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Frontiers in Immunology 2024Encephalitozoon hellem (E. hellem) infection is a zoonotic disease, rarely observed in individuals, causing various clinical manifestations including diarrhea,...
BACKGROUND
Encephalitozoon hellem (E. hellem) infection is a zoonotic disease, rarely observed in individuals, causing various clinical manifestations including diarrhea, keratoconjunctivitis, cystitis, etc. E. hellem infection after hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is a rare, serious complication.
CASE PRESENTATION
Herein, we present a case of E. hellem infection developing during HLA-haploidentical HSCT in a 9-year-old boy who suffered from aplastic anemia. On 15 days after HSCT, the patient developed recurrent and prolonged fever, diarrhea and hematuria. It is challenging to differentiate whether the symptoms mentioned in this case are caused by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or a specific infection. Based on the result of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and clinical observation, the patient was diagnosed as E. hellem infection, and received albendazole and decreased the immunosuppressive treatment. Finally, he had recovered.
CONCLUSION
We should pay attention to the uncommon disease caused by the E. hellem infection after HSCT, especially in cases with immune reconstitution unrecovered. Among those rare infection, mNGS can be performed for better understanding the source of infection and targeted therapy, which can benefit the patients.
Topics: Humans; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Male; Child; Transplantation, Haploidentical; Anemia, Aplastic; Albendazole; Graft vs Host Disease; Transplantation, Homologous
PubMed: 38863712
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1396260 -
BMJ Case Reports Jun 2024Rarer causes of acute pancreatitis may be considered in certain settings, such as parasitism in endemic regions. This report describes a pregnant female (second...
Rarer causes of acute pancreatitis may be considered in certain settings, such as parasitism in endemic regions. This report describes a pregnant female (second trimester) in her 20s who presented with 3-day steady epigastric pain radiating to the back and passage of worm from the mouth. She was diagnosed with mild acute pancreatitis, given a significantly elevated serum lipase and absence of organ failures. Fecalysis showed ova; hence, she was treated with mebendazole. Plain MR cholangiopancreatography showed an 842 mL necrotic pancreatic fluid collection and tubular flow void foci within the gallbladder and duodenum consistent with helminthiasis. The patient was managed conservatively in the absence of indications for drainage. The abdominal pain remarkably improved, and she underwent eventual vacuum-assisted delivery to a healthy term baby 4 months after the bout of acute pancreatitis.
Topics: Humans; Female; Ascariasis; Pregnancy; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing; Animals; Ascaris lumbricoides; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic; Adult; Mebendazole; Abdominal Pain; Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance
PubMed: 38862191
DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2024-260316 -
PloS One 2024In Sudan, resistance to benzimidazoles has been reported recently in cattle and goats from South Darfur. Herein, ivermectin efficacy against gastrointestinal nematodes...
In Sudan, resistance to benzimidazoles has been reported recently in cattle and goats from South Darfur. Herein, ivermectin efficacy against gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) was evaluated in sheep and goats in three study areas in South Darfur. The faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) was used to evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin in sheep and goats naturally infected with GINs in the region of Bulbul (goats: n = 106), Kass (goats: n = 40) and Nyala (Domaia (sheep: n = 47, goats: n = 77) and the University farm (goats: n = 52)), using different treatment plans, and the efficacy was evaluated 12 days after treatment. Ivermectin efficacy was also evaluated in goats experimentally infected using local Haemonchus contortus isolates from Kass and Nyala. Nematodes surviving ivermectin treatment in goats in Bulbul and Nyala were harvested and larvae used to infect worm-free male sheep (n = 6, ≤6 months old). Infected sheep were dosed subcutaneously with ivermectin every eight days with increasing doses from 0.2 mg/kg to 1.6 mg/kg bodyweight (bw). Reduced ivermectin efficacy was identified in sheep and goats in the four study locations. Using a paired statistic, the efficacy of a therapeutic dose in sheep was 75.6% (90% upper credible limit (UCrL): 77.5%), while twice the recommended dose led to a reduction of 92.6% (90% UCrL: 93.3%). In goats, the FECRs of a therapeutic dose were 72.9-95.3% (90% UCrL range: 73.6-95.7%) in Bulbul, Nyala Domaia, Nyala University farm and Kass. Twice the dose recommended for goats in Bulbul revealed a 90% UCrL of 87.6%. All post-treatment faecal cultures contained only Haemonchus spp. larvae. The experimental infection trials in sheep and goats supported our findings from field trials and calculated upper 90% CrL of below 98.9%. For the first time highly ivermectin resistant H. contortus populations have been identified in sheep and goats in Sudan, and resistance was experimentally confirmed.
Topics: Animals; Goats; Ivermectin; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Goat Diseases; Sudan; Drug Resistance; Nematode Infections; Feces; Male; Parasite Egg Count; Nematoda; Anthelmintics; Haemonchus
PubMed: 38861496
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301554 -
Journal of Korean Medical Science Jun 2024Herein, we report a case of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with late parasitological failure in a 45-year-old businessman returning from Ghana. The patient visited the...
Herein, we report a case of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with late parasitological failure in a 45-year-old businessman returning from Ghana. The patient visited the emergency department with high fever, headache, and dizziness. He traveled without antimalarial chemoprophylaxis. Laboratory tests led to the diagnosis of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with an initial density of 37,669 parasites per μL of blood (p/μL). The patient was treated with intravenous artesunate followed by atovaquone/proguanil. He was discharged with improved condition and decreased parasite density of 887 p/μL. However, at follow-up, parasite density increased to 7,630 p/μL despite the absence of any symptoms. Suspecting treatment failure, the patient was administered intravenous artesunate and doxycycline for seven days and then artemether/lumefantrine for three days. Blood smear was negative for asexual parasitemia after re-treatment but positive for gametocytemia until day 101 from the initial diagnosis. Overall, this case highlights the risk of late parasitological failure in patients with imported uncomplicated falciparum malaria.
Topics: Humans; Malaria, Falciparum; Ghana; Antimalarials; Middle Aged; Male; Plasmodium falciparum; Proguanil; Atovaquone; Travel; Artemisinins; Artesunate; Parasitemia; Doxycycline; Drug Combinations; Treatment Failure; Artemether, Lumefantrine Drug Combination
PubMed: 38859743
DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e186 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jun 2024The WHO recommends mass drug administration (MDA) for intestinal worm infections in areas with over 20% infection prevalence. Recent Cochrane meta-analyses endorse... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The WHO recommends mass drug administration (MDA) for intestinal worm infections in areas with over 20% infection prevalence. Recent Cochrane meta-analyses endorse treatment of infected individuals but recommend against MDA. We conducted a theory-agnostic random-effects meta-analysis of the effect of multiple-dose MDA and a cost-effectiveness analysis. We estimate significant effects of MDA on child weight (0.15 kg, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.24; < 0.001), mid-upper arm circumference (0.20 cm, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.37; = 0.02), and height (0.09 cm, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.16; = 0.02) when prevalence is over 20% but not on Hb (0.06 g/dL, 95% CI: -0.01, 0.14; = 0.1). These results suggest that MDA is a cost-effective intervention, particularly in the settings where it is recommended by the WHO.
Topics: Humans; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Helminthiasis; Mass Drug Administration; Anthelmintics; Public Policy; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Child
PubMed: 38857387
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2308733121 -
Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences Aug 2024a stomach worm, is prevalent in ruminants worldwide. They particularly hamper profitable small ruminant production. Here, we estimate the genetic variation of...
a stomach worm, is prevalent in ruminants worldwide. They particularly hamper profitable small ruminant production. Here, we estimate the genetic variation of collected from slaughtered goats and sheep from various geographic zones of Bangladesh using multiple genes. To perform this, adult parasites were isolated from the abomasum of slaughtered animals (sheep and goats). Among them, 79 male were identified by microscopy. Following the extraction of DNA, and genes were amplified and subsequently considered for sequencing. After alignment and editing, sequences were analyzed to find out sequence variation, diversity pattern of genes, and population genetics of isolates. Among the sequence data, the analyses identified 19 genotypes of and 77 haplotypes of genes. The diversity of nucleotides was 0.0103 for and 0.029 for gene. The dendogram constructed by the genotype and haplotype sequences of revealed that two populations were circulating in Bangladesh without any demarcation of host and geographic regions. Analysis of population genetics demonstrated a high flow of genes (89.2 %) within the population of the worm in Bangladesh. The Fst value showed very little amount of genetic difference among the worm populations of Bangladesh but marked genetic variation between different continents. The findings are expected to help explain the risks of anthelmintic resistance and the transmission pattern of the parasite, and also provide a control strategy against .
PubMed: 38854893
DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2024.104030 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Brugia malayi are thread-like parasitic worms and one of the etiological agents of Lymphatic filariasis (LF). Existing anthelmintic drugs to treat LF are effective in...
Brugia malayi are thread-like parasitic worms and one of the etiological agents of Lymphatic filariasis (LF). Existing anthelmintic drugs to treat LF are effective in reducing the larval microfilaria (mf) counts in human bloodstream but are less effective on adult parasites. To test potential drug candidates, we report a multi-parameter phenotypic assay based on tracking the motility of adult B. malayi and mf in vitro. For adult B. malayi, motility is characterized by the centroid velocity, path curvature, angular velocity, eccentricity, extent, and Euler Number. These parameters are evaluated in experiments with three anthelmintic drugs. For B. malayi mf, motility is extracted from the evolving body skeleton to yield positional data and bending angles at 74 key point. We achieved high-fidelity tracking of complex worm postures (self-occlusions, omega turns, body bending, and reversals) while providing a visual representation of pose estimates and behavioral attributes in both space and time scales.
Topics: Brugia malayi; Animals; Microfilariae; Phenotype; Humans; Elephantiasis, Filarial; Anthelmintics
PubMed: 38849355
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62692-x -
Nature Communications Jun 2024Chloroxylenol is a worldwide commonly used disinfectant. The massive consumption and relatively high chemical stability of chloroxylenol have caused eco-toxicological...
Chloroxylenol is a worldwide commonly used disinfectant. The massive consumption and relatively high chemical stability of chloroxylenol have caused eco-toxicological threats in receiving waters. We noticed that chloroxylenol has a chemical structure similar to numerous halo-phenolic disinfection byproducts. Solar detoxification of some halo-phenolic disinfection byproducts intrigued us to select a rapidly degradable chloroxylenol alternative from them. In investigating antimicrobial activities of disinfection byproducts, we found that 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone was 9.0-22 times more efficient than chloroxylenol in inactivating the tested bacteria, fungi and viruses. Also, the developmental toxicity of 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone to marine polychaete embryos decreased rapidly due to its rapid degradation via hydrolysis in receiving seawater, even without sunlight. Our work shows that 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone is a promising disinfectant that well addresses human biosecurity and environmental sustainability. More importantly, our work may enlighten scientists to exploit the slightly alkaline nature of seawater and develop other industrial products that can degrade rapidly via hydrolysis in seawater.
Topics: Disinfectants; Disinfection; Seawater; Animals; Hydrolysis; Polychaeta; Fungi; Bacteria; Chlorophenols; Viruses; Humans; Xylenes
PubMed: 38849332
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48752-w -
Endoscopy Dec 2024
Topics: Humans; Clonorchiasis; Clonorchis sinensis; Animals; Male; Endoscopy, Digestive System; Anthelmintics; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde
PubMed: 38848763
DOI: 10.1055/a-2333-9258 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2024Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a rare genetic disorder characterised by numerous renal cysts, the progressive expansion of which can impact...
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a rare genetic disorder characterised by numerous renal cysts, the progressive expansion of which can impact kidney function and lead eventually to renal failure. Tolvaptan is the only disease-modifying drug approved for the treatment of ADPKD, however its poor side effect and safety profile necessitates the need for the development of new therapeutics in this area. Using a combination of transcriptomic and machine learning computational drug discovery tools, we predicted that a number of existing drugs could have utility in the treatment of ADPKD, and subsequently validated several of these drug predictions in established models of disease. We determined that the anthelmintic mebendazole was a potent anti-cystic agent in human cellular and models of ADPKD, and is likely acting through the inhibition of microtubule polymerisation and protein kinase activity. These findings demonstrate the utility of combining computational approaches to identify and understand potential new treatments for traditionally underserved rare diseases.
PubMed: 38846086
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1397864