Development and validation of a French questionnaire that assesses knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Marburg diseases in sub-Saharan African countries.

OBJECTIVES: Marburg virus, previously referred to as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is a highly severe and frequently fatal illness that affects humans. This study aimed to develop and validate a French questionnaire to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice toward Marburg virus disease (FKAP-MVD). STUDY DESIGN: An anonymous online survey was used, which was distributed through various platforms and emails. Data were collected from Burkina Faso, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal. METHODS: To conduct the study, an anonymous online survey was used, which was distributed through various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and emails. The survey was uploaded onto a Google form to facilitate data collection. Data were collected from Burkina Faso, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal. RESULTS: Of the total sample of 510 participants, 60.0% were male, their mean age was 28.41 ± 6.32 years, 38.0% were married, 86.6% resided in urban areas and 64.1% had a university education. The questionnaire had good internal consistency; Cronbach's alpha was 0.87. The correlation between knowledge and attitude was 0.002, the correlation between knowledge and practice was 0.204, and the correlation between practice and attitude was relatively weak and negative at -0.060. This indicates the divergent validity of the questionnaire. The KMO value of 0.91 indicates a high level of adequacy, suggesting that the data are suitable for factor analysis. The Bartlett test of Sphericity yielded an approximate χ2 value of 4016.890 with 300 degrees of freedom and a P-value of 0.0001. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed 25 questions in three domains. The normed chi-square value is 1.224. The goodness of Fit Index (GFI) is 0.902, the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) is 0.982, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) is 0.033, and the Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) is 0.062. These values indicate a good fit of the model to the data. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the developed questionnaire has significant potential to inform public health initiatives and interventions related to MVD.

Basic Fuchsin Dye as the First Fluorophore for Optical Sensing of Morpholine in Fruits Crust and Urine Samples.

In this work, basic fuchsin (BF) dyestuff was presented as the first optical sensor used for the spectrofluorimetric assessment of morpholine (MOR) where BF exhibits morpholine-sensing behavior. The developed fluorimetric avenue is sensitive, facile, selective, and validated for assaying the sensitizing influence of MOR on the BF fluorescence in an aprotic dioxane solvent. Parameters like solvents, BF concentration, order, and time of addition that influence the fluorescence intensity of the probing system were addressed. Optimizing the analytical methodology revealed a linear fluorescence sensitization within the addition of MOR in the two concentration ranges of 5 × 10-9 to 1.0 × 10-7 mol L-1 and 2.0 × 10-7 to 3 × 10-6 mol L-1. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were estimated to be 2.0 × 10-9 mol L-1 (0.17 ng mL-1) and 6.66 × 10-9 mol L-1 (0.567 ng mL-1), respectively. High levels of accuracy and precision are achieved when assaying spiked MOR either in pure solutions or samples of fruit peel extract and human urine. Moreover, the green character and practicality/applicability of the method were evaluated by AGREE and BAGI metric tools. These merit outcomes provide insights into the development of fluorescent sensors for MOR detection using fluorescent dyes and meet the Food and Drug Administration's requirements for morpholine detection in real-life applications.

Coagulation profile and platelet parameters of the Arabian sand gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa marica): comparison with humans and camels.

During March 2009, we evaluated the hemostatic profile and platelet indices of 18 Arabian sand gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa marica) and compared the results with those from humans and camels (Camelus dromedarius). Gazelles and camels had shorter activated partial thromboplastin times, lower proconvertin and higher antihemophilic factor coagulation activity, and plasma fibrinogen levels than humans. Prothrombin time was longer in sand gazelles and shorter in camels than it was in humans. Plasma thromboplastin component, Stuart factor, and plasma thromboplastin antecedent were similar in gazelles, humans, and camels, whereas the platelet count of the sand gazelle was significantly higher than it was for camels and humans.

Onchocerca gutturosa infection of the ligamentum nuchae in two cows in the Sudan.

Severe lesions of the ligamentum nuchae are described for the first time in two cows in the Sudan. Post mortem and histopathological examination of the nodules reveals inflammatory process the causal agent of which is Onchocerca gutturosa.

Prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Saudi Arabian camels (Camelus dromedarius).

Serum samples from 227 Saudi Arabian camels were examined for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by the indirect haemagglutination test, using a microtitre technique. Agglutinations (greater than 2+) occurring at 1:64 dilution were considered positive. A total of 36 (16%) camels were serologically positive for toxoplasmosis, giving titres ranging between 1:64 and 1:8192. The prevalence was much higher in female compared to male camels and in adults compared to young individuals.

The alterations of rat brain GABA and glutamine induced by the organophosphorus compound cyolane.

Levels of the amino acids GABA and glutamine were determined in the whole brain of the white albino rat Rattus norvegicus after daily injection of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/100 LD50 of cyolane. With 1/2 LD50 an increase in the level of both GABA and glutamine in the brain was recorded. Dose levels of 1/4 and 1/8 LD50 caused an increase in the level of GABA and a decrease in glutamine concentration followed by an increase from the 7th and 11th days for 1/4 and 1/8 LD50, respectively. The induced increase in GABA level started from the 2nd week for 1/16 and 1/32 LD50 and from the 3rd week for 1/100 LD50. Dose levels of 1/16, 1/32 and 1/100 LD50 caused a fluctuating increase in glutamine concentration starting from the 2nd, 3rd and 6th weeks, respectively, which was followed by a fluctuating decrease at the 9th week for 1/32 and 1/100 LD50. These findings support previous findings that the enhanced transformation of glutamic acid to GABA and glutamine is a result of a disturbance in the metabolism of the glutamic acid-GABA and the glutamic acid-glutamine systems in the rat brain.

Haemonchus longistipes Railliet & Henry, 1909 in goats in the Sudan.

Haemonchus longistipes specimens were collected from experimentally infected Sudanese goats and camels for morphological studies. The specimens from goats were much smaller than those from camels, but their infectivity to camels was not affected by their passage in goats. Goats inhabiting the same areas as camels in the Sudan were found to be naturally infected with H. longistipes, but sheep were not and were resistant to experimental infection.

Observations on the infectivity and fecundity of a Sudanese isolate of Schistosoma bovis in albino mice.

A Sudanese isolate of Schistosoma bovis from experimentally infected sheep was found to be highly pathogenic to albino mice. Eggs were first found in the livers 42 days after exposure. The distribution of eggs in the liver and small and large intestines changed little during the course of infection. Results are compared with others using an Iranian isolate of S. bovis, which causes only a mild infection, and S. mattheei.

The pathogenesis of experimental Schistosoma bovis infections in Sudanese sheep and goats.

The pathogenic effects of experimental Schistosoma bovis infection in Sudanese sheep and goats were investigated by a variety of clinical, parasitological, physiological and histopathological techniques; uninfected animals of each species were used as controls. Infected animals of both species lost or failed to gain weight and developed a haemorrhagic diarrhoea, inappetence, marked anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, hyperglobulinaemia, hyperproteinaemia and eosinophilia. These changes first became noticeable around the time of onset of oviposition and their severity was generally related to faecal egg counts. Red cell breakdown and albumin catabolism were much higher in infected than in control animals of the same species, and it was concluded that these changes were due to haemorrhage resulting from the extrusion of large numbers of eggs through the intestinal mucosa. Although all the animals were infected with the same number of cercariae, both the number of worms reaching maturity and the tissue egg counts tended to be higher in sheep than in goats. On the other hand, goats had significantly higher faecal egg counts than sheep and it is suggested that this was the reason for the generally more severe disease in the former species.

The prevalence and pathogenesis of naturally-occurring Haemonchus longistipes infection in Sudanese camels.

Camel haemonchosis is prevalent in the Sudan, especially during the rainy season, with a decrease in prevalence in the dry season possibly due to delayed maturation of the worms. The naturally occurring disease in Sudanese camels is characterized by emaciation, anaemia, oedema of the lower parts of the limbs, eosinophilia, hypoproteinaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, hyperglobulinaemia and eosinophilia, as well as elevated blood urea concentrations.

Erythrokinetics and albumin metabolism in primary experimental Schistosoma bovis infections in Zebu calves.

Red cell kinetics and albumin metabolism were studied in calves infected with either 100 or 200 Schistosoma bovis cercariae per kg body weight, by the use of 59Fe-labelled transferrin, 51Cr-labelled erythrocytes and 125I-labelled albumin; a third group of worm-free animals acted as controls. The anaemia which developed in the infected calves was shown to be due basically to an accelerated rate of red cell loss from the circulation, and became evident around the seventh week of infection, increased in severity during the following two months, and subsequently subsided. In view of its close similarity to the pattern of faecal egg excretion, it was concluded that haemorrhage into the intestine caused by the exit of eggs was the principal aetiological factor: haemolysis was excluded by the absence of both splenomegaly and hyperferraemia . Erythropoiesis was also accelerated in infected animals, but could not keep pace with the rate of red cell breakdown to which the animals were concurrently subjected. Haemodilution was involved, but not to a significant extent. The hypoalbuminaemia associated with infection was caused by an increased rate of albumin catabolism, and a plasma volume expansion, and was accompanied by marked depletion of all albumin pools, but particularly the extravascular pool. The pattern of albumin catabolism closely followed that of red cell loss, suggesting that passage of plasma as whole blood into the intestine was the basic cause of hypoalbuminaemia. Red cell losses and albumin hypercatabolism were more severe in the more heavily infected group, and although both subsided as egg counts fell, they remained evident even 1 year after infection. This may partly explain the failure of infected animals to regain the weight lost during earlier stages of disease.

The pathogenesis of experimental Haemonchus longistipes infection in camels.

The pathogenesis and clinical signs of Haemonchus longistipes infection were studied in four experimentally infected camels two of which were adults and the other two were young. In the former animals, an acute infection developed, characterized by mucoid diarrhoea, anorexia, anaemia, loss of body weight, oedema of the lower parts of the limbs, general malaise and death at 8-10 weeks post-infection. In the two younger camels, a less dramatic disease was encountered with less severe symptoms and no oedema, but also terminating fatally at 19-20 weeks post-infection. Parasitological, haematological and biochemical parameters were determined during the course of the infection and were mostly comparable with those usually encountered in haemonchosis of other animals.

Observations on cattle schistosomiasis in the Sudan, a study in comparative medicine. V. The effect of praziquantel therapy on naturally acquired resistance to Schistosoma bovis.

Studies in the White Nile area of the Sudan have shown that Zebu cattle acquire a high degree of resistance to Schistosoma bovis as a result of repeated natural exposures without, however, being able to eliminate their populations of adult schistosomes, although these do show greatly suppressed fecundity. To test whether these adult worms are necessary for the maintenance of resistance we cured six "naturally resistant" cattle (TC group) with a double treatment of 25 mg/kg praziquantel and compared their response to a 70,000 cercariae challenge with groups of "naturally resistant" but untreated cattle (UC group) and with previously unexposed, challenged cattle (CC group). Challenge was carried out 7 weeks after the second dose of praziquantel. The results confirmed that untreated cattle are "naturally resistant" and also showed that resistance was not abrogated by cure of the naturally-acquired infections. Thus, fecal egg counts after challenge reached mean maxima of 2,432 eggs per gram (epg) in the CC, but only 5 epg and 28 epg in the TC and UC groups, respectively. Similarly, mean worm counts were 85% and 69% lower in the TC and UC groups, respectively, and mean tissue egg densities were reduced by 72-99%, and 56-80%. Histopathologically, the TC and UC groups were also far less affected than the CC. Effective praziquantel treatment does therefore not destroy naturally acquired resistance to S. bovis, and may benefit infected livestock even in the absence of transmission control. The situation in human schistosomiasis is less clear, but there are several epidemiological and experimental indications of a similar conclusion for S. mansoni.

Observations on cattle schistosomiasis in the Sudan, a study in comparative medicine. VI. Demonstration of resistance to Schistosoma bovis challenge after a single exposure to normal cercariae or to transplanted adult worms.

Calves were immunized with Schistosoma bovis by a single experimental exposure to 10,000 normal cercariae. Some of these calves were perfused 14 weeks later, and a part of their worm loads was surgically transplanted into groups of normal recipient calves: "WPR" group calves received 500 pairs of worms; "MR" group calves received between 650 and 1,000 male worms alone. All three groups were subsequently challenged 10 weeks after surgery with 20,000 cercariae, as were a previously unexposed group of controls ("CC"). Mean post-challenge fecal egg counts in the animals immunized with cercariae ("PC" group) rose to a maximum of only 60 eggs per gram (e.p.g.), compared to 376 e.p.g. in the CC, and maximum fecal egg counts in the WPR and MR groups were also somewhat lower than in the CC, at 152 and 250 e.p.g., respectively. In spite of the much lower fecal egg counts in the PC than in the CC group, calculated adult "challenge" worm recoveries were only reduced by 11%, but PC group tissue egg densities derived from the challenge were 78-100% lower than in the CC. The WPR and MR groups had 43% and 37%, respectively, fewer worms than the CC, and mean tissue egg densities were lower by 39-63% and 63-76%, respectively, though in most cases there were no statistically significant differences from the CC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The pathogenesis of experimental Haemonchus longistipes infection in goats.

Goats are highly susceptible to Haemonchus longistipes and could therefore serve as an inexpensive model to study camel haemonchosis. The course of the disease in goats is similar to that in camels and to H. contortus infection in sheep and goats. Unlike the age-dependency of camel haemonchosis, however, the severity of H. longistipes infection in goats is dose-dependent and varies from mild to hyperacute.

Observations on cattle schistosomiasis in the Sudan, a study in comparative medicine. IV. Preliminary observations on the mechanism of naturally acquired resistance.

Suppression of egg production is the main parasitological manifestation of naturally acquired resistance to Schistosoma bovis in Sudanese cattle. In preliminary investigations on the mechanisms involved, 700-4,000 "suppressed" adult worms were surgically transplanted from six "resistant" donor cattle with very low fecal egg counts (0-8 eggs/g, epg) into six normal recipients. After transplantation, large numbers of eggs were excreted in the feces of the recipient cattle, beginning at between 5 and 16 days after operation, and reaching counts of 55-405 epg at between 6 and 20 days post transplantation. In the cattle with the highest egg counts, egg counts soon fell sharply from peak levels, whereas in cattle with lower peak counts, more steady counts were maintained. All the recipients were perfused at days 46-56, when between 0.1% and 78.5% of the transplanted worms were recovered. In the second experiment, 1,000-ml quantities of pooled sera from "resistant" donors were injected intraperitoneally into each of four normal recipient calves, while another four were injected with pooled sera from uninfected cattle. All the calves were challenged percutaneously the next day with 7,500 cercariae each, and the course of infection was followed by parasitological and clinical measurements until perfusion 18 weeks later. The results showed that the "immune" sera had a negligible effect on the numbers of worms which developed, and had no significant effect on the fecal egg counts or clinical parameters studied. There was, however, some evidence from the tissue egg counts of a reduction in the fecundity of the worms in calves injected with "immune" sera.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age specific prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma bovis infection in Sudanese Desert sheep in the White Nile Province.

A survey of ovine schistosomiasis was carried out in a Schistosoma bovis enzootic area in the central Sudan. Three hundred Desert sheep, representing different age groups, were screened for infection, using Pitchford's faecal egg counting technique. No infection was detected in animals under one year old, but from the age of 18 months onward, the prevalence increased progressively from around 20 per cent to 60 per cent in six-year-old sheep, and this was accompanied by an increase in infection intensity, as determined by faecal egg counts. These findings, which suggest that these sheep did not develop an effective resistance to schistosomiasis, contrasted with those previously recorded in cattle from the same locality, studied in the same year.

Ambient temperature effects on brain and spinal cord acetylcholinesterase activity of two poikilotherms.

The changes in AChE activity and protein content following cold or heat exposure and heat death were determined in the brain and spinal cord of both Rana ridibunda and Chalcides ocellatus. Cold exposure (10 degrees C) caused a decrease in the enzyme activity and protein content of both animals. Exposure to heat (36-40 degrees C) increased markedly the AChE activity and the amount of protein in the two experimental animals. Heat death was found to be associated with a prominent decrease in enzyme activity and the protein level of the brain and spinal cord of the two poikilotherms.