CL users were more exposed to AK and should gain enough health education regarding proper lens hygiene and dangers of tap water exposure.

The liver fluke Fasciola gigantica is a trematode parasite of ruminants and humans that occurs naturally in Africa and Asia. Cases of human fascioliasis, attributable at least in part to F. gigantica, are significantly increasing in the last decades. The introduced snail species Galba truncatula was already identified to be an important intermediate host for this parasite and the efficient invader Pseudosuccinea columella is another suspect in this case. Therefore, we investigated snails collected in irrigation canals in Fayoum governorate in Egypt for prevalence of trematodes with focus on P. columella and its role for the transmission of F. gigantica. Species were identified morphologically and by partial sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI). Among all 689 snails found at the 21 sampling sites, P. columella was the most abundant snail with 296 individuals (42.96%) and it was also the most dominant species at 10 sites. It was not found at 8 sites. Molecular detection by PCR and sequencing of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) revealed infections with F. gigantica (3.38%), Echinostoma caproni (2.36%) and another echinostome (7.09%) that could not be identified further according to its sequence. No dependency of snail size and trematode infection was found. Both high abundance of P. columella in the Fayoum irrigation system and common infection with F. gigantica might be a case of parasite spill-back (increased prevalence in local final hosts due to highly susceptible introduced intermediate host species) from the introduced P. columella to the human population, explaining at least partly the observed increase of reported fascioliasis-cases in Egypt. Eichhornia crassipes, the invasive water hyacinth, which covers huge areas of the irrigation canals, offers safe refuges for the amphibious P. columella during molluscicide application. As a consequence, this snail dominates snail communities and efficiently transmits F. gigantica.

The aim of this study is to evaluate four drug regimens for treatment of scabies as regard their efficacy, acceptability and cost effectiveness. Two hundred cases with ordinary scabies were randomized into four groups. First group received ivermectin 200 μg/kg body weight single oral dose, repeated after one week. The second received benzyl benzoate 20% cream. The third received permethrin 2.5%-5% lotion, whereas the fourth group received 5-10% sulfur ointment. Topical treatments were applied for five consecutive nights. Patients were followed up for two weeks for cure rate and adverse effects. At the end of the study, permethrin provided a significant efficacy of 88% and acceptability in 100% of cases, but had higher cost to treat one case (20.25 LE). Ivermectin provided efficacy and acceptability rates of 84% and 96%, respectively, and had a cheaper cost (9.5 LE). Benzyl benzoate provided 80% for both rates and was the cheapest drug. Sulfur ointment provided the least rates, and it was the most expensive. Treatment choice will depend on the age, the general condition of cases, patient compliance to topical treatment and his ability to stick to its roles, and the economic condition of the patient.

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CcAE (25, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 500 μg/ml) was in vitro incubated with G. lamblia trophozoites in comparison with metronidazole (MTZ 10 and 25 μg/ml). Growth inhibition was evaluated after 3, 24, and 48 h of drug exposure. Infected groups of mice were orally treated for 7 days with CcAE at 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg/day/mouse, in comparison with a group treated with 15 mg/kg/day/mouse MTZ for the same period. The total phenolic components (TPC), the total flavonoid components (TFC), the 2,2,diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, and the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantitative and qualitative phenolic content were chemically estimated. After 24 and 48 h of in vitro incubation, the estimated minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were 500 and 400 μg/ml, respectively, and the concentrations that induced 50% growth inhibition (IC) were 93.8 and 60.4 μg/ml, respectively (P < 0.001). Mice given 500 mg/kg CcAE showed 100% stool clearance of G. lamblia stages, similar to MTZ-treated control group (P < 0.001). The TPC was 10.7 ± 0.2 mg GAE/g and the TFC was 23.9 ± 0.3 mg quercetin/g, and the estimated IC for DPPH free radical scavenging was 16.4 ± 0.1 mg/ml. HPLC revealed the major phenolic components of CcAE to be carnosic acid, p-coumaric acid, cinnamiac acid, quercetin, rutin, and chlorogenic acid. In conclusion, CcAE is significantly effective against G. lamblia in vitro and in vivo, and has considerable phenolic and antioxidant properties.

Background: Prolonged maintenance of infective Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites (T.g.T.) is an important subject for research purposes. This study aimed to evaluate four serum free fluid media for prolonged in vitro maintenance of T.g.T. Methods: The four fluid media Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) pH 7.2 and Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI-1640) with or without 3% fetal bovine serum (FBS) were evaluated for maintenance of virulent T.g. T. The four media were tested after incubation at three different temperature degrees in the darkness. Results: Prolonged maintenance period for infective T.g.T. was recorded especially in the absence of FBS supplement. RPMI without FBS was able to maintain infective T.g.T. for 16 days post incubation (dpi) at refrigerator temperature. This period decreased to 10 dpi and 6 dpi after incubation in the same media at 18-22°C and 37°C, respectively. Cultivation of T.g.T. in RPMI supplemented with 3% FBS and in PBS proved to maintain infective T.g.T. for 14 dpi at refrigerator temperature, and for 9 and 5 dpi when the two media were incubated at 18-22°C and 37°C, respectively. Shorter periods for keeping the T.g.T. infectivity were recorded using PBS supplemented with 3% FBS under all tested temperature conditions. Conclusion: This method allows economic long-lasting maintenance of tachyzoites for 16th dpi in RBMI that can be reactivated by reinoculation in mice.