Cystic echinococcosis: Development of an intermediate host rabbit model for using in vaccination studies.

The aims of this study were an establishment of the domestic rabbit as an intermediate host for cystic echinococcosis (CE) and to evaluate the potency of the crude germinal layer and the protoscoleces antigens to protect against the CE. Firstly; Two groups of white Newzeland rabbits were infected orally either by 5000 active oncospheres or viable protoscoleces separately. After 20 weeks, the slaughtered rabbits showed the presence of hydatid cysts at different internal organs. Molecular detection of the resulted cysts was conducted. Secondly; 27 rabbits were divided into nine groups (n = 3). Groups 1 and 2 were immunized with the crude germinal layer antigen while the groups 3 and 4 were immunized with the crude protoscoleces antigen. Groups 5 and 6 received the adjuvant mineral oil. Groups 7 and 8 were used as positive control. The last 9 group was kept as a negative control. The obtained results showed a significant high protection percentage of 83.4% and high antibody titer was recorded in groups that received the crude germinal layer antigen comparing with the groups that immunized with the crude protoscoleces antigen as their protection percentage was 66.7% with lower IgG response. In conclusion, the domestic rabbits could be used as a laboratory model for CE. Developing of the germinal layer antigen is more immunogenic than the protoscoleces one and could be used as a promising vaccine. Attention should be directed towards the existing rabbit in the environment adjacent to infected dogs as it could be a part of Echinococcus life cycle.

[Postpartal clinically apparent alveolar echinococcosis in a female dog]. / Postpartal klinisch manifeste alveoläre Echinokokkose bei einer Hündin.

The lifecycle of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis comprises primarily red foxes (definitive hosts) and small rodents (intermediate hosts). Dogs can additionally be definitive hosts and in rare cases they act as accidental or dead-end host species by developing alveolar echinococcosis (AE) primarily in the liver. This report describes a clinically apparent AE that appeared 5 weeks postpartum in a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever. The bitch was presented with loss of appe tite and apathy. Radiological examination revealed dense and partially calcified, space-occupying lesions in the abdomen that were sonographically further characterized as fluid-filled caverns. Intra operationem, a multifocal generalized cystic infiltration of the liver was observed with metastasis in the omentum. Because of the severe altera tions, the dog was euthanized. Histopathological examination revealed a laminated layer, which is typical for E. multilocularis and sporadic protoscoleces. E. multilocularis-specific PCR was positive. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of a postpartal clinically apparent AE described in a dog. Gestation may have led to progression of the disease.

[Parasitic dermoid cyst of the omentum. Case presentation]. / Quiste dermoide parasítico en el epiplón. Reporte de un caso.

BACKGROUND: Benign parasitic cystic teratomas or extragonadal tumors are relatively rare representing 0.4% of all tumors. Its most common site is the omentum. CASE REPORT: A 32-year-old women. Obstetric historial: 3 pregnancies, 2 deliveries, and 1 abortion. She was admitted with a 7 x 6 cm pelvic cystic mass meassured by ultrasound, laparoscopy was performed removing a pelvic cystic mass localized in omentum. The patient was discharged uneventful. Histological finding was a benign parasitic dermoid cyst of omentum. A literature review indicates that only 29 cases are reported.

Genetically distinct isolates of Spirocerca sp. from a naturally infected red fox (Vulpes vulpes) from Denmark.

Spirocerca lupi causes formation of nodules that may transform into sarcoma in the walls of aorta, esophagus and stomach of infected canids. In February 2013, post mortem examination of a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) hunted in Denmark revealed the presence of several nodules containing adult worms of Spirocerca sp. in the stomach and the omentum. The nodules largely consisted of fibrous tissue with infiltration of mononuclear cells, neutrophilic granulocytes and macrophages with hemosiderin deposition. Parasitological examination by three copromicroscopic methods, sedimentation, flotation with saturated sugar-salt solution, and sieving failed to detect eggs of Spirocerca sp. in feces collected from the colon. This is the first report of spirocercosis in Denmark, and may have been caused by a recent introduction by migrating paratenic or definitive host. Analysis of two overlapping partial sequences of the cox1 gene, from individual worms, revealed distinct genetic variation (7-9%) between the Danish worms and isolates of S. lupi from Europe, Asia and Africa. This was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis that clearly separated the Danish worms from other isolates of S. lupi. The distinct genetic differences of the current worms compared to other isolates of S. lupi may suggest the presence of a cryptic species within Spirocerca.

Enterobius granuloma: an unusual cause of omental mass in an 11-year-old girl.

Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) is the only nematode that infects humans. It is one of the most common intestinal parasites. Pinworm commonly infests the terminal ileum and colon, and does not cause severe morbidity unless ectopic infection occurs. However, granulomatous lesions caused by ectopic Enterobius vermicularis infection may lead to unusual clinical symptoms and may be misinterpreted as malignant lesions. Herein, the authors present an 11-year-old girl with pinworm infection who presented with abdominal pain and an omental mass, with special emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment.

Abdominal echinococcosis: outcomes of conservative surgery.

BACKGROUND: Hydatid disease, infection with the larval stage of the cestode Echinococcus spp., represents a substantial disease burden worldwide. We report here the outcomes of conservative surgery in patients with abdominal echinococcosis. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective review of patients who underwent conservative surgery for abdominal hydatid disease during the period January 2008 to December 2011. Perioperative outcomes were analysed after a mean follow-up of 24 months (range 6-36 months). RESULTS: Thirty patients (mean age 40.4 years; male:female=7:3) underwent surgery. Most (29 patients) had a hepatic hydatid cyst and underwent partial cystectomy with omentoplasty; surgery was open in 22 cases (73%), laparoscopic in six cases (20%) and laparoscopic converted to open in one case (3%); one patient with a splenic cyst underwent open splenectomy. Cystobiliary communication was present in 10 cases (3%). Postoperative complications included transient biliary leak in two cases (7%), grade 1 surgical site infection in five cases (17%) and respiratory tract infection in three cases (10%), with no mortality. Mean hospital stay was 17 ± 9.2 days. None of the patients had recurrence of disease on follow-up imaging. CONCLUSION: Conservative surgery offers an effective approach for abdominal echinococcosis, with minimal morbidity or recurrence, and is an alternative to radical procedures.

Effect of ensilation of potato on viability of Taenia hydatigena eggs.

A Taenia hydatigena model was used to assess the effect 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of ensilation of minced potato on viability of tapeworm eggs. For infection of lambs, 2,000 T. hydatigena eggs were ensiled for 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days in minced potato at 22°C and fed to recently weaned lambs (29.9±0.76 kg). At slaughter, no cysticerci were recovered from lambs infected with eggs ensiled for 28 days while a mean of 5.0±5.0 cysticerci (0.25% of the initial egg dose) were recovered from lambs infected with eggs ensiled for 21 days. For lambs fed eggs ensiled for 0 days (control), 359.3±55.6 cysticerci were recovered (18.0% of the initial egg dose). Regression analysis revealed that a 99.9% reduction in viability was attained after 18.59 days of ensilation.

Effect of heat treatment on viability of Taenia hydatigena eggs.

Effects of heat treatments on activation and infectivity of Taenia hydatigena eggs were assessed. Eggs containing oncospheres were used for in vitro and in vivo studies to determine the response to 5min of heat treatment, ranging from room temperature (22°C) to 60°C. The study demonstrated 99.47% and 100% reduction in oncosphere activation or infectivity after 5min of heat treatment at 60°C and 57.38°C under in vitro and in vivo conditions, respectively. Similar results between the two approaches indicted the appropriateness of the in vitro methods to identify oncosphericidal treatments of practical significance. Similar heat treatments may also be effective against Taenia saginata and help to reduce occurrence of beef cysticercosis.

[Retrospective evaluation of the alveolar echinococcosis cases between 1980-2010 in Erciyes University Hospital]. / Erciyes Üniversitesi Hastanesinde 1980-2010 Yillari Arasinda Alveoler Ekinokokkozis Saptanan Olgularin Retrospektif Degerlendirilmesi.

OBJECTIVE: Alveolar echinococcosis is an uncommon parasitic disesae confined to the Northern Hemisphere. There is limited data regarding the incidence of the disease in Kayseri. METHODS: Clinicopathologic features of the cases with the diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis reviewed between 1980-2010. RESULTS: Twenty-nine cases of alveolar echinococcosis were found. There were no significant distribution differences during the study period. 28 of the 29 cases were localised in the liver, whereas one case was localised in the omentum. Sixteen of the 29 cases were male (55%) and 13 were female (45%). The age distribution of these cases varied between 33 and 80. Thirteen cases resided in Kayseri, 2 cases resided in Erzurum, 1 each case resided in Adana, Ardahan, Kars, Nigde, Nevsehir and Yozgat. We could not obtain information from the remaining 8 cases. Abdominal pain was the main symptom in 8 cases, jaundice in 2 cases and fatigue and fever in one case on admission. One case was detected incidentally. All of the cases were diagnosed by histologic examination. CONCLUSION: The data about the alveolar echinococcosis is limited due to its low prevelance. Alveolar echinococcosis cases were detected in Kayseri with a lower incidence than in the East Anatolian region. This report will add data about the incidence of the alveolar echinococcosis.

Huge omental hydatid cyst: a case report.

Omental hydatid cyst is a rare cause of intra-abdominal hydatids. A 38-year-old female was presented with complaint of progressive abdominal distension. USG revealed a cystic lesion involving almost whole of the abdominal cavity. The patient was operated on and the cyst was removed followed with a course of albendazole.

Omental and pleural milky spots: different reactivity patterns in mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni reveals coelomic compartmentalisation.

In vertebrate animals, pleural and peritoneal cavities are repositories of milky spots (MS), which constitute an organised coelom-associated lymphomyeloid tissue that is intensively activated by Schistosoma mansoni infection. This study compared the reactive patterns of peritoneal MS to pleural MS and concluded from histological analysis that they represent independent responsive compartments. Whole omentum, lungs and the entire mediastinum of 54 S. mansoni-infected mice were studied morphologically. The omental MS of infected animals were highly activated, modulating from myeloid-lymphocytic (60 days of infection) to lymphomyeloid (90 days of infection) and lymphocytic or lymphoplasmacytic (160 days of infection) types. The non-lymphoid component predominated in the acute phase of infection and was expressed by monocytopoietic, eosinopoietic and neutropoietic foci, with isolated megakaryocytes and small foci of late normoblasts and mast cells. Nevertheless, pleural or thoracic MS of infected mice were monotonous, consisting of small and medium lymphocytes with few mast and plasma cells and no myeloid component. Our data indicate that compartmentalisation of the MS response is dependent on the lymphatic vascularisation of each coelomic cavity, limiting the effects or consequences of any stimulating or aggressive agents, as is the case with S. mansoni infection.

Isolated omental hydatid cyst: clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings.

Hydatid disease (HD) is a parasitic disease that is most commonly caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus. It is still a severe public health problem in the world and most commonly involves the liver and the lungs. However, HD can occur in almost any part of the body. Isolated omental hydatid cyst is one of the least common sites. Information about the appearance of cysts within the omentum is limited because of their extremely rare occurrence. In the evaluation of HD, clinical findings, serologic tests, and imaging methods such as plain radiography and ultrasonography are useful. This report describes the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings of omental hydatid cyst in addition to a literature review.

Disseminated hydatid disease.

Echinococcus infestation is endemic in certain parts of the world. Extrahepatic dissemination of the disease is rare. Successful management of these patients and possible routes for abdominopelvic dissemination of the disease are discussed.

Acute abdomen caused by primary torsion of the omentum in hydatid disease.

Hydatid disease is a considerable social health problem because of its endemic distribution in many countries. Although hydatid disease is usually seen in the liver or lung, it may present anywhere in the body. Here, we present a patient with a primary torsion of a hydatid cyst attached to the greater omentum with a peduncle that caused acute abdomen. This is the first report of a primary torsion of the omentum in hydatid disease. Clinicians are urged to be cognizant of the different and rare locations of hydatid disease, especially in endemic countries.

[Dirofilaria in the abdominal cavity]. / Hasüregi dirofilariasis.

Number of cases of filariasis have been recently reported in the Hungarian medical literature, most of them caused by Dirofilaria repens . Dirofilaria repens is a mosquito-transmitted filarioid worm in the subcutaneous tissue of dogs and cats. Human infection manifests as either subcutaneous nodules or lung parenchymal disease, which may even be asymptomatic. The authors report a human Dirofilaria repens infection of the abdominal cavity in a 61-year-old man,who underwent laparotomy for acute abdomen. Intraoperatively, local peritonitis was detected caused by a white nemathhelminth, measured 8 cm in size. Histocytology confirmed that the infection was caused by Dirofilaria repens.