Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Associated Risk Factors Among Schoolchildren in Ibb Governorate, Southwest Yemen: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) among schoolchildren are important public health problem, especially in developing countries, and monitoring of such infections and associated risk factors are necessary for intervention strategies. In line with this view, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors among schoolchildren in Ibb governorate, southwest Yemen. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during February to April 2020 on 600 schoolchildren selected from 6 districts of Ibb governorate. Fecal specimens were examined using saline and iodine wet mount and formal-ether concentration techniques. Socio-demographic data were collected using pre-designed, structured questionnaires. The results were analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 25 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Out of 600 participants, the overall prevalence of IPIs was 66.3% (398/600). The prevalence rate of protozoan infections (56.3%, 338/600) was largely higher than helminthic infections (10%, 60/600). The most common intestinal parasite was E. histolytica/dispar (28.5%, 171/600). S. mansoni infection showed higher infection rate in males (5.3%) than in females (0.4%), with statistically significant difference (P = 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that the age was only significantly associated with protozoan infections, with statistically significant differences (P = 0.002). Regarding to clinical symptoms, the presence of IPIs was significantly associated with diarrhea, dysentery, and abdominal pain. Conclusion: The present study revealed that there was a relatively high prevalence of IPIs, especially protozoan parasites, in schoolchildren of the study area, with E. histolytica/dispar being the most prevalent parasite. The results showed that age was only significantly associated with IPIs. According to the results of this study, IPIs are still among the main public health problems in the study area. Thus, effective prevention and control strategies are important to reduce the incidence of IPIs in this area of the country.

Filaggrin, major basic protein and leukotriene B4: Biomarkers for adult patients of bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis.

Bronchial asthma (BA), atopic dermatitis (AD), and allergic rhinitis (AR) are well known atopic disorders with complex etiologies. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of filaggrin, eosinophil major basic protein (MBP) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) in patients with BA, AD, and AR. Sera from 1,246 patients with different atopic disorders and 410 normal healthy controls were collected and were evaluated for filaggrin, MBP and LTB4 by specific sandwich ELISAs, whereas immunoglobulin E (IgE) was used as a positive control for atopic patients. Serum analysis showed that filaggrin levels were remarkably high in patients with AD and in patients with multiple (mixed) atopic disorders (p < 0.001), whereas its levels in BA and AR patients were low but much higher than in normal human sera (p < 0.01). MBP levels were also high in AR, BA and mixed atopic patients, whereas AD patients showed no increase of MBP (p > 0.05). In contrast, LTB4 level was found to be significantly low in all tested atopic patients groups as compared to the levels of LTB4 present in normal human sera (p < 0.001). In conclusion, these findings support an association between filaggrin, MBP or LTB4 and atopic disorders. Our data strongly suggest that filaggrin, MBP or LTB4 might be useful in elucidating the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of these atopic disorders.