Abstract
Enteric parasite infections are underestimated due to the limited sensitivity and specificity of microscopy, which remains the diagnostic gold standard in routine clinical practice. This could be a major problem in high-income countries, where the burden of parasitic diseases is low. In recent years, Multiplex Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based methods have been implemented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of four enteric protozoan species detected by RT-PCR in non-native children in Italy, and to describe their clinical characteristics. Adopted and immigrant children, evaluated for migration health assessment between 2017 and 2020 in a tertiary care children's hospital in Italy, were enrolled. Molecular analysis for Giardia lamblia, Dientamoeba fragilis, Blastocystis hominis, and Entamoeba histolytica, was conducted by in-house RT-PCR. Overall, 209 children were enrolled and 70% of them resulted positive by RT-PCR for at least one enteric parasite. B. hominis (47.8%) was the most commonly identified protozoa, followed by D. fragilis (44.5%). Co-infections with multiple pathogens were detected in 35.4% of the samples. Almost 80% of parasite-positive children were asymptomatic and ...Continue Reading
References
Mar 1, 1990·Klinische Pädiatrie·U PreissA Otto
Feb 8, 2003·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·G J J van DoornumH G M Niesters
Apr 18, 2003·The New England Journal of Medicine·Rashidul HaqueWilliam A Petri
Jan 16, 2004·Gut·A C Casburn-Jones, M J G Farthing
Jun 7, 2008·The Journal of Pediatrics·Anita J FuglestadMichael K Georgieff
Oct 16, 2008·Clinical Microbiology Reviews·Kevin S W Tan
May 22, 2009·Gastroenterology·Sean W PawlowskiRichard Guerrant
Jan 1, 2010·Gut Microbes·Joel L N BarrattDamien Stark
Oct 18, 2013·Clinical Microbiology and Infection : the Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases·L MaasB E van Ewijk
May 2, 2014·Parasitology·Jaco J Verweij
May 9, 2014·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·D StarkJ T Ellis
Jun 3, 2014·BMC Infectious Diseases·Adriana CalderaroMaria Cristina Arcangeletti
Apr 7, 2015·Clinical Microbiology and Infection : the Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases·L van Lieshout, M Roestenberg
Apr 19, 2015·Parasites & Vectors·Érica Boarato DavidSimone M Cacciò
Oct 10, 2015·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Marit G TellevikKurt Hanevik
Jan 14, 2016·Parasitology Research·Eman M HusseinAbdalla M Hussein
Jul 6, 2016·Journal of Travel Medicine·Lorenzo ZammarchiAlessandro Bartoloni
Nov 20, 2016·PloS One·Eun Jeong WonMyung Geun Shin
Mar 24, 2017·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Pikka JokelainenChristen R Stensvold
Aug 22, 2017·Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology·Sonia BoughattasMarawan A Abu-Madi
Sep 8, 2017·Parasites & Vectors·Marawan Abu-MadiAhmed Ismail
Nov 23, 2017·Frontiers in Microbiology·Fabio FormentiZeno Bisoffi
Dec 21, 2017·Parasitology Research·Marijo ParčinaRalf Ignatius
Oct 3, 2018·Enfermedades infecciosas y microbiología clínica·Candela MenéndezAzucena Rodríguez-Guardado
Oct 18, 2018·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Lucía MiguelIsrael Molina
Oct 30, 2019·European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases : Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology·Maria Dullaert- de BoerLesla E S Bruijnesteijn van Coppenraet
Oct 31, 2019·Euro Surveillance : Bulletin Européen Sur Les Maladies Transmissibles = European Communicable Disease Bulletin·Lucia RehDavid Carmena
Feb 7, 2020·Maternal & Child Nutrition·Kadra A OsmanColin I Cercamondi
May 18, 2020·BMC Infectious Diseases·Sandrine Lydie Oyegue-LiabaguiJean Bernard Lekana-Douki