Devika Iddawela

Clinico-Epidemiological Patterns of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Patients Attending the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania donovani is an endemic vector-borne disease in Sri Lanka. Over 2,500 cases have been reported since 2000 and the number of CL cases has dramatically increased annually. Total 57 clinically suspected CL patients attending the dermatology clinic in Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital were recruited from January to June 2015. Slit skin smears and skin biopsies were taken from each of the subjects. Clinical and epidemiological data were obtained using interviewer administered questionnaire. Forty-three (75.4%) patients among 57 were confirmed positive for L. donovani. The majority of infected patients was males (P=0.005), and the most affected age group was 21–40 years. Soldiers in security forces, farmers, and housewives were identified as high risk groups. The presence of scrub jungles around the residence or places of occupation (P=0.003), the presence of sandflies (P=0.021), and working outsides more than 6 hr per day (P=0.001) were significantly associated with CL. The number of lesions ranged from 1–3, and the majority (76%) of the patients had a single lesion. Upper and lower extremities were the prominent places of lesions, while the wet type of lesions were more prevalent in females (P=0.022). A nodular-ulcerative type lesion was common in both sexes. The presence of sandflies, scrub jungles, and outdoor activities contributed to spread of Leishmania parasites in an endemic pattern. Implementation of vector control programs together with health education with regard to transmission and prevention of CL are necessary to control the spread of this infection.

Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in Sri Lanka: a cross sectional study

BackgroundToxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan infecting humans and animals. Infection in adults usually causes mild disease but greater importance lies in preventing transplacental transmission which can cause major foetal anomalies and is vital to identify infection in pregnancy. Research on this regard in Sri Lanka is scarce and would be beneficial in developing antenatal care strategies for improved foetal outcome.MethodsA random sample of 536 pregnant women attending antenatal care in Teaching Hospital Peradeniya from 2010 to 2013 was recruited for this study.Blood samples were tested for Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies from the participants by using a commercial ELISA kit with a cut-off OD value of >1 and a structured questionnaire was used to identify the exposure to risk.Bivariate analysis using the Chi Square test was used to calculate associations between documented risk factors and seropositivity and a p value of <0.05 was taken as significant.ResultsAmong the participants 160 (29.9%) were positive for T. gondii IgG antibodies and 2 (0.37%) were IgM positive. The seroprevalence in the first, second and third trimesters were 30.4%, 30.6% and 26.1% respectively. Of the risk factors studied, preparation and selling raw meat (p = 0.05) and household gardening (p = 0.01) were significant whereas the presence of domesticated cats and dogs, eating locally produced meat or dairy products did not show significant associations.ConclusionsSeroprevalence of T. gondii present among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Peradeniya was 29.9% indicating high level of transmission among the study population. However 70.1% of the study population were seronegative and were susceptible to primary acute infection during pregnancy and possible foetal anomalies. Therefore implementing health education especially on the aforementioned risk factors is recommended.

Frequency of Toxocariasis among Patients Clinically Suspected to Have Visceral Toxocariasis: A Retrospective Descriptive Study in Sri Lanka

Introduction Human toxocariasis is caused by several species of the nematode Toxocara. Two common clinical syndromes are ocular and visceral larva migrans. Objectives To determine the Toxocara antibody positivity in clinically suspected VLM patients and to describe demographic factors and clinical manifestations of seropositive patients. Methods 522 clinically suspected patients were studied between 1993 and 2014. Relevant data was gathered from referral letters. Serum samples were subjected to Toxocara antigen ELISA. Results Overall, seropositivity was 50.2% (262), of which 109 (40.8%) were positive at high level of Toxocara antibody carriage and 153 (58.4%) were positive at low levels. The seropositives ranged from 3 months to 70 years (mean = 7.8). Younger age group had higher levels of seropositivity and it was statistically significant. Majority of children under 5 years were seropositive (47.7%, n = 125). Seropositivity was common in males (55.3%, n = 145). Clinical manifestations of seropositives include lymphadenopathy (24.1%) skin rash (22.5%), dyspnoea (21.7%), fever (21%), hepatosplenomegaly (9.2%), and abdominal pain (3.8%). 197 (75.2%) seropositive cases had eosinophilia. These symptoms were not statistically significant. Conclusions This study confirms toxocariasis as an important cause of childhood ill health identifying common clinical symptoms recommending preventive measures to limit transmission.