Friday, October 29, 2010
DIAGNOSTIC PARASITOLOGY SERVICES
1-MICROSPORIDIOSIS
Causative organisms: Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon spp.
Diagnosis:
© Microscopical examination of strong trichrome stained faecal/urine smears for microsporidial spores.
© PCR technique for species differentiation.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Treatment
Albendazole is a benzimidazole derivative with broad-spectrum antihelminthic and antifungal activity. Albendazole interferes with tubulin polymerization and binds to the colchicine-binding site of beta tubulin leading to inhinition of spore germination. Clinical studies have demonstrated that albendazole is effective in clearing E. intestinalis from the gastrointestinal tract of AIDS patients, but albendazole is less effective against E. bieneusi (MacDonald et al., 2004).
Monday, October 25, 2010
Epidemiology
1. Geographical distribution and risk groups:
Microsporidiosis in humans occurs world-wide, but prevalence data vary widely because of the unreliability of detection methods (Bryan and Schwartz, 1999).
Since 1985, microsporidia have been identified as a cause of opportunistic infections associated with persistent diarrhoea and weight loss in persons with AIDS (Weber et al., 2000).
Taxonomy
Microsporidia have had a long history of being classified and reorganized into various groupings based on classical morphological studies and more recent phylogentic analyses. Nägeli (1857) placed the newly named Nosema bombycis within the group Schizomycetes, which at that time consisted of mostly yeast and bacteria. To make a clearer distinction between the Nosema sp. and other organisms in this group, in 1882 the order Microsporida was created (Franzen and Muller, 1999a and Didier et al., 2004).
Historical Perspective
During the mid-1800’s, Louis Pasteur tried to develop preventative techniques needed to stop the spread of pebrine disease, which was threatening to destroy much of the silk industry in France and Italy. Infected silkworms were described by their tegument being covered, or “peppered” with blackish marks and tissues containing oval inclusions. Pasteur recognized the importance of removing infected silkworms and mulberry leaves from silk cultivation farms to prevent further spread of the disease (Wittner, 1999 and Didier et al., 2004).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)