Hand palm sparganosis: morphologically and genetically confirmed Spirometra erinaceieuropaei in a fourteen-year-old girl, Egypt.

Two spargana of 5 and 7 cm long were removed from the right-hand palm of 14-year-old girl at the General Hospital, Qalyubia, Egypt. Sparganum is the 2nd larval stage (pleurocercoid) of Diphyllobothrid cestode species develops in the vertebrate second intermediate host through ingestion of the crustacean first intermediate host.Dogs and cats are the final hosts get infected through predation of the second vertebrate host.Human attracts infection through drinking water contaminated with the infected crustacean host or consumption of the flesh of of vertebrate hosts such as frogs and reptilian species. The surgically removed specimens were parsitologically identified as a non-proliferative metacestodes of a spirometran species that then on molecular analysis proved to be Spirometra erinaceieuropaei. The present report has allocated Egypt on the world sparganosis map.Molecular characterization of 28 S rRNA of S. erinaceieuropae and correlation to other Spirometra spp. from the Nile countries, particularly Ethiopia and Lake Victoria countries where the Nile waters originate, and from China were dealt with. Drinking of contaminated fresh water is the only proposed mode of infection in Egypt.

Occurrence and genotyping of Theileria equi in dogs and associated ticks in Egypt.

Theileriosis is a tick-borne protozoal disease caused by a piroplasm of the genus Theileria. Hard ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites that serve as vectors of Theileria spp. Studies of the presence of theileriosis in Egyptian dogs and associated ticks are scarce. This study was conducted to detect and identify Theileria spp. in dogs and Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks and to monitor the epidemiological data of this disease. The prevalence rates of Theileria equi infection were 12.02%, 0.73%, 2.93%, and 1.83% by microscopic examination of dog blood, tick hemolymph, tick midgut, and tick salivary smears, respectively. Conversely, the T. equi prevalence in dog blood and associated ticks assessed by PCR was 25.81% and 10.42%, respectively. Epidemiological data about Theileria infection revealed a significant difference in the infection between different seasons and different dog breeds (p value <0.05), whereas host, sex, and age of dogs had no significant effect on the infection. Sequencing of PCR products showed that all PCR positive samples were infected with T. equi. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) described the different stages of Theileria in the midgut and salivary gland of infected ticks. The current study confirmed that T. equi is not specific to equine hosts, and confirmed that dogs are a susceptible host to T. equi.

Screening and phylogenetic characterization of tick-borne pathogens in a population of dogs and associated ticks in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: The incidence or recurrence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) in animals and humans is increasing rapidly worldwide, but there is insufficient information about TBDs infecting dogs in Egypt. Thus, the present study was conducted to screen and genetically identify tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in dogs and associated ticks by microscopic examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). METHODS: In Cairo and Giza governorates, 208 blood samples were collected from dogs of different breeds, ages, and sex. In addition, 1266 dog-associated ticks were collected (546 ticks were used to prepare hemolymph smears, and 720 ticks were kept in 70% ethanol until PCR analysis). PCR was applied to 124 dog blood samples and 144 tick pools prepared from 720 ticks. RESULTS: All ticks collected from dogs were Rhipicephalus sanguineus (s.l.). Microscopic examination revealed that TBP prevalence among dogs was 23.56% (49/208), including Anaplasma and Ehrlichia with 11.1% (23/208) and Babesia canis with 8.2% (17/208). Hepatozoon canis was not detected in blood smears. Co-infections with two pathogens were visible in 4.33% (9/208) of examined dogs. The prevalence of TBPs in hemolymph smears was 45.97% (251/546) including 35.89% (196/546) for H. canis, 8.1% (44/546) for B. canis, and 2.01% (11/546) for Anaplasmataceae (A. phagocytophilum, A. marginale, A. platys, and E. canis). The overall molecular prevalence rate of TBPs was 25.81% and 29.17% in the blood of examined dogs and in ticks, respectively. The molecular prevalence of Anaplasmataceae family, Babesia canis, and H. canis in dog blood samples was 19.35%, 6.45%, and 0.0%, respectively, while in ticks, it was 20.83%, 5.55%, and 2.8%, respectively. A sequential analysis identified six different species of TBPs, namely B. canis vogeli, Hepatozoon canis, A. phagocytophilum, A. marginale, A. platys, and E. canis. The obtained sequences were submitted to GenBank and assigned accession numbers. CONCLUSIONS: The present study detected a wide range of TBPs (B. canis, H. canis, A. platys, A. phagocytophilum, A. marginale, and E. canis) that are considered a threat to domestic animals and humans in Egypt. Hepatozoon canis and A. marginale were reported in dogs and associated ticks for the first time in Egypt.

Gigantobilharzia, possible cause of cercarial dermatitis: Case report.

Cercarial dermatitis (swimmer's itch) is a worldwide, often neglected parasitic skin disease characterized by strong maculopapular skin eruption accompanied by intensive itching. A fisherman suffered from forearm dermatitis. Clinical history associated with the recovery of the avian schistosome; Gigantobilharzia from little green bee-eater (Merops orientalis najdanus) and collected Lymnaea snails supported the authors' opinion that patient clinical signs are most likely due to the invasion of avian schistosome cercariae.