BackgroundOver 650 million people globally are at risk of schistosomiasis infection, while more than 200 million people are infected of which the higher disease rates occur in children. Eighty three students between 6-20 years (mean 12.45 ± 3.2) from Quran School for boys in Radwan village, Gezira state were recruited to investigate for the relationship between the genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium strains and the severity of the disease.MethodSchistosoma haematobium infection was detected by filtration of urine. Ultrasonography was done on each study subject, while PCR technique was used for genotyping via random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with A01, A02, A12, Y20 and A13 primers. A01 primer gave three different genotypes (A01-1, A01-2 and A01-3).ResultsAbout 54.2% (45/83) were S. haematobium egg positive by urine filtration. On assessment of the upper and lower urinary tract by ultrasound technique, 61.4% (51/83) were positiveand73.3% (60/83) samples were PCR positive. No significant difference was found when comparing the three different genotypes with severity of the disease.ConclusionThis study concludes that no association was found between the different genotypes of S.haemtobium and the severity of the disease. Examination of more samples from different areas to identify any possible differences between the parasites genes and disease severity was recommended.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2334-14-469) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Esophageal cancer (EC) is among the most common malignancies in Eastern Africa, but the occurrence of EC in Sudan has rarely been described in the scientific literature. This paper reports the results of a consecutive case series of all EC patients who visited one of the two public cancer treatment centers in the country in 1999-2012, providing a first description of this disease in a treatment center located in central Sudan. Materials and Methods: Clinical and demographic data for all EC patients who visited the Department of Oncology of the National Cancer Institute at the University of Gezira (NCI-UG) from 1999 to the end of 2012 were abstracted and tabulated by sex, tumor type and other characteristics. Results: A total of 448 EC patients visited NCI-UG in 1999-2012, and the annual number of EC cases increased steadily from 1999. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the predominant EC tumor type (90%), and adenocarcinoma (ADC) was reported in 9.4% of the EC cases. The overall male-to-female ratio for EC was 1:1.8, but the ratio was tumor type-dependent, being 1:2 for SCC and 2:1 for ADC. Only 20% of EC patients reported having ever used tobacco and/or alcohol, and the vast majority of these patients were male. At the time of EC diagnosis, 47.3% of the patients resided in Gezira State. Some EC patients from Gezira State seek out-of-state treatment in the national capital of Khartoum instead of visiting NCI-UG. Conclusions: The annual number of EC patients visiting NCI-UG has increased in recent years, approximately half of these patients being from Gezira State. Although this consecutive series of EC patients who visited NCI-UG was complete, it did not capture all EC patients from the state. A populationbased cancer registry would provide more complete data required to better understand EC patterns and risk factors.

In a setting where SPECT is not easily available, planar imaging alone is still adequate in the vast majority of cases.

Over 650 million people globally are at risk of infection with Schistosomiasis, with more than 200 million people infected, and higher disease rates occur in children. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the Molecular diagnostic method with different diagnostic methods (urine filtration, haematuria ultrasound). Methods: Eighty three students of Quran School for boys in Radwan village, Gezira state were recruited. The mean age was 12.45±3.2 with a range between 6-20 years. Urine samples were collected. Different diagnostic methods were used. DNA was extracted from the eggs. Polymerase Chain Reaction was done for all samples. Results: Fifty-four percent of the cases were positive with urine filtration method, of whom microhaematuria was seen in 28%, while 61.4% were positive by ultrasound. Using polymerase chain reaction 73.3% of the samples were positive for Schistosoma haematobium. The comparison between the different diagnostic methods and gold Original Research Article

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