Soil-parasites particularly Toxocara eggs in Egypt.

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) remain a major threat to the human health throughout the world, mostly in developing nations. Soil is usually contaminated by different parasitic stages through promiscuous defecation of man particularly children. This is more liable to occur in fields, public gardens and sides of streets or canals. Also, feces of domestic and wild animals & birds play a role in soil contamination. This study was conducted at Mansoura city and Batra village & El-Minia city and Zohra village representing the urban and rural areas of Dakahlia Governorate, Lower Egypt and Minia Governorate, Upper Egypt respectively. The most common helminthic stage presents in the soil of the two Governorates was Toxocara eggs. No ova was detected in-door yards in the urban areas, but only in the sides of streets, crop fields and fruit gardens, around houses and canal banks of both Governorates, and the highest intensity was 13-19 eggs/10 gm soil at canal banks at Zohra village, El-Minia Governorate, Upper Egypt.

The kinetics of microfilaraemia and antigenaemia status among asymptomatic bancroftian filariasis before and after treatment.

In this study, a total of 54 male patients with asymptomatic cases of lymphatic filariasis were selected from the known endemic governorates; Damietta, Sharkia, Gharbia and Dakahlia. Medical sheets were filled out for each case. Diagnosis was based on detection of circulating microfilariae by specific ELISA. Some were treated with Ivermectin, and Albendazole. The treated cases were parasitologic and serologic evaluated pre-treatment and post-treatment for two years follow-up.

Biochemical parameters in chronic fascioliasis.

Serum lipids, liver enzymes and total bile acids were measured in chronic Fasciola (cholestatic and non-cholestatic) patients. Variations in the biochemical parameters between infected and control groups were detected and typified by considerably higher serum triglycerides (TG, P < 0.001), alkaline phosphatase (ALP, P< 0.001) and total bile acids (TBA, P < 0.001) in the infected group. For cholestatic patients, TG, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) and ALP were statistically higher (P < 0.001 for each comparison) and total cholesterol (TC); low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), were statistically lower than non-cholestatic patients (P = 0.02, < 0.001, < 0.001 respectively). No statistically significant differences were found for the TC, HDL, VLDL, ALT, AST and GGT between non-cholestatic patients and healthy controls.