OBJECTIVES To study selected epidemiological aspects of visceral leishmaniasis, assess direct agglutination test (DAT) as a diagnostic method and the sero-epidemiological prevalence of the disease among apparently healthy children in Basrah, Iraq. METHODS This prospective study included 146 children suspected of visceral leishmaniasis who were admitted to Basrah Maternity and Children Hospita...

BACKGROUND The percentages of couples in HIV sero-discordant relationships range from 5 to 31% in the various countries of Africa. Given the importance of procreation and the lack of assisted reproduction to avoid partner transmission, members of these couples are faced with a serious dilemma even after the challenge of disclosing their HIV status to their spouses. Identifying the determinants ...

Nigella sativa had been documented to possess many therapeutic functions in medicine but the least expected is sero-reversion in HIV infection which is very rare despite extensive therapy with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). This case presentation is to highlight the complete recovery and sero-reversion of adult HIV patient after treatment with Nigella sativa concoction for the p...

Leptospirosis is an important occupational disease in New Zealand. The objectives of this study were to determine risk factors for sero-prevalence of leptospiral antibodies in abattoir workers. Sera were collected from 567 abattoir workers and tested by microscopic agglutination for Leptospira interrogans sv. Pomona and Leptospira borgpetersenii sv. Hardjobovis. Association between prevalence a...

BACKGROUND Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease in developing countries yet it is often not recognized, goes unreported and does not attract public health action by these governments including Uganda. OBJECTIVE To estimate the sero-prevalence and assess modifiable risk factors associated with Brucella seropositivity in cattle keepers and consumers of unpasteurized milk in Uganda. ME...

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) is an endemic disease in some areas of Iran. A cross- sectional study was conducted for sero-epidemiological survey of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Baft district from Kerman Province, southeast of Iran. METHODS Blood samples were collected from children up to 12 years old and 10% of adult population from Baft villages with a multi-stage randomiz...

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of paratuberculosis sero-status on milk yield, fat, protein, somatic cell count and calving interval in Irish dairy herds. Serum from all animals over 12 months of age (n = 2,602) in 34 dairy herds was tested for antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis using an ELISA. Herds were categorised by sero-status into positive,...

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women reproductive age it major contributor to maternal, infant child mortality. Globally, in 2015, an estimated, 78 million people had become infected with HIV while 35 died from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-related illness since the start epidemic. In Nigeria, national pr...

BACKGROUND African swine fever (ASF) is one of the major setbacks to development of the pig industry in Nigeria. It is enzootic in southwest Nigeria. We determined the sero-prevalence and factors associated with ASF among-herd seropositivity in 144 pig farms in six States from southwest Nigeria during the dry and rainy seasons using indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for ASF IgG...

A quantitative TaqMn Real-Time PCR assay was developed and its diagnostic value on human serum and livestock samples were evaluated. Brucella species could be distributed through communities as a biological agent. Rapid detection of biological threat agents is critical for timely therapeutic administration. Quantitative real-time PCR provides a rapid, sensitive and specific tool for molecular i...