Infectious Diseases in Internationally Adopted Children and Intercountry Discrepancies Among Screening Protocols, A Narrative Review

Chiappini, Elena; Bortone, Barbara; Borgi, Sara; Sollai, Sara; Matucci, Tommaso; Galli, Luisa; Martino, Maurizio de

doi:10.3389/fped.2019.00448

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…The problem of these parasitic infections, usually latent in migrants, refugees and especially in children, has been reported recently [2,3]. Those observations raised the concerns about the health status of the immigrant populations and few screening protocols have been suggested in order to promptly establish the correct diagnosis and prevent further complications [4][5][6]. In the present manuscript, we are reporting a case of multi-parasitic infection in a young immigrant from Ghana.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Multi-parasite infection in an immigrant from Ghana: potential for new epidemic foci

Fiamma

Longoni

Siddig

et al. 2020

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Imported parasitosis, which do not require an invertebrate vector, are extremely dangerous and can lead to the occurrence of disease in currently parasite free areas. In the present study we report a case of multi-parasitic infection in a young immigrant from Ghana to Italy caused by filaria, Schistosoma sp. and Strongyloides sp. Case presentation: A 27-year-old Ghanaian man attended the Hospital of Nuoro (Sardinia), Italy, at the end of August 2015, claiming pain to the kidney and hypertensive crisis; the patient presented with dyspnea and epistaxis, chronic itchy skin of the back, shoulders, arms and legs, anuria and high creatinine, metabolic acidosis and hypereosinophilic syndrome. Serological test for parasitic infections were done, and showed a marked positivity for filaria, Schistosoma sp. and Strongyloides sp. The patient started the treatment immediately with two doses per day of Bassado Antibiotic (tetracycline) for twenty days and then with a single dose of 3 mg of ivermectin that was repeated after 3 months. Conclusions: Immigrant patients from endemic areas who show clinical signs, such as a general itching on the back, shoulders and arms and legs, should have a thorough history in order to make early diagnosis and prevent further complications. Therefore, general practitioners and doctors in Europe and in other parasitosis non-endemic countries, should consider to test for parasites in any immigrant from endemic countries to aid in establishing the final diagnosis and prevent further complications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Multi-parasite infection in an immigrant from Ghana: potential for new epidemic foci

Fiamma

Longoni

Siddig

et al. 2020

J Infect Dev Ctries

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“…The immunization strategies adopted in different Western countries were identified by searching guideline websites and national adoption association websites of countries reported to receive the highest number of IAC (United States, Italy, Ireland, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada), as previously reported [20]. Moreover, Pubmed was consulted with the search strategy: (International OR abroad) AND (adopted children OR adoption OR adoptees) AND (vaccine OR vaccine preventable disease OR immunization).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discrepancies Between Protocols of Immunization Targeting Internationally Adopted Children in Western Countries

et al. 2020

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The immunization status of Internationally Adopted Children (IAC) newly arrived in the adoptive country require a timely assessment and completion of necessary vaccinations. In fact, due to their frequent suboptimal immunization status, IAC are at high risk for vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). Comparative analysis of immunization protocols adopted in European countries, United States, and Canada disclosed different approaches to the immunization of these children. In order to guarantee the continuity of paediatric immunization schedules that may have been interrupted in countries of origin, a homogeneous and internationally shared standard of immunization in the management of IAC should be provided.

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“…Public health care is free for all residents in Finland, and the first medical examinations of adopted children usually occur in public health centers supervised by medical professionals according to the recommendations of the Finnish adoption organizations. These guidelines are comparable with the screening protocols of newly arrived adopted children internationally [50]. Thus, it was assumed that any intestinal parasites found during the medical screenings were adequately treated.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Intestinal parasites may be associated with later behavioral problems in internationally adopted children

et al. 2021

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Aim At arrival in new home country, internationally adopted children often have intestinal parasites. International adoptees also exhibit more behavioral problems than their biological peers. We examined whether intestinal parasite infections in international adoptees on arrival in Finland are associated with their later behavioral and emotional problems. Methods Data for this study were sourced from the Finnish Adoption Study (FinAdo) based on parental questionnaires for all internationally adopted children under 18 years (n = 1450) who arrived in Finland from 1985 to 2007. A total of 1293 families provided sufficient information on the adoptee’s background, parasitic status on arrival, and behavioral symptoms at the median time of 5 years after arrival (mean age = 7.8 years). Behavioral and emotional disorders were evaluated with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Statistical analyses were conducted using linear regression. Results Of the 1293 families, parents of 206 adoptive children reported intestinal parasites in their adopted children on arrival. Parasite-infected children had subsequently higher CBCL problem scores than the children without parasites (p < 0.001). The association between intestinal parasites and later behavioral problems was stronger than that between intestinal parasites and any other factors measured in this study, except disability. Limitations The control group was naturally provided by the adopted children without parasite infections, but we could not compare the adopted children to non-adopted children without a defined parasite infection. We were unable to specify the effects associated with a specific parasite type. It was not possible either to include multiple environmental factors that could have been associated with behavioral problems in the models, which indicated only modest explanatory values. Conclusions In this study, intestinal parasite infections in early childhood may be associated with children’s later psychological wellbeing, even in children who move to a country with a low prevalence of parasites. Our findings may support further developments pertaining to the gut-brain theory.

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Infectious Diseases in Internationally Adopted Children and Intercountry Discrepancies Among Screening Protocols, A Narrative Review

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

Multi-parasite infection in an immigrant from Ghana: potential for new epidemic foci

Multi-parasite infection in an immigrant from Ghana: potential for new epidemic foci

Discrepancies Between Protocols of Immunization Targeting Internationally Adopted Children in Western Countries

Intestinal parasites may be associated with later behavioral problems in internationally adopted children

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