Nipa NJ, Aktar N, Hira HM, Akter F, Jahan D, Islam S, Etando A, Abdullah A, Chowdhury K, Ahmad R, Haq A, Haque M. Intestinal Parasitic Infections Among Pediatric Patients in a Metropolitan City of Bangladesh With Emphasis on Cryptosporidiosis.
Cureus 2022;
14:e26927. [PMID:
35865179 PMCID:
PMC9293268 DOI:
10.7759/cureus.26927]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction
Gastrointestinal parasitic infections are one of the global health concerns in developing countries like Bangladesh. Among them, Cryptosporidium spp. plays an essential role in causing diarrhea, malnutrition, and poor cognitive function, especially in children. This study was conducted to identify the frequency of Cryptosporidium cases and other parasitic agents.
Methods
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 219 hospitalized children with diarrhea. The conventional microscopic technique was applied for parasitic detection. Particular staining (modified Ziehl-Neelsen) procedure was performed to identify oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to determine the SSU rRNA and gp60 gene of Cryptosporidium.
Results
Cysts of Giardia duodenalis (2.3%), ova of Ascaris lumbricoides (1.4%,), Trichuris trichiura (0.5%), and both A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura (0.9%) were identified in samples through wet mount preparation. The distribution of Cryptosporidium spp. as detected by the staining method and nested PCR was 1.4% and 4.1%, respectively.
Conclusion
Factors independently associated with Cryptosporidium infection are unsafe water, lack of regular hand washing, and insufficiency of exclusive breastfeeding. This study reports, presumably for the first time, the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in Chattogram metropolitan city of Bangladesh.
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