2%) were between 32 to 34 weeks of gestation, 37% were between 28 to 32 weeks of gestation and 7.8% were between 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. About 22 % of women had cervicovaginal infections. The prevalence of group B Streptococci in the study group was 1.2% and no isolates of Listeria. The most common maternal morbidity was puerperal fever (11.4 %). Among newborn babies 87 (55 %) required neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission mainly for respiratory distress and prematurity. With each week of increase in gestational age, there is decrease in latency period by 22 hours and duration of NICU stay nearly by one day.Conclusions: From the present study it may be concluded that PPROM is associated with genitourinary infection, puerperal pyrexia and respiratory distress syndrome among neonates. The prevalence of group B Streptococci in antenatal women with PPROM is very low and no Listeria were isolated

Detection of Entamoeba histolytica DNA in the Saliva of Amoebic Liver Abscess Patients Who Received Prior Treatment with Metronidazole

Saliva is an easily-accessible and a non-invasive clinical specimen alternate to blood and liver pus. An attempt was made to detect Entamoeba histolytica DNA released in the saliva of amoebic liver abscess (ALA) patients by applying 16S-like rRNA gene-based nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction (NM-PCR). The NM-PCR detected E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of eight (28.6%) of 28 ALA patients. The NM-PCR result was negative for E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of all the eight ALA patients who were tested prior to treatment with metronidazole but was positive in the saliva of eight (40%) of 20 ALA patient who were tested after therapy with metronidazole. The NM-PCR detected E. histolytica DNA in liver abscess pus of all 28 (100%) patients with ALA. The TechLab E. histolytica II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was positive for E. histolytica Gal/GalNAc lectin antigen in the liver abscess pus of 13 (46.4%) of the 28 ALA patients. The indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test was positive for anti-amoebic antibodies in the serum of 22 (78.6%) of the 28 ALA patients and 2 (5.7%) of 35 healthy controls. The present study, for the first time, demonstrates the release of E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of ALA patients by applying NM-PCR

Entamoeba Moshkovskii and Entamoeba dispar -associated Infections in Pondicherry, India

The prevalence of Laredo strain - Entamoeba moshkovskii - and non-pathogenic E. dispar in patients attending the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research hospital, Pondicherry, India, is reported here. E. moshkovskii is reported for the first time in India. The species are morpho-logically indistinguishable from pathogenic E. histolytica. Of 746 stool samples screened, 68 showing cyst or trophozoite stage of E. histolytica, E. dispar, or E. moshkovskii were subjected to small sub-unit (SSU) rRNA gene-based polymerase chain reaction, which revealed a higher prevalence of E. dispar (8.8%) and E. moshkovskii (2.2%) compared to E. histolytica (1.7%) in patients. Only 19% of the 68 stool samples, resembling E. histolytica by microscopy, were actually E. histolytica , implying that 81% of suspected infections were misdiagnosed and would have been treated unnecessarily with antiamoebic drugs

Detecção de antígenos e anticorpos de Cysticercus em fluido cerebrospinal de pacientes com meningite crônica

Chronic meningitism is a less frequent manifestation of neurocysticercosis caused by Taenia solium cysticerci. In the present study we used Co-agglutination (Co-A), a simple and rapid slide agglutination test to detect specific Cysticercus antigen in the 67 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with chronic meningitis of unknown etiology. The results were compared with that of ELISA for detection of antibodies. Among these samples four (5.97%) were positive for Cysticercus antigen by Co-A test and six (8.95%) were positive for antibodies by ELISA. Two samples were positive by both Co-A and ELISA, two were positive only by Co-A and four were positive only by ELISA. In the present study, although Cysticercus antigen and antibodies were present in CSF samples from eight (11.94%) patients, we cannot affirm that all the cases of chronic meningitis are due to cysticercosis, but for any case of chronic meningitis of unknown origin, it would be useful to consider the possibility of cysticercal meningitis.Meningite crônica é manifestação pouco freqüente de neurocisticercose causada por cisticerco de Taenia solium. No presente estudo utilizamos co-aglutinação (Co-A) um teste simples e rápido de aglutinação para detectar antígeno específico de Cysticercus nas 67 amostras de fluido cerebrospinal (CSF) de pacientes com meningite crônica de etiologia desconhecida. Os resultados foram comparados com os de ELISA para detecção de anticorpos. Dentre estas amostras quatro (5,97%) foram positivas para antígenos de Cysticercus pelo teste Co-A e seis (8,95%) foram positivas para anticorpos por ELISA. Duas amostras foram positivas por ambos Co-A e ELISA, duas foram positivas somente por Co-A e quatro foram positivas somente por ELISA. No presente estudo embora antígenos e anticorpos de Cysticercus estivessem presentes nas amostras de CSF de oito pacientes (11,94%), não podemos afirmar que todos os casos de meningite crônica sejam devidos à cisticercose, mas para qualquer caso de meningite crônica de origem desconhecida seria útil considerar a possibilidade de meningite por cisticerco

Cysticercus antibodies and antigens in serum from blood donors from Pondicherry, India

The aim of the present study was to screen the serum of blood donors, which are apparently healthy and residing in Pondicherry or its neighboring districts of Tamil Nadu State, for specific detection of Cysticercus antigens and antibodies. A total of 216 blood samples were collected from blood donors at the Central Blood Bank, JIPMER Hospital, Pondicherry, India during January and February 2004. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to demonstrate anti-Cysticercus antibodies and the Co-agglutination (CoA) was used to detect antigen in sera. 14 (6.48 %) males were positive for either anti-Cysticercus antibodies or antigens. Of these eight sera were positive for anti-Cysticercus antibodies and six were positive for antigens. Results of the present study show that serum Cysticercus antigen detection may be a useful adjunct to antibody testing for seroprevalence studies of cysticercosis in the community. The present study is the first kind of study, carried out to determine both cysticercal antibodies as well as antigens in the serum samples collected from the healthy blood donors.O objetivo do presente estudo foi examinar o soro de doadores de sangue que são aparentemente saudáveis e residentes em Pondicherry ou seus distritos vizinhos do estado de Tamil Nadu, para a detecção específica dos antígenos e anticorpos de Cysticercus. Um total de 216 amostras de sangue foram coletadas de doadores de sangue do "Central Blood Bank, JIPMER Hospital", Pondicherry, Índia, durante janeiro e fevereiro de 2004. ELISA foi usado para demonstrar anticorpos anti-Cysticercus e co-aglutinação (CoA) foi utilizada para detectar antígenos no soro. 14 (6.48%) homens foram positivos para antígenos e anticorpos anti-Cysticercus. Destes, oito soros foram positivos para anticorpos anti-Cysticercus e seis positivos para antígenos. Os resultados do presente estudo mostram que a detecção de antígenos de Cysticercus no soro pode ser um adjunto útil para o teste de anticorpos para estudos de soroprevalência de cisticercose na comunidade. O presente estudo é o primeiro do tipo, realizado para determinar tanto anticorpos de Cysticercus como antígenos nas amostras de soro coletadas de doadores de sangue aparentemente saudáveis

Increasing Antimicrobial Resistance of Vibrio cholerae O1 Biotype El Tor Strains Isolated in a Tertiary-care Centre in India

The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns are on constant change with the recent emergence of multidrugresistant strains of most bacteria. Results of recent studies in India showed that most isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1 were resistant to the commonly-used antibiotics. The study was conducted to determine the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of V. cholerae O1 isolated during 2008-2010 at the hospital of the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India. In total, 154 strains of V. cholerae O1 from 2,658 stool specimens were reported during January 2008\u2013December 2010\u201434 in 2008, 2 in 2009, and 118 in 2010. The isolates of V. cholerae O1 were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the Kirby-Bauer method. The antibiotic disks tested were tetracycline (30 \u3bcg), furazolidone (100 \u3bcg), ampicillin (10 \u3bcg), ceftriaxone (30 \u3bcg), and ciprofloxacin (5 \u3bcg). Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 was used as the control organism. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline were determined using the agar dilution method for all the strains. The E-test method was used for the strains which had either intermediate resistance or were resistant to the antibiotics by the agar dilution method. The results of the agar dilution corroborated the results of the E-test. The MIC of ceftriaxone in 151 strains was <2 \u3bcg/mL while it was 16 \u3bcg/mL in three strains; the latter three strains were resistant to ceftriaxone by the disc-diffusion test. The MIC of ciprofloxacin in 150 strains was <0.5 \u3bcg/mL while the MIC of tetracycline was <1 \u3bcg/mL. In the remaining four strains, the MIC of tetracycline was >32 \u3bcg/mL, and the MIC of ciprofloxacin was >8 \u3bcg/mL. These four strains were resistant to both tetracycline and ciprofloxacin by the disc-diffusion test and were exclusive of the three ceftriaxone-resistant strains. The majority of the isolates were obtained from children aged 0-5 year(s)\u201470.3% (83 of 118) and 41.2% (14 of 34) were reported in 2010 and 2008 respectively. Since treating severe cases of cholera with antibiotics is important, the continuing spread of resistance in V. cholerae to the most important agents of therapy is a matter of concern. Also, chemoprophylaxis with antimicrobial agents is likely to become even more difficult