Objectives:The aim of this work is to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and bacteria among the food handlers.Materials and Methods:Two hundred food-handlers were subjected to a cross-sectional study working in the kitchen of a tertiary care hospital, i.e., Alnoor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia from February 2 to 27, 2009. The stool samples were examined for intestinal parasites following direct microscopic examination, formol ether concentration (Ritchie), and staining with modified acid fast staining techniques. For enteropathogenic bacteria samples were inoculated onto MacConkey's agar, deoxycholate citrate agar, xylose lysine deoxycholate agar as per the World Health Organization protocol. Fingernail materials were examined microscopically for enteropathogenic bacteria and parasites.Results:The majority (80%) of the food-handlers were young adults aged from 22 to 42 years. No intestinal parasites were detected from fingernail contents. Forty six (23%) stool specimens were positive for intestinal para¬sites. Giardia lamblia 18 (9%) was most frequent among the 10 different types of detected intestinal parasites followed by Entamoeba histolytica 9 (4.5%). No pathogenic bacteria were detected in all stool samples, whereas finger nails showed isolation of microorganisms as coagulase-negative staphylococci 79 (39.5%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus 35 (17.5%).Conclusion:The findings emphasized the importance of food handlers as potential sources of infections and suggested health institutions for appropriate hygienic and sanitary control measures.

Background: Hydatidosis is an infection caused by the cystic larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus. This disease is a zoonotic disease has a worldwide distribution and common in developing and undeveloped countries. Objectives: The objective of the present study is to studying the infection rate and predilection seats of hydatid cyst affections among slaughtered food animals in Aswan Governorate, southern Egypt and study the effect of age and sex of infected slaughtered animals on the infection with hydatid cyst. Also, study the effect of seasonal variations in the infection with hydatid cyst among slaughtered animals. In addition, the macroscopic examination, microscopic examination, scanning electron microscopy and histopathological studies for the collected hydatid cyst are examined. Methods: This investigation was carried out from August 2015 to July 2016 in two main slaughterhouses in Aswan Governorate to study the hydatidosis in camels and sheep. By routine meat inspection, hydatid cyst count and characterization was conducted. Findings: A total of 2080 camels and 674 sheep were examined. Of these, 173 (8.32%) camels and 3 (0.45%) sheep were found to harbour one or more hydatid cysts. Female and older age slaughtered animals were more susceptible to infection with these metacestode than males and younger animals. Hydatid cyst infection in slaughtered animals is most commonly found in lung followed by liver while mixed infection in both lung and liver was found only in camel. Hydatid cyst in slaughtered camels was higher in autumn followed by winter, while hydatid cyst in slaughtered sheep was found only in autumn season. Fertile cysts in lung and liver of slaughtered camels was 83.4% and 30% respectively. While the fertility of hydatid cyst in infected lung and liver of sheep was 100%. Main conclusions: This study reported that slaughtered animals were infected with relatively high infection rate of hydatid cyst may be due to the presence of socio-economic conditions favourable for the disease and maintenance of high level of infection. So must design governmental control programs against hydatidosis to minimize the infection rate in Aswan Governorate and ensure effective protection not only for animal population but also for humans at risk of contracting the infection.

Myiasis is the infestation of human tissues by dipterous fly larvae of the class Insecta. Clogmia albipunctatus, family Psychodidae, is one of the most medically important insects that cause human myiasis. The aim of the present study is the morphological identification and the molecular characterization of moth flies causing many cases of urinary myiasis in Egypt, based on sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA of the larvae. Seven urinary samples of patients complaining of urinary symptoms and giving a history of low socioeconomic level were examined. Recovered larvae were identified using light microscopy and SEM. For molecular identification, the mitochondrial genes Cytochrome B (cytB), NADH1, NADH1, and 16S were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. The morphological and molecular characterization could accurately diagnose our patients to have C. albipunctatus infestation. Such results provided the initial set of data on the molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of moth flies based on DNA barcoding in Egypt.

The development of suitable control measures for various intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) requests essential epidemiological information on their prevalence. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of IPIs among school children living in a rural setting in Upper Egypt and to identify the associated risk factors to these infections. A Descriptive crosssectional study included 630 randomly selected students enrolled in primary and preparatory schools aged from 6 to 17 years old from rural Assiut Governorate. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. A laboratory stool examination was performed. The overall prevalence of IPIs was 56.3 %. The parasites were Ascaris lumbricoides (11.4%), Giardia lamblia (10.0%), Entamoeba coli (9.7%), Ancylostoma duodenal (8.7%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (8.1%), Cryptosporidium parvum (3.3%), Blastocystis hominis (2.4%), Enterobius vermicularis (1.7%) and Hymenolepis nana (1.1%). A single parasite was in 64.8% of children. 23.1% & 12.1% had double and multiple parasites respectively.

Intestinal capillariasis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by the tiny nematode parasite Capillaria philippinensis. It is a major health problem that may lead to death if not diagnosed and treated appropriately. The difficulties in the diagnosis of C. philippinensis highlight the importance of developing accurate, sensitive, and specific methods for early diagnosis. This study aimed to detect the presence of C. philippinensis infection among 42 clinically suspected patients with certain criteria that are highly suggestive of capillariasis and to compare the diagnostic yield of microscopy, copro-ELISA, and PCR for the detection of copro-DNA. Sociodemographic characteristics and clinical data were also described for the infected group. Out of 42 patients, 10 were microscopically positive, 40 samples were positive by copro-ELISA, nested PCR detected 35 positive cases, with total detection rates of 23.8%, 95.2%, and 83.3% using direct microscopic examination, copro-ELISA, and PCR, respectively. The majority of positive cases were females, middle-aged people, and people from rural areas. The real number of cases infected with C. philippinensis may far exceed those estimated using microscopy. The diagnosis by copro-ELISA for the detection of C. philippinensis coproantigen and by nested PCR to identify parasite DNA revealed a higher number of positive cases. Using ELISA for the detection of coproantigen is a sensitive test that identifies the infection, yet it is not specific. Copro-DNA offers a satisfactory sensitive and specific method for the detection of infection in clinically suspected patients. The most susceptible individuals to C. philippinensis infection are females, middle-aged people, and people of low social standards. Intestinal capillariasis needs to be considered in patients who present with symptoms of chronic diarrhea and hypoalbuminemia because if these cases are left undiagnosed and untreated, they may suffer from lethal complications.