Food and drinking water hygiene and intestinal protozoa in deployed German soldiers.

This report analyzes the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp., E. histolytica, and G. intestinalis in stool of returnees from military deployments and the impact of hygiene precautions. Between 2007 and 2010, stool samples of 830 returnees that were obtained 8-12 weeks after military deployments in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, the Balkans, Democratic Republic of the Congo/Gabonese Republic, and Sudan and 292 control samples from non-deployed soldiers were analyzed by PCR for Cryptosporidium spp., E. histolytica, G. intestinalis, and the commensal indicator of fecal contamination E. dispar. Data on hygiene precautions were available. The soldiers were questioned regarding gastrointestinal and general symptoms. Among 1122 stool samples, 18 were positive for G. intestinalis, 10 for E. dispar, and no-one for Cryptosporidium spp. and E. histolytica. An increased risk of acquiring chronic parasitic infections in comparison with non-deployed controls was demonstrated only for G. intestinalis in Sudan, where standardized food and drinking water hygiene precautions could not be implemented. Standard food and drinking water hygiene precautions in the context of screened military field camps proved to be highly reliable in preventing food-borne and water-borne chronic infections and colonization by intestinal protozoa, leading to detection proportions similar to those in non-deployed controls.

Increased detection of invasive enteropathogenic bacteria in pre-incubated blood culture materials by real-time PCR in comparison with automated incubation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Invasive enteropathogenic bacteria can cause systemic infections. Data from studies with PCR detection suggest, at least for Salmonella enterica, that blood culture may lead to underestimation in the tropics. Corresponding data are lacking for other invasive enteropathogenic bacteria. We compared classical blood culture and molecular methods for the diagnosis of blood infections. METHODS: A real-time multiplex PCR for Salmonella spp., Shigella spp./entero- invasive Escherichia coli (EIEC), Yersinia spp., and Campylobacter jejuni was applied to 2321 retained blood culture samples from Ghanaian patients, after enrichment by automated culture. RESULTS: PCR detected Salmonella DNA in 56 out of 58 pre-incubated Ghanaian blood cultures with growth of S. enterica. In 2 samples molecular diagnosis was only possible after 1:10 dilution. Twenty-two samples negative by blood culture and 1 positive with Micrococcus spp. were PCR-positive for Salmonella spp. In addition, 3 Shigella spp./EIEC, 2 Yersinia spp., and 1 C. jejuni were detected by PCR but not by culture growth. CONCLUSIONS: Real-time PCR was more sensitive in identifying invasive enteropathogenic bacteria than automated blood culture, which is hampered by a lack of evidence-based standardization of pre-analytic conditions in the tropics. Primary agar culture and Gram-staining prior to automated blood culture is advisable in cases where transportation times are long.