Infectious Disease
Seyed Mahmood Banihashemi; Eissa Soleymani; Rahman Abdizadeh; Mousa Motavalli Haghi; Bahman Khalili
Abstract
Background and aims: Parasitic infections, especially opportunistic parasites, can cause serious problems for immunocompromised patients. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate parasitic infections in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy after referring to Kashani hospital of Shahrekord ...
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Background and aims: Parasitic infections, especially opportunistic parasites, can cause serious problems for immunocompromised patients. In this regard, this study aimed to evaluate parasitic infections in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy after referring to Kashani hospital of Shahrekord from January to May 2018. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 750 stool samples were collected from 250 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (three fecal samples from each patient) and sent to the Parasitology Laboratory of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. All samples were examined macroscopically and microscopically through the direct method and a specific acid-fast staining method. To confirm the microscopic results, DNA was extracted from isolated parasites and amplification was performed by the polymerase chain reaction with the specific primers on positive samples. Results: In this study, 106 (42.4%) and 144 (57.6%) patients were males and females, respectively. In addition, 187 (74.8%) and 63 (25.2%) of them were living in urban and rural areas, respectively. In terms of the education level, most patients had a low level of literacy. Further, 12 (4.8%) patients were infected with intestinal parasites that including, 7 (2.8%), and 5 (2%) samples were infected with Blastocystis hominis and Giardia lamblia, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that B. hominis and G. lamblia are the most prevalent parasites in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Although the prevalence of intestinal parasites in cancer patients was low, these findings should not be contrary to the need for healthcare regarding the prevention of parasitic infections in cancer patients.
Giti Shirvani; Rahman Abdizadeh; Koroush Manouchehri Naeini; Seifollah Mortezaei; Mina Khaksar
Abstract
Background and aims: Toxocariasis caused by the larvae of Toxocara spp. is a zoonotic infectionwith global distribution that is considered an important health problem in the humans. The soil isregarded as the main source of the transmission of Toxocara infection to susceptible hosts. This studyinvestigated ...
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Background and aims: Toxocariasis caused by the larvae of Toxocara spp. is a zoonotic infectionwith global distribution that is considered an important health problem in the humans. The soil isregarded as the main source of the transmission of Toxocara infection to susceptible hosts. This studyinvestigated the existence of Toxocara spp. ova in rural and urban public areas of Chaharmahal andBakhtiari province.Methods: A total of 180 soil samples were randomly collected from 74 public places from urban andrural areas of nine counties of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province during May to September, 2017.The samples were examined for Toxocara spp. eggs by the modified sucrose flotation method.Results: The contamination rate of the soil samples with Toxocara spp. ova varied within 0%-18.1% indifferent counties. Overall, 9 (5%) out of 180 examined soil samples were found positive for Toxocaraspp. ova. Of nine investigated districts, Toxocara spp. ova were observed in four counties and thehighest rate of soil contamination was found in Farsan county with 18.1%. Finally, the prevalence ofToxocara spp. eggs was more in the rural areas (6.7%) compared to the urban ones (3.3%).Conclusion: This study was the first investigation regarding the contamination of Toxocara spp. eggs inthe soil of public places in rural and urban areas of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Accordingto the results, the rate of soil contamination in this region was lower compared with the other parts ofIran. Therefore, a further study is required to determine factors that may be involved in the distributionof Toxocara spp. in different areas of this province.