Human infection by Dirofilaria repens in Serbia has been increasing steadily. The first case was reported in 1971, presented in the form of a single subcutaneous nodule on the back of a young boy. As established by a literature search, eight additional cases were reported until mid-2001. The most frequent site of infection was subcutaneous tissue, with the exception of two cases, in which parasites were found in subconjunctiva and epididymis. Our study, conducted from 2001 to 2008, encompasses 19 new cases. Most of them (63.1%) presented as ocular or periocular infections, in which the parasite was typically found under the conjunctiva. In other cases a parasitic nodule was localized in the temporal region of the head, epididymis, testicle, abdomen, breast or arm. The diagnosis was made by morphological and histological analysis of the extracted intact worms and parasite sections from the tissue. Morphology of the filarial worms was well preserved in more than half of the cases (12/19) and there was never more than one parasite found inside the lesions. Adult worms and immature nematodes were observed in nine and seven cases, respectively. Furthermore, in two cases microfilariae were discovered inside the pseudocoelom, sections of the female reproductive tubes filled with clearly visible larval stages. Dirofilaria repens infection was diagnosed by its morphological features (17/19) or by performing polymerase chain reactions (PCR) using paraffin-embedded tissues (2/19) in the cases where the morphology was insufficient for identification and the parasites had been determined initially as Dirofilaria spp. The amplified 246 bp PCR product showed that the worms were D. repens.
AbstractGiardiasis is a parasitic infection of the digestive tract, most commonly occurring in closed communities such as schools, kindergartens, prisons, and campuses. The civil war in the former Yugoslav republics and in Kosovo caused a large number of refugees to take shelter in the territory of Serbia. Such large numbers of refugees could be accommodated only in the collective centers. Our aim was to examine the differences in the prevalence of asymptomatic giardiasis among 122 refugees from the former Yugoslav republics who lived in the collective centers in Nis, Serbia, and 241 native Nis inhabitants. Conventional microscopic examination (CME) of three stool samples with or without concentration technique and the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) methods were used. The CME method of three stool samples is considered the gold standard in our statistical survey. Asymptomatic giardiasis is found in 7 refugees (5.7%) using the EIA method, while using the CME (3 samples) Giardia duodenalis (G. duodenalis) was detected in 6 persons (4.9%). Using the EIA method and the CME (3 samples) G. duodenalis was detected in only 1 person in the population group of native inhabitants (0.4%). Asymptomatic giardiasis was more prevalent in the population group of refugees accommodated in collective centers than in native inhabitants in the Nis municipality, Serbia.
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