We present a human infection with the canine whipworm, Trichuris vulpis, in a child suffering from rhinitis with a diagnosis of rhinitis. T. vulpis eggs resemble those of T. trichiura but they can be differentiated based on their morphological features and egg size, using micrometry with an ocular micrometer. T. vulpis eggs measured an average of 90 µm by 44 µm (range 86-99 µm by 38-47 µm). Prevalence of hookworms (28.1%), Toxocara canis (11.8%), and Trichuris vulpis (3.5%) was found in 292 fecal samples of dogs collected at the peri-domicile, which showed that the risk of infection was not only fortuitous. The treatment of canine whipworm infections is similar to that of T. trichiura infection. We recommend differentiation of the 2 species for their epidemiological and prevention implications.

No abstract

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Demodex mites in eyelashes of people from different places from Oaxaca. One thousand and ten patients underwent epilation of eight eyelashes from each eye and they were processed to search Demodex which was found in 208 (20%) of the patients and among them male was more affected than female, 119 (57%) and 89 (43%), respectively. There was not found a relationship between clinical manifestations among these patients since 101 (49%) and 107 (51%) of them were symptomatic and asymptomatic, respectively. The range of age that was more affected was 96-105 (100%), followed by 86-95 (75%) and 76-85 (64%) years old. The less affected were individuals of 15-25 years old (11%). Demodex folliculorum was relatively high in the eyelashes of individuals in young and old people in the rural region studied. These people are generally the most vulnerable patients because they live in overcrowded conditions and poor hygiene which facilitates the direct infection. Demodex brevis was found in only one sample.

No abstract

Helminth β-tubulins are the targets of benzimidazole (BZM) carbamate compounds. The specificity of the interactions between such compounds and their in vivo targets depends on the presence of specific amino acid residues in the target molecules. To discover new and effective anthelmintic drugs, we used a medicinal chemistry approach to synthesize a series of BZM derivatives that exploited the BZM moiety as a template. We have previously found that one compound, 2-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-benzimidazole (RCB20), has better in vitro and in vivo activity than albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO). In the present study, the effect of RCB20 and ABZSO treatment on expression of Taenia crassiceps cysticerci cytoskeletal proteins such as actin, myosin II, and tubulin isoforms was examined. The effects of RCB20 and ABZSO after 11 days treatment of the parasites was evaluated by light, confocal, and electron microscopy, and by immunochemistry and immunohistochemistry. The RCB20-induced effects were more rapid than the ABZSO-induced effects on the parasites. In the RCB20-treated parasites, we observed gross-structural damage at the whole parasite level, particularly in the inner tissues and flame cells. Changes in the expression patterns of the cytoskeletal proteins, as assessed by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting, revealed that the most important drug-induced effect on the parasites was a reduction in the expression level of tyrosinated α-tubulins. Our research findings suggest that RCB20 treatment affected posttranslational modification of parasite α-tubulin molecules, which involved removal of the α-tubulin carboxy-terminal tyrosine.