We have used nuclear (ribosomal ITS1) and mitochondrial (ND1) sequences to characterize human and pig isolates of Echinococcus granulosus collected by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in Poland. The data indicate clearly that the Polish patients were not infected with the common sheep strain (G1 genotype) of E. granulosus, normally associated with human cystic hydatid infection. Instead, the hydatid parasite infecting the Polish patients shares very similar ND1 sequence with the previously characterized pig (G7) genotype but it also exhibits some clear differences. In particular, E. granulosus DNA from the Polish patients amplified a single ITS1 fragment in PCR and distinct ITS1-RFLP patterns were obtained after restriction digestion. The form of hydatid isolated from the Polish patients appears, therefore, to represent a distinct, previously undescribed genotype (designated G9) of E. granulosus.

BackgroundAlveolar echinococcosis (AE) caused by Echinococcus multilocularis infections is a dangerous old disease in the Northern Hemisphere. The aim of the paper was to collect and analyze data on human AE in Poland in the last two decades.Methodology/Principal FindingsThe sources of data were both the cases officially registered and detected by an active field and laboratory surveillance. The cases were verified by clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory criteria. Altogether 121 human cases of AE were detected. Among these 83 (68,6%) cases were classified as confirmed, 16 as probable and 22 as possible. During the two decades a continuous increase in detection rate was noticed. The cases were 6–82 years old at the time of diagnosis (mean - 47.7 years). Sex ratio M/F was 0.86/1.0. The AE was fatal in 23 (19%) patients (mean age at death - 54.1 years). Family agglomeration of AE was found in 4 foci, involving 9 patients. Seventy six of the cases were diagnosed in an advanced stage of disease. In all cases the liver was the primary location of AE. In 30 (24.8%) patients a spread to other organs was observed. Ninety four of the patients were treated with albendazole. In 73 (60%) patients a surgical operation was performed, including 15 liver transplantations.Conclusions/SignificanceThe studies confirmed that AE is an emerging disease in Poland, which is the fourth country in Europe with over 120 cases detected. The results also indicate the need of a wider national programme for implementation of screening in the highest AE risk areas (north-eastern Poland) with an effort to increase the public awareness of the possibility of contracting E. multilocularis, and above all, training of the primary care physicians in the recognition of the risk of AE to allow for an early detection of this dangerous disease.

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Introduction: Ocular toxocarosis associated with high peripheral eosinophilia and together with systemic signs of visceral damage has been reported sporadically. Eye infections caused by numerous migrating larvae of Toxocara parasites, probably due to re-invasion or delayed reactivation, and leading to a progressive loss of vision is relatively rare. We report three atypical cases of toxocarosis with the co-existence of ocular larva migrans syndrome and generalized signs of Toxocara infection in schoolboys.

The present study compares the immunogenic patterns of muscle larvae excretory-secretory proteins (ML E-S) from T. spiralis and T. britovi recognized by Trichinella-infected human sera. Samples were analyzed using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled with 2D-immunoblot and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS analysis, two ELISA procedures and a confirmatory 1D-immunoblot test. Sera were obtained from nine patients with a history of ingestion of raw or undercooked meat who presented typical clinical manifestations of trichinellosis and from eleven healthy people. Specific anti-Trichinella IgG antibodies were detected in all samples tested with the Home-ELISA kits, but in only four samples for the commercially-available kit. The 1D-immunoblot results indicated that all nine serum samples were positive for T. spiralis ML E-S antigens, expressed as the presence of specific bands. In contrast, eight of the serum samples with T. britovi E-S ML antigens were positive, with one serum sample taken from a patient at 33dpi (days post infection) being negative. To identify immunoreactive proteins that are specifically recognized by host antibodies, both species of ML E-S proteins were subjected to 2D-immunoblotting with human serum taken at 49 dpi. The sera recognized 22 protein spots for T. spiralis and 18 for T. britovi in 2D-immunoblot analysis. Their molecular weights (MW) ranged from 50 to 60 kDa. LC-MS/MS analysis identified both common and specifically-recognized immunoreactive proteins: transmembrane serine protease 9, serine protease, antigen targeted by protective antibodies and Actin-1 partial were shared for both Trichinella species; hypothetical protein T01_7775 and P49 antigen, partial those specific to T. spiralis; deoxyribonuclease-2-alpha and hypothetical protein T03_17187/T12_7360 were specific to T. britovi. Our results demonstrate the value of 2-DE and 2D-immunblot as versatile tools for pinpointing factors contributing to the parasite-host relationship by comparing the secretomes of different Trichinella species.