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Isolation of Entamoeba moshkovskii Tshalaia, from Karachi Sewage
153 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE. VOL. 61. No. 1. 1967. CORRESPONDENCE
To the Editor ISOLATION OF Entamoeba moshkovskii TSHALAIA, FROM KARACHI SEWAGE
SIR,--Entamoeba moshkovskii has been isolated from sewage in a number of countries but has not been reported previously from Karachi, Pakistan. During the brief visit of the senior author to Karachi the parasite was isolated from samples of sewage, at various stages of its treatment, from one of the sewage disposal plants of the city. One of the strains was brought to Singapore and has been maintained in horse serum, Marmite and starch medium (JONES, W. R., Ann. Trop. Med. Parasit. 1946, 40, 130) for more than a year. The cultures are kept at room temperature (25-30°C.). The morphology of the trophozoite and cysts from the cultures has been studied after staining with Heidenhain's haematoxylin after fixation in Schaudin's fluid, and with Wheatley's trichrome stain after fixation in PVA, and is similar to that described by NEAL (Parasitology, 1953, 43, 253). We are, etc., V. ZAMAN,
Department of Parasitology, Singapore
University of
MISS SHAH BANO,
Department of Microbiology, Jinnah PostGraduate Centre, Karachi 16 December, 1966.
THE RESULTS OF A STOOL AND SKIN TEST SURVEY FOR SCHISTOSOMAISIS IN VILLAGES NEAR THE MEKONG RIVER OF NORTH-EAST THAILAND
SIR,--Cases of schistosomiasis due to S. japonicurn have recently been discovered in the Mekong River area of Laos bordering N. E. Thailand (MosT, pers. commun.). Since any new focus of the disease in S. E. Asia is a cause for concern, it is felt that the results of the preliminary survey reported in this present communication are of interest. Patients in the Ubol Provincial Hospital, and villagers living between Ubol and the Thai-Laotian border, were skin-tested with an adult S. mansoni antigen according to the method of KAGAN et al. (1961), and an attempt was made to obtain MIF-preserved stool specimens from all individuals skin tested. The stools of those who showed positive skin tests, i.e., a wheal at least twice the size of the saline control, were further examined by formalin-ether concentration and sedimentation followed by the hatching of any miracidia present. The results are shown in the following table. Number examined Thai patients in Ubol hospital Laotian patients in Ubol hospital Chongmek village Fangloom village Phiboonmangsaharn village Total
43 6 73 53 98 273
Number skin test positive 3 4 7 1 8 23
(7-090) (9.6%) (I-9%) (8-2%) (8.4'}o)
Number parasitologically positive 0 1 1 0 0 2 (0.79;)
To the Editor ISOLATION OF Entamoeba moshkovskii TSHALAIA, FROM KARACHI SEWAGE
SIR,--Entamoeba moshkovskii has been isolated from sewage in a number of countries but has not been reported previously from Karachi, Pakistan. During the brief visit of the senior author to Karachi the parasite was isolated from samples of sewage, at various stages of its treatment, from one of the sewage disposal plants of the city. One of the strains was brought to Singapore and has been maintained in horse serum, Marmite and starch medium (JONES, W. R., Ann. Trop. Med. Parasit. 1946, 40, 130) for more than a year. The cultures are kept at room temperature (25-30°C.). The morphology of the trophozoite and cysts from the cultures has been studied after staining with Heidenhain's haematoxylin after fixation in Schaudin's fluid, and with Wheatley's trichrome stain after fixation in PVA, and is similar to that described by NEAL (Parasitology, 1953, 43, 253). We are, etc., V. ZAMAN,
Department of Parasitology, Singapore
University of
MISS SHAH BANO,
Department of Microbiology, Jinnah PostGraduate Centre, Karachi 16 December, 1966.
THE RESULTS OF A STOOL AND SKIN TEST SURVEY FOR SCHISTOSOMAISIS IN VILLAGES NEAR THE MEKONG RIVER OF NORTH-EAST THAILAND
SIR,--Cases of schistosomiasis due to S. japonicurn have recently been discovered in the Mekong River area of Laos bordering N. E. Thailand (MosT, pers. commun.). Since any new focus of the disease in S. E. Asia is a cause for concern, it is felt that the results of the preliminary survey reported in this present communication are of interest. Patients in the Ubol Provincial Hospital, and villagers living between Ubol and the Thai-Laotian border, were skin-tested with an adult S. mansoni antigen according to the method of KAGAN et al. (1961), and an attempt was made to obtain MIF-preserved stool specimens from all individuals skin tested. The stools of those who showed positive skin tests, i.e., a wheal at least twice the size of the saline control, were further examined by formalin-ether concentration and sedimentation followed by the hatching of any miracidia present. The results are shown in the following table. Number examined Thai patients in Ubol hospital Laotian patients in Ubol hospital Chongmek village Fangloom village Phiboonmangsaharn village Total
43 6 73 53 98 273
Number skin test positive 3 4 7 1 8 23
(7-090) (9.6%) (I-9%) (8-2%) (8.4'}o)
Number parasitologically positive 0 1 1 0 0 2 (0.79;)