Experiments were carried out to analyze the biological characteristics of two sympatric isolates of

Prevalence of intestinal parasites was investigated in 1381 low-income children under five years of age from March 1990 to October 1991 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Stool tests were run using the Blagg et al. method. Observed prevalence of infection was 54.5%. The most frequent parasites were Giardia lamblia and Ascaris lumbricoides (25.0% of the children). A significant statistical difference (p<0.05) was demonstrated between age and infection according to the species of parasite studied. Infection rates demonstrated the need for control of parasites in these child.

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The helminth fauna of Agouti paca (Linnaeus, 1766) has seldom been studied. In this paper, we report an unusual mixed infection of Echinococcus vogeli Rausch & Bernstein, 1972 and Calodium hepaticum (syn. Capillaria hepatica Bancroft, 1863) in free-ranging paca from a forested region in Acre (Brazil). Gross morphological examination revealed that paca liver contained multiple spherical to subspherical white or translucent lesions, which were isolated or frequently contiguous and partially covered by Glisson's capsule. Microscopic examination revealed unilocular cystic structures that contained abundant brood capsules in which numerous protoscolices budded from the inner surface. The protoscolices possessed rostellar hooks (33-41 μm in length), a morphological characteristic of the blade and calcareous corpuscles that is consistent with the metacestode E. vogeli. The diagnosis of C. hepaticum infection was based on the morphology and morphometry of the egg-shaped ellipsoids with bipolar plugs (44.8 ± 1.9 μm (length) × 24.4 ± 2.0 μm (width)) and liver histopathology. This finding expands the known range of C. hepaticum hosts in South America and, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first case of a mixed infection of E. vogeli and C. hepaticum. Furthermore, our data provide evidence that wild animal meat may be a source of C. hepaticum infection.

By means of epidemiological and clinical-laboratorial approaches was consolidated an update of polycystic echinococcosis in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, period from 1962 to 2003, including unpublished cases and those already published. In that way, they were identified 40 cases of the disease in referred period, understanding cases coming from the States of Pará and Amapá, Brazil. The width of the ages went from 10 to 72 years and 47.5% belonged to the masculine sex. The liver was the attacked organ (82.5% of the cases). The Echinococcus vogeli (Rausch and Bernstein, 1972), comes as the main agent involved. Starting from the recognition of the importance and of the implications of the handling of the echinococcosis for the tropical area, it is believed that should happen an improvement of the diagnosis, appropriate treatment and of a better registration of the disease.

Histopathologic and morphometric (area, perimeter, major and minor diameters)

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