Dataset Information

High prevalence of selected viruses and parasites and their predictors in Malawian children.

ABSTRACT: Enteric pathogens have been related to child undernutrition. Whereas there are lots of data on enteric bacterial microbiota and infections, much less is known about the incidence of prevalence of intestinal colonisation with viruses or important parasitic species. This study assessed the presence of selected viruses and parasites in stools of 469, 354, 468 Malawian children at 6, 12 and 18 months. We also assessed environmental predictors of the presence of viruses and parasites among 6-month infants. Microbial presence was documented using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Enteroviruses were identified in 68%, 80% and 81% of the stool samples at 6, 12 and 18 months children, rhinovirus in 28%, 18% and 31%, norovirus in 24%, 22% and 16%, parechovirus in 23%, 17% and 17%, rotavirus in 3%, 1% and 0.6%, Giardia lamblia in 9.6%, 23.5% and 26%, and Cryptosporidium (spp.) in 6%, 8% and 2% of the 6, 12 and 18 months stool samples. Dry season (May-October) was associated with a low infection rate of enterovirus, norovirus and Cryptosporidium (spp.). Higher father's education level, less number of person in the household and higher sanitation were associated with a low infection rate of enterovirus, norovirus and rotavirus, respectively. The results suggest that the prevalence of asymptomatic viral and parasitic infections is high among Malawian children and that the family's living conditions and seasonality influence the rate of infections.

SUBMITTER: Fan YM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6521582 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

High prevalence of selected viruses and parasites and their predictors in Malawian children.

Fan Y-M YM Oikarinen S S Lehto K-M KM Nurminen N N Juuti R R Mangani C C Maleta K K Hyöty H H Ashorn P P

Epidemiology and infection 20190101

Enteric pathogens have been related to child undernutrition. Whereas there are lots of data on enteric bacterial microbiota and infections, much less is known about the incidence of prevalence of intestinal colonisation with viruses or important parasitic species. This study assessed the presence of selected viruses and parasites in stools of 469, 354, 468 Malawian children at 6, 12 and 18 months. We also assessed environmental predictors of the presence of viruses and parasites among 6-month in ...[more]

PMID: 30869004

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundSeveral gastrointestinal parasites that infect cats pose potential health threats for humans and animals. The present study is the first to report gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites in feces of stray cats from Gharbia governorate, Egypt. Findings were combined with those published in the earlier surveys from various Egyptian governorates, and various meta-analyses were conducted to underline the parasitic zoonoses from cats in Egypt.ResultsOut of 143 samples tested in Gharbia, 75 (52.4%) were found infected with 13 different parasites. Co-infections were observed in 49.3% of positives. Several parasites were detected, e.g., Toxocara cati (30.0%), Toxascaris leonina (22.4%), hookworms (8.4%), taeniids (4.2%), Strongyloides spp. (2.1%), Physaloptera spp. (2.1%), Alaria spp. (1.4%) and Dipylidium caninum (0.7%). Opisthorchis-like eggs were found in a single sample being the first report from cats in Africa. Oocysts of 4 coccidian parasites were identified, and a few Toxoplasma gondii-like oocysts were detected in 2 samples (1.4%). Results of the meta-analysis illustrated that occurrence of T. gondii oocysts in feces of cats from Egypt may have been overestimated in earlier studies; 1432 cats have been tested and displayed a 5 times higher pooled prevalence (11.9%) than the published global pooled prevalence for T. gondii oocysts in cats. This overestimation might have occurred because some small-sized oocysts that belong to other coccidian parasites were mis-identified as T. gondii. Toxocara cati had a high pooled prevalence (22.5%) in cats from Egypt, which is even greater than the published pooled prevalence in cats globally; however, several reports from Egypt have neglected the role of T. cati in human toxocarosis. Dipylidium caninum displayed also a high prevalence (26.7%).ConclusionSeveral zoonotic parasite species have been found in stray cats from Egypt, raising concerns about the risks to the Egyptian human population as well as environmental contamination. Prompt surveillance supervised by the government and accompanied by data dissemination will be helpful for developing effective control strategies.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Carriage of either single or multiple pneumococcal serotypes (multiple carriage) is a prerequisite for developing invasive pneumococcal disease. However, despite the reported high rates of pneumococcal carriage in Malawi, no data on carriage of multiple serotypes has been reported previously. Our study provides the first description of the prevalence of multiple pneumococcal carriage in Malawi. METHODS:The study was conducted in Blantyre and Karonga districts in Malawi, from 2008 to 2012. We recruited 116 children aged 0-13 years. These children were either HIV-infected (N = 44) or uninfected (N = 72). Nasopharyngeal samples were collected using sterile swabs. Pneumococcal serotypes in the samples were identified by microarray. Strains that could not be typed by microarray were sequenced to characterise possible genetic alterations within the capsular polysaccharide (CPS) locus. RESULTS:The microarray identified 179 pneumococcal strains (from 116 subjects), encompassing 43 distinct serotypes and non-typeable (NT) strains. Forty per cent (46/116) of children carried multiple serotypes. Carriage of vaccine type (VT) strains was higher (p = 0.028) in younger (0-2 years) children (71 %, 40/56) compared to older (3-13 years) children (50 %, 30/60). Genetic variations within the CPS locus of known serotypes were observed in 19 % (34/179) of the strains identified. The variants included 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) serotypes 6B and 19A, and the polysaccharide vaccine serotype 20. Serotype 6B variants were the most frequently isolated (47 %, 16/34). Unlike the wild type, the CPS locus of the 6B variants contained an insertion of the licD-family phosphotransferase gene. The CPS locus of 19A- and 20-variants contained an inversion in the sugar-biosynthesis (rmlD) gene and a 717 bp deletion within the transferase (whaF) gene, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The high multiple carriage in Malawian children provides opportunities for genetic exchange through horizontal gene transfer. This may potentially lead to CPS locus variants and vaccine escape. Variants reported here occurred naturally, however, PCV13 introduction could exacerbate the CPS genetic variations. Further studies are therefore recommended to assess the invasive potential of these variants and establish whether PCV13 would offer cross-protection. We have shown that younger children (0-2 years) are a reservoir of VT serotypes, which makes them an ideal target for vaccination.

Dataset Information

High prevalence of selected viruses and parasites and their predictors in Malawian children.

Publications

High prevalence of selected viruses and parasites and their predictors in Malawian children.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets