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 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This review of the immunological diagnosis of parasitic diseases defines the various indications, the means of collection and preparation, the various levels of specificity and the choice of parasitic antigen which should be used for immuno-diagnosis. The detection and assay of circulating antibodies relies on the techniques of immuno-precipitation (immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, electrosyneresis), indirect agglutination (latex and haemagglutination) or the use of labelled compounds (immunofluorescence, enzymo-immunoassay, radio-immunoassay). Their respective advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The detection and assay of circulating antigens involve the use of agglutination techniques (mycoses), radio-immunoassay or enzymo-immunoassay (protozooses and helminthiases). The authors review the applications of immunological diagnosis for the helminthiases (Trichinosis, Toxocarosis, Filariasis, Anguillosis, Ascaridiasis, Echinococcosis, Taeniasis and Cysticercosis, Distomatosis and Schistosomiasis), the protozoan infections (malaria, Toxoplasmosis, Amebiasis, Trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniasis) and the mycoses (Aspergillosis, Candidiasis, Cryptococcosis). They also discuss the prospects for the development of immunological diagnosis by identification, purification and standardization of parasitic antigens and the study of circulating antigens and idiotypic anti-parasitic antibodies. Finally, they outline the respective responsibilities of the biologist and the prescribing doctor for the proper use of immunological diagnosis of parasitic diseases.
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PMID:[Current methods of immunologic diagnosis in parasitology]. 636

The dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Dot-ELISA), standard ELISA and the complement fixation (CF) tests were compared in the serodiagnosis of African visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar). Assay sensitivity was determined using sera from 44 patients with parasitologically confirmed kala-azar. Using the Dot-ELISA, 42 of 44 patients (95%) were positive at a reciprocal titer of greater than or equal to 32 (titer range 512-524 288). In the standard ELISA technique, 43 of 44 patients (98%) were positive (titer range 32-32 768). At a reciprocal titer of greater than or equal to 8 in the CF test, 35 patients (80%) were positive, 1 (2%) was negative and 8 patients (18%) showed anticomplementary (AC) activity (titer range 8-2048). Specificity, determined using 33 sera from healthy individuals not living in endemic areas, was 97% in both the Dot-ELISA and the standard ELISA (32 of 33 sera); in he CF test, all sera were negative except 1 (3%) which showed AC activity. Sera from patients with Chagas' disease cross-reacted in the dot-ELISA up to a titer of 512. In the standard ELISA, cross-reactions occurred mainly using sera from patients with Chagas' disease, malaria and syphilis, and to a lesser extent with sera from amebiasis, schistosomiasis and trichinosis patients. Overall titer agreement in replicate experiments was highest in the Dot-ELISA (89%), followed by the standard ELISA (80%) and the CF test (72%).
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PMID:Dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Dot-ELISA): comparison with standard ELISA and complement fixation assays for the diagnosis of human visceral leishmaniasis. 643 37

Immunodiagnostic tests for human protozoan and helminthic infections are reviewed. The need for immunodiagnostic tests varies with each infection but is of paramount importance in those infections that cannot be parasitologically diagnosed readily such as toxoplasmosis, pneumocystosis, Chagas' disease, trichinosis, hydatidosis, cysticercosis, and visceral larva migrans. Immunoassays are also needed for those worldwide highly prevalent infections with severe morbidity to be used in seroepidemiology and in the follow-up evaluation of control programs. The most important are malaria, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, and trypanosomiasis. Major advances have been made in the use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a practical and rapid test for use in endemic countries and in the identification and isolation of diagnostic parasite antigens aided in particular by the use of monoclonal antibodies. Development of immunodiagnostic tests for specific parasite antigens in body fluids for many infections is being actively pursued.
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PMID:Immunodiagnostic tests for protozoan and helminthic infections. 643 27

Considerable resources have been allocated over the years to parasitic disease eradication or control, e.g. malaria and schistosomiasis. Decision-makers in recent years have increasingly appealed to economists seeking an economic justification in order to continue or renew support for such programmatic efforts. Often economists when facing such an analytical task have employed benefit-cost or cost-effectiveness analytical techniques. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical rationale employed in the conduct of such studies, focusing particularly on the benefits or impact indicators used. The review identifies many problems encountered in identifying benefits, and then measuring and valuing them.
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PMID:Theoretical and empirical issues in benefit identification, measurement and valuation related to parasitic disease control in poor countries. 644 Dec 57

The exotic diseases are still far from a daily preoccupation and sometimes face the physician with unusual problems. Two classical situations are reported: eosinophilia of parasitic origin, and three examples of asymptomatic parasitosis. Eosinophilia is a classical sign accompanying multicellular parasites (helminths). The rate depends on the duration of the disease, the type of parasite and the scale of the infestation. Pathological eosinophilia is usually present before diagnosis is possible; hence it is necessary to repeat laboratory examinations. Several parasitic diseases are asymptomatic and, after a long evolution, cause serious complications. Examples quoted are malaria, for which there is no absolute prophylaxis, amoebiasis, which is responsible for hepatic necrosis in patients who have never had dysentery, and schistosomiasis, which insidiously causes irreversible hepatic necrosis and ureteral stenosis. These conditions are becoming increasingly frequent in our countries and call for closer attention.
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PMID:[Eosinophilia and dormant parasitosis]. 647 28

In Niger, the infectious risk is of real concern in the field of the pathology of the adult, mainly caused by the major endemic diseases: Parasitic diseases such as malaria, bilharziasis, cutaneous leishmaniasis and recently visceral leishmaniasis, Bacterial diseases such as enterobacterial diseases, amibiasis, meningococcal diseases, tuberculosis, leprosy and treponematosis, Virus diseases such as arbovirus diseases and probably viral hepatitis. On the whole, the rate of occurrence and prevalence are not more significant than those in the neighbouring countries. On the other hand, diseases prevailing all over the world do not save the indigenous. Some recent hospital statistics demonstrate that the disease of the liver and the digestive system (28.8 pc), the respiratory diseases (16.49 pc), and the cardiovascular diseases (14.63 pc) are prevalent.
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PMID:[The danger of infection and common medical pathology among adults in the Sahel. Niger as an example]. 648 27

The vector and soil transmitted parasitic infections produce a highly diverse group of diseases in terms of the importance of their impact upon human populations and in terms of the control methods that might limit that impact. In Ghana a method was developed for quantitatively assessing the relative importance of different disease problems by estimating the amount of healthy life lost through illness, disability and death as a result of each disease. The quantitative assessment is derived from information on incidence rate, case fatality rate and the extent and duration of disability produced by the disease. The method may be used to help decide the priorities for the allocation of resources to alternative procedures or programmes by calculating the amount of healthy days of life which may be saved by different approaches and then relating these savings to the costs of the approaches. Each of the vector and soil transmitted parasitic diseases in Ghana had special characteristics that influenced the estimates of their relative importance. Attribution of death due to malaria posed special problems, but even with the most conservative estimate malaria was the single most important cause of loss of healthy life of all diseases in Ghana. For schistosomiasis there is such great uncertainty concerning how much disability or mortality that results from infection that the relative importance of schistosomiasis could not be usefully estimated; thus research into the extent of disability and death caused by schistosomiasis should have a very high priority if rational allocation of resources for its control is to be achieved. Onchocerciasis, though not generally considered an important cause of mortality, is an important cause of chronic severe disability. The importance of ascariasis and hookworm remain uncertain both because of the lack of information as to the extent of disability and mortality that they produce and the lack of data in Ghana as to their prevalence and intensity of infection. Guinea worm was of little importance from the national point of view, but was highly important in focal areas. Trypanosomiasis would appear to be of minor importance because its incidence was quite low, but for an epidemic disease such as trypanosomiasis the importance must be estimated based on what would occur if there were not effective surveillance and control methods. Diverse though this group of parasitic diseases is a common thesis is that each has been relatively neglected in relation to its importance and for each a considerable reduction in loss of healthy life should be achievable at reasonable cost.
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PMID:The application of a quantitative approach to the assessment of the relative importance of vector and soil transmitted diseases in Ghana. 652 50

Basing on their personal investigations, literature data and statistic archives, the authors have tried to establish the geographical distribution of the main parasitic diseases in Tunisia which require a curative action together with an action on the environment for their eradication. Three of these disease are transmitted by vectors: Malaria, Leishmaniasis, Schistosomiasis; and three others are transmitted by soil: Hydatidosis, Ancylostomiasis and Strongyloidiasis.
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PMID:[Geography of major parasitosis in Tunisia]. 653 11

A micro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay utilizing antigen dotted onto nitrocellulose filter discs (Dot-ELISA) was developed for the rapid diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. Leishmania donovani promastigotes applied to filter discs in volumes of 1 microliter were placed in 96-well microtiter plates, blocked with bovine serum albumin, then incubated with 4-fold dilutions of patient sera. After incubation with peroxidase-conjugated anti-human antibody, washing and addition of precipitable substrate, positive reactions appeared as blue dots on a white background which were easily read by eye. The procedure is performed at room temperature, takes about 2 h and is economical. At a reciprocal diagnostic titer of greater than or equal to 32, 41 of 42 (98%) leishmaniasis patients were positive, and positive titers ranged from 512 to 524,288. Control sera from healthy individuals showed 1 of 50 (2%) false positive reactions. Sera from patients with African trypanosomiasis, Chagas' disease, and lupus erythematosus were cross-reactive in the Dot-ELISA. No cross-reactivity was noted with sera from patients with amebiasis, coccidioidomycosis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, viral hepatitis, hydatidosis, malaria, schistosomiasis, syphilis, toxoplasmosis or trichinosis. In replicate experiments, 90% of 167 sera tested did not vary in titer. This rapid and inexpensive test should prove to be an important field diagnostic technique for visceral leishmaniasis.
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PMID:Dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Dot-ELISA): a micro technique for the rapid diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. 654 6

A study was conducted between January and August 1979 on 150 male roadworkers in Kwale District in the coastal lowlands of Kenya. At the baseline examination 59% had hookworm (mean of 227 epg +/- 541), 38% had infections of Schistosoma haematobium (mean 52 +/- 82 ova per 10 ml urine), 23% had a blood film positive for malarial parasites, 47% had anaemia (Hb below 13g/dl), and 31% had a percentage weight for height below 80% of a reference value for healthy men. It was found that anaemia was significantly associated with hookworm infections and egg counts. Three interventions were evaluated. These consisted of providing pyrantel pamoate for hookworm to all men, treating the S. haematobium infections with metrifonate, and giving weekly chloroquine prophylaxis for suppression of malaria to one group of men. A final examination conducted 16 weeks later showed a significant improvement in haemoglobin levels in anaemic men treated for hookworm and in those receiving chloroquine compared with those receiving placebos. Multiple regression analyses revealed that both hookworm and S. haematobium egg counts were associated with anaemia at the baseline examinations, that factors related to the treatment of hookworm and prophylaxis for suppression of malaria were related to haemoglobin increases in anaemic men, and that successful treatment of urinary schistosomiasis was associated with weight gain. The feasibility of the interventions was good and the costs moderately low.
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PMID:Parasitic infections, anaemia and nutritional status: a study of their interrelationships and the effect of prophylaxis and treatment on workers in Kwale District, Kenya. 667 63


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