Stool specimens of 1238 workers in western region of Saudi Arabia were examined for infection with intestinal parasites and for fecal occult blood (FOB) to investigate the possibility that enteroparasites correlate to occult intestinal bleeding. Direct smears and formal ether techniques were used for detection of diagnostic stages of intestinal parasites. A commercially available guaiac test wa...

Plasmodium parasites, along with their Piroplasm relatives, have caused malaria-like illnesses in terrestrial mammals for millions of years. Several Plasmodium-protective alleles have recently evolved in human populations, but little is known about host adaptation to blood parasites over deeper evolutionary timescales. In this work, we analyze mammalian adaptation in ~500 Plasmodium- or Piropla...

Malaria parasites contain a complete glutathione (GSH) redox system, and several enzymes of this system are considered potential targets for antimalarial drugs. Through generation of a gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCS)-null mutant of the rodent parasite Plasmodium berghei, we previously showed that de novo GSH synthesis is not critical for blood stage multiplication but is essential...

Parasites may lead bird species to extinction, affect host temporal and spatial population dynamics, alter community structure and alter individual' social status. We evaluated blood parasite prevalence and intensity according to bird families and species, among 925 birds that were caught in 2000 and 2001, in the Atlantic Forest in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. We applied Giemsa staining t...

Note -?Total blood films examined over the period was 257. Of these 160 were found with malarial parasites giving a 62.5 per cent, positive result. The routine followed is, that all cases reporting with fever have a blood film taken. Those showing parasites are at once put on quinine or plasmoquine with quinine, and those negative to malarial parasites on an alkaline or diaphoretic mixture unti...

White cell (WBC)-reduction filters have been shown to be effective in removing infectious agents from infected blood products. In this study, the mechanisms of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) retention by WBC-reduction filters were assessed. Human packed red blood cell (PRBC) and platelet concentrate (PC) samples were contaminated with T. cruzi organisms (Y strain; 3.4 x 10(6)/ml), and then filter...

Induced malaria by blood transfusion is a potential health hazard but is often neglected in many malaria endemic areas. Standard parasitological technique was used to determine the prevalence of malaria among blood donors in the South-eastern Nigeria. Of the total 325 blood donors (310 males and 15 females) screened, 133 (40.9%, CI 95%: 35.6-46.2%) were infected with malaria parasite, 78 (58.6%...