Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine

510-514

Authors: Xueli Zheng, Jialin Hu, Santhosh Puthiya Kunnon, Chen Xiaoguang

Objective To identify necrophagous fly speies from different regions in China using inter simple sequenc repeat (ISSR) and sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) melocular markers and to analyze their gene difference and genetic relationship. Methods Five carrion fly species were collected from 12 cities and regions in China, including Musca domestica (M. domestica), Lucilia sericata (L. sericata), Chrysomya megacephala (C. megacephala), Helicophagella melanura (H. melanura), Boethcherisca peregrina, and they were studied using ISSR and SCAR markers. Results Eight ISSR primers were used for amplification of 121 samples. 679 clear and stable bands were identified, of which 516 bands were polymorphic. Several species-specific ISSR fragment were cloned and sequenced as an initial effort to derive the SCAR markers. Using M. domestica SCAR specific primers, SCAR-PCR amplification was performed for 8 M. domestca population sample DNA from different regions in China as well as L. sericata, C. megacephala, H. melanura and Lucillia cupirina. The result showed only M. domestica produced specificalty 600 bp fragment, but L. sericata, C. megacephala, H. melanura and Lucillia cupirina did not produce the same specific fragment. Clustering analysis showed clustering of most flies of M. domestica, C. megacephala and L. sericata. M. domestica samples from different regions in China yielded different banding patterns. Conclusions Application of ISSR-PCR and SCAR markers to identify necrophagous fly species from 12 cities and regions in China is first reported. ISSR-PCR and SCAR markers provide a quick reliable molecular marker technique for the identification of different species of necrophagous fly.

519-522

Authors: S De, D Pan, AK Bera, V Sreevatsava, SK Das, S Das, T Rana, S Bandyopadhyay, D Bhattacharya

Objective To study the canine echinococcosis by coproantigen ELISA method. Methods During the present investigation experimental infection was established using evaginated worms of Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus). To check cross reactivity two pups were infected with Taenia hydatigena (T. hydatigena). In order to detect the presence of antigen, hyperimmune sera were raised against excretory-secretory products of adult worms E. chinococcus granulosus. Faecal sample collected either from experimentally infected pups or from other sources were heated at 70 °C to detect heat stable soluble antigen. Results Pups harbouring less than 104 worms showed negative results. Samples collected from 14 days onwards from experimentally infected animals harbouring more than 104 worms showed positive value. The maximum positive samples were detected in samples collected from in and around slaughter house and the least number of samples were detected positive maintained by dog squad. Conclusions The affinity purified IgG exhibited promising results for detection of canine echinococcosis by indirect ELISA.

527-530

Authors: BS Ashok Kumar, K Lakshman, KN Jayaveera, C Vel Murgan, PA Arun Kumar, R Vinod Kumar, Hegade Meghda, SM Sridhar

Objective To investigate the analgesic activity of methanolic extract of Amaranthus viridis (A. viridis), Amaranthus caudatus (A. caudatus) and Amaranthus spinosus (A. spinosus). Methods In this study, the analgesic activity of methanol extracts of all three plants at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg were investigated by acetic acid-induced writhings test, hot plate test and tail immersion test for mice. Results It was found that all the three plants showed significant pain management effect (P<0.01) at a dose of 400 mg/kg, but showed a less significant effect at a dose of 20 mg/kg in the entire tests used for evaluation of analgesic activities (P<0.05). Conclusions Methanol extracts of A. viridis, A. caudatus and A. spinosus show potent analgesic activities, and this study provides the scientific proof for their traditional claims.

535-538

Authors: Mohd Irfan Naik, Bashir Ahmad Fomda, Ebenezar Jaykumar, Javid Ahmad Bhat

Objective To find the effectiveness of essential oil of lemongrass for the treatment of pathogenic organisms. Methods Lemongrass oil was investigated for activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), using Agar Diffusion Method and Broth Dilution Method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by the Broth Dilution Method. The antibiotic susceptibility test against the test organisms was performed by Disc Diffusion Method. Results Lemongrass was found effective against all the test organisms except P. aeruginosa. Gram positive organisms were found more sensitive to lemon grass oil as compared to gram negative organisms. The test organisms were found inhibited by Lemon grass oil at lower concentrations in Broth Dilution Method as compared to Agar Diffusion Method. Conclusions The tested organisms, particularly gram-negative organisms had shown high resistance towards different antibiotics whereas they were found to be inhibited by lemongrass oil even at lower concentration. Thus lemongrass oil is effective against drug resistant organisms. It can be suggested that use of lemongrass oil would be helpful in the treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant organisms.

544-546

Authors: B Valentin Bhimba, J Meenupriya, Elsa Lycias Joel, D Edaya Naveena, Suman Kumar, M Thangaraj

Objective To explore antibacterial activity and characterization of secondary metabolites isolated from mangrove plant Avicennia officinalis (A. officinalis). Methods In the present study the leaf extracts of A. officinalis were examined for its antibacterial potential using five different solvents against some reference strains of human pathogenic bacteria for the crude extract. Maximum activity was observed for ethyl acetate and hence different concentrations like 15 μL, 25 μL, and 50 μL of ethyl extracts was checked for its antibacterial activity. Partial purification of crude extract was carried by column chromatography and fractions were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify compounds. Results The crude ethyl acetate extracts of A. officinalis showed remarkable antibacterial activity with zones of inhibition of 13 mm against Eschericia coli (E. coli) and 11 mm against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Fraction 13 (ethyl acetate÷methanol= 8÷2) as the most potent one against with the minimal inhibitory concentration of 30 mm against E. coli and 25 mm against S. aureus. The GCMS resultsof active column fraction (F13) revealed that the active principals were a mixture of hydroxy-4 methoxybenzoic acid, diethyl phthalate, oleic acid. Conclusions The leaf extracts with proven antibacterial effects can clearly be directed towards cancer treatment as to inhibiting cancer cell growth. The limited number of test organisms owes to a constraint of resource. So, the effect of strong bursts of leaf extracts on human pathogenic bacteria should further be tested on a wide range of test organisms.

552-554

Authors: A Mariana, SK Heah, AL Wong, TM Ho

Objective To determine distribution of arthropods in processed rice products such as rice flour and rice cereal-based infant food. Methods Random samples of rice flour and rice cereal-based infant food purchased from commercial outlets were examined for the presence of arthropods using a modified Berlese Tullgren Funnel Method. Mites were mounted prior to identification and weevils were directly identified. Results For non-expired products, infestation was found in 6.7% of rice flour and none was found in rice cereal-based infant food samples. The arthropods found in the flour samples were Cheyletus spp., Suidasia pontifica (S. pontifica), Tarsonemus spp., Tyrophagus putrescentiae (T. putrescentiae), Sitophilus granarius (S. granarius) and Sitophilus oryzae (S. oryzae). Others which cannot be identified were Oribatid and Prostigmatid mites. The most common mites in rice flour were Tarsonemus spp. (69.1%), followed by S. pontifica (18.2%). For expired products, only one sample of rice cereal-based infant food was infested and the infestation was by mites of the family Tydeidae. Conclusions This study demonstrates the presence of 4 allergenic species of S. pontifica, T. putrescentiae, S. granarius and S. oryzae in rice flour. These arthropods can contribute to the incidence of anaphylaxis upon consumption by atopic individuals. There was no infestation of arthropods in rice cereal-based infant food surveyed except for an expired product in a moderate rusty tin container.

560-562

Authors: Peter George, Lobo Manuel Alexander

Objective To identify cases of severe Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) mono-infections among adults. Methods In this retrospective study, 30 adult patients admitted to medical wards of a tertiary hospital in a malaria endemic urban area from March 2010 to April 2010 were included. The diagnosis of P. vivax malaria was established by peripheral blood film (PBF) examination, and severe malaria was categorized as per World Health Organization guidelines. Results Complications observed were thrombocytopenia in 28 (93.3%), hepatic dysfunction and jaundice in 13 (43.3%), renal dysfunction in 8 (26.7%), severe anaemia in 3 (10.0%), cerebral malaria in 2 (6.7%), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in 1 (3.3%) of 30 patients. Conclusions P. vivax malaria with severe complications is common in the investigated area, and an intensive and large-scale study of the disease is necessary.

567-570

Authors: EI Ekanem, TU Agan, EE Efiok, MI Ekott, E Okodi

Objective To assess the prevalence of anemia and asymptomatia malaria parasitemia and the effect of prior antimalarials therapy on the parasite density in pregnant women at their first antenatal visit at the secondary level health care facility in Nigeria. Methods This cross sectional observational study was carried out in the antenatal clinic of General Hospital, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria for 3 months period (1st June to 31st August, 2009). Five hundred and fourteen women attending their first antenatal registration visits in the hospital were recruited in the study. Socio-demographic information was obtained using pre-tested questionnaires. The malaria parasite was obtained by examining thick and thin blood films prepared on 2 glass slides while the hematocrit was obtained through 2 capillary tubes read by a Hawksleys microhematocrit reader. Results A total of 514 pregnant women participated in the study with a mean maternal age of 21.4 years and a mean gestational age at booking of 18.3 weeks. The primigravid women booked at significantly lower gestational age than multigravidae (16.2 weeks vs 21.6 weeks). Most of the women (59.3%) were anemic, out of which 60.4% were primigravida. More than half of the women had moderate to high parasite density and only 6.8% had no malaria parasitemia. All patients with severe anemia were parasitemic. Out of the 479 (93.2%) women with parasitemia, a third had taken antimalarial drugs. A majority (60.3%) of those without prior antimalarial drugs had moderate to high density parasitemia. Conclusions This study shows high prevalence of anemia in women with asymptomatic malarial parasitemia, particularly the primigravida. The severity of anemia is directly related to the density of malaria parasitemia. Those with effective antimalarial therapy appear to have low density parasitemia and therefore mild anemia. Routine screening for anemia and malaria parasites at booking, prompt parasite clearance and correction of anemia would reduce the associated maternal and perinatal complications.

574-576

Authors: Fatima Shujatullah, Haris M Khan, Razia Khatoon, Tamkin Rabbani, Abida Malik

Objective To determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in patients with vaginal discharge and evaluate the efficacy of OSOM BV blue test in diagnosis. Methods OSOM BV blue test, a rapid diagnostic test based on the principle of detection of bacterial sialidase activity in vaginal fluid specimens was conducted. A total of 405 patients in the reproductive age group (15–45 years) having vaginal discharge were included in the study along with 10 healthy age-matched controls. Two high vaginal swabs were collected aseptically from each patient. One swab was used to make smear for gram staining, and the other was for OSOM BV blue test. Amine test and vaginal pH test were taken as well. Results The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis was 60.7%. OSOM BV blue test showed good efficacy, as compared with gram staining in diagnosing BV. The sensitivity and specificity of OSOM BV blue test were 97.6% and 97.5% respectively. Amsel's criteria diagnosed 180 (44.4%) cases of BV and had sensitivity and specificity of 67.1% and 90.6% respectively. Thus the performance of OSOM BV blue was better than the methods based on Amsel's criteria. Conclusions OSOM BV blue test is an efficacious bed side test, helpful in rapidly making an accurate diagnosis of BV in setups lacking laboratory facilities or expert microbiologists.

580-583

Authors: JO Odigie, KC Anugweje

Objective To determine the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy, to consider the antimicrobial sensitivity patterns of involved uropathogens, to elucidate the safety profiles of antibacterial agents, and to evaluate the role of urinalysis in screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria. Methods About 760 apparently healthy pregnant subjects attending the Antenatal Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital were randomly selected for this study. Urinalysis and microscopy, culture, and sensitivity tests were carried out on clean-catch midstream urine samples obtained from subjects. Biochemical reagent strips were used for urinalysis while the standard wire loop and agar diffusion technique were respectively employed for culture and susceptibility testing. Results A total of 111 samples yielded moderate or severe growth on culture after 48 hours comprising 35, 31, 27, and 18 isolates of Staphylococcus spp., Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp., and Escherichia spp, respectivehy. Urinalysis results were positive for the presence of nitrate reductase and leucocyte esterase activity in 17 urine samples of these 111 samples. The isolates showed a general sensitivity to the fluorinated quinolones and to Nitrofurantoin. Conclusions The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria is 14.6%, with the predominant organism being Staphylococcus spp. Drugs used for treatment should have excellent fetal safety profiles, and a rapid screening test with a high negative predictive value for asymptomatic bacteriuria would be ideal.

586-588

Authors: BDSS Budagoda, KAS Kodikara, WKS Kularatne, RM Mudiyanse, DH Edussuriya, JP Edirisinghe, IP Karunaratne, KGAD Weerakoon, SC Medagedara, SAM Kularatne

The sting of Giant Asian honeybee (Apis dorsata) or Bambara in Sinhala and Karunge Kulavi in Tamil is a common environmental hazard in Sri Lanka known to cause immediate allergic reactions, which could be fatal in sensitized individuals. We reported myocardial infarction, bowel gangrene and fatal anaphylaxis in a prospectively proven case series and the association of these uncommon complications with delayed removal of stingers from the patients' skin.