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Abstract. Due to the clinical importance of differentiating the two species of the Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar complex, we developed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method that overcomes time-consuming and laborious procedures. We report here a DNA extraction protocol using non-fixed stool samples that avoid long lysis-incubation periods through the combined use of zirconium beads and a lysis-supporting buffer. We characterized 49 of 52 stool specimens from Cuban patients with amoebiosis. Among them, 36 (75.5%) were infected only with E. dispar (the nonpathogenic species), while 13 (24.5%) displayed a mixed infection with both E. dispar and E. histolytica. The multiplex PCR protocol showed a specificity of 1.00 and a sensitivity of 0.94. Furthermore, the entire procedure can be performed in one day. This approach is therefore reliable and applicable in the field for epidemiologic studies.

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Toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) is a mayor cause of central nervous system infection in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Toxoplasma antibodies were detected in 56 of 79 patients with AIDS (71%), in the present study. Fourteen out of 57 seropositive patients developed TF (25%) and had Toxoplasma gondii antigen detected in their urine. For this, most of them received an effective therapy, with the subsequent disappearance of the symptoms and discontinuity of excretion of the T. gondii antigens. Our results suggest that the monitoring of T. gondii antigen in the urine of AIDS patients may be useful to decide on the proper time for therapy, as well as to avoid the beginning of neurologic signs in these patients.

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There is an increasing attention to the emerging health problem represented by the clinical and functional long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, referred to as postacute COVID-19 syndrome. Clinical, radiographic, and autopsy findings have shown that a high rate of fibrosis and restriction of lung function are present in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Patients with active TB, or those who have recovered from it, have fibrotic scarred lungs and, consequently, some degree of impaired respiratory function. Helminth infections trigger predominantly type 2 immune responses and the release of regulatory and fibrogenic cytokines, such as TGF-β. Here, we analyze the possible consequences of the overlapping of pulmonary fibrosis secondary to COVID-19 and tuberculosis in the setting of sub-Saharan Africa, the region of the world with the highest prevalence of helminth infection.