M. Refai

Incidence and control of brucellosis in the Near East region.

In countries of the Near East region, brucellosis was reported in almost all domestic animals, particularly cattle, sheep and goats. Brucellosis in camels has been reported in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Somalia. It has been reported even in racing camels in the United Arab Emirates. In Egypt, brucellosis has been reported also in buffaloes, equines and swine. Brucella melitensis biovar 3 is the most commonly isolated species from animals in Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Tunisia and Turkey. B. melitensis biovar 2 was reported in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and B. melitensis biovar 1 in Libya, Oman and Israel. B. abortus biovar 1 was reported in Egypt, biovar 2 in Iran, biovar 3 in Iran and Turkey, and biovar 6 in Sudan. The countries with the highest incidence of human brucellosis are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Jordan and Oman. Bahrain is reported to have zero incidence. Most human cases are caused by B. melitensis, particularly biovar 3. However, B. abortus has been responsible for an increasing number of cases in recent years, e.g. in Yemen, where B. abortus was identified in 45 cases and B. melitensis in 7 cases out of 330 cultures performed in 1995. Concerning control of brucellosis in animals, there is a controversy on the choice of policy. In some countries, the test and slaughter policy together with the vaccination of young females is adopted, in others, particularly with regard to sheep and goats; mass vaccination has been recently started. The most commonly used vaccines are B. abortus S19 and B. melitensis Rev.1 vaccines. B. abortus RB51 vaccine is used in some countries on small scale. Vaccination is limited to cattle and small ruminants.

Tinea capitis in Egypt.

In den letzten zwei Jahren wurden 250 Fälle von Kopfpilzerkrankungen mykologisch untersucht. In 172 Fällen konnte der Erreger kulturell nachgewiesen werden. In 92 Fällen (53,3%) wurde Trichophyton violaceum isoliert, in 46 Fällen (26,7%) war Trichophyton schoenleinii der Erreger, in 32 Fällen (18,8%) Microsporum canis. Trichophyton mentagrophytes und Trichophyton tonsurans wurden je einmal isoliert. Microsporum audouinii wurde nicht angetroffen.

Studies on Pityriasis Versicolor in Egypt: II. Clinical and Therapeutic

200 Patienten mit Pityriasis versicolor zeigten die typischen Krankheitserscheinungen am häufigsten an der Brust. In der Verteilungshäufigkeit folgten dann Hals und Schulterregion ohne große Unterschiede in beiden Geschlechtern. Als relativ beste Behandlung erwies sich die Anwendung von Tolnaftat sowie von schwefelhaltigen Zubereitungen wie Schwefelsalbe und Natriumthiosulfat. Tolnaftat wirkte besonders gut bei umschriebenen Herden. Es wird empfohlen, die Behandlung nach Eintreten der Repigmentierung noch 2 Wochen fortzusetzen.

Animal brucellosis in Egypt

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis that affects the public health and economic performance of endemic as well as non-endemic countries. In developing nations, brucellosis is often a very common but neglected disease. The purpose of this review is to provide insight about brucellosis in animal populations in Egypt and help to understand the situation from 1986 to 2013. A total of 67 national and international scientific publications on serological investigations, isolation, and biotyping studies from 1986 to 2013 were reviewed to verify the current status of brucellosis in animal populations in Egypt. Serological investigations within the national surveillance program give indirect proof for the presence of brucellosis in cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, and camels in Egypt. Serologic testing for brucellosis is a well-established procedure in Egypt, but most of the corresponding studies do not follow the scientific standards. B. melitensis biovar (bv) 3, B. abortus bv 1, and B. suis bv 1 have been isolated from farm animals and Nile catfish. Brucellosis is prevalent nationwide in many farm animal species. There is an obvious discrepancy between official seroprevalence data and data from scientific publications. The need for a nationwide survey to genotype circulating Brucellae is obvious. The epidemiologic situation of brucellosis in Egypt is unresolved and needs clarification.

Application of biotechnology in the diagnosis and control of brucellosis in the Near East Region

Although much information is available on the diagnosis and control of brucellosis, most of it is concerned with Brucella abortus in cattle. In contrast, no specific serological test for Brucella melitensis infection in small ruminants has been developed. Antigens prepared from Brucella abortus, as well as tests used for diagnosis of Brucella abortus infection in cattle, are also used for diagnosis of Brucella melitensis in small ruminants, buffaloes, camels, swine and other animals. Control policy for Brucella melitensis has not yet been established in all countries of the region, probably due to lack of information on the best methods. Moreover, little information exists on the efficacy of a mass vaccination strategy in small ruminants, regarding vaccine strain persistence in the host and its excretion in the milk of adult animals, or horizontal transfer in the field. In addition, recent data have suggested that Brucella melitensis may have evolved to more virulent strains which represent a higher risk for humans. It is suggested that a project should be financed to establish or develop a feasible regional brucellosis control programme, whose objectives will be: (i) to survey different animal species and evaluate the applicability of several serological and molecular biological techniques using specific diagnostics prepared by genetic engineering; (ii) to characterize bacteriological and genetic properties of Brucella isolates as well as the Brucella melitensis Rev. 1 vaccinal isolates recovered from different animals in various countries of the region and compare them to the standard Elberg strain. This will provide an insight into the mechanisms involved in the attenuation of the strain and its immune properties. This knowledge will be used to boost the immune protection conferred by conventional Brucella melitensis Rev. 1 vaccination, to develop new effective attenuated vaccine and/or to design subunit or DNA vaccines for ‘whole flock’ vaccination.

The effect of hormones on some fungi in vitro.

1 Die Wirkung von Sexualhormonen (Stilböstrol, Östron, Äthinylöstradiol, Progesteron, Testosteronpropionat), Epiphysenhormonen, Schilddrüsenhormonen und Nebennieren‐rindenhormonen auf das Wachstum von Candida albicans, Mikrosporum gypseum und Aspergillus niger wurde in vitro untersucht. 2 Stilböstrol stimulierte in kleinen Dosen (0,001 mg/ml) das Wachstum von Candida albicans und Mikrosporum gypseum, während es in höheren Dosen (6 mg/ml) eine fungizide Wirkung aufwies. Eine Hemmwirkung wurde beobachtet bei 0,25 bis 3 mg/ml auf Candida albicans, von 0,01 bis 3 mg/ml auf Mikrosporum gypseum und von 0,01 bis 6 mg/ml auf Aspergillus niger.

Studies on pityriasis versicolor in Egypt. I. Incidence.

Pityriasis versicolor (P. V.) is of world-wide distribution, but is particularly common in tropical and subtropical countries. As many as 50 % of the population in certain regions of Central and South America as well as parts of Africa, Samoa and India are affected (LE JEUNE, 1951; VANBREUSEGHEM, 1950; MARPLES, 1965 and LAHIRI et al., 1957). The disease is very common in Cuba (ALFONSO-ARMENTEROS, 1953). In temperate countries, the incidence of the disease is much lower. ADAMSON (1949) reported it as being 0.5 to 1 % in all skin diseases in England. Among patients with proven cutaneous fungus infection, surveys have indicated that P. V. constituted only 2.0 % to 8.4 % (FISCHER and WRONG, 1952; BURKE and BUMGARNER, 1949, and STEIN, 1951). The present work has been undertaken to determine the prevalence of P.V. in our country, and the possible predisposing factors.

Study of tinea cruris in Egypt

The results of clinical and mycological study of 215 mycologically proved cases of tinea cruris done at Ain Shams University, Cairo are reported. Of these 36 cases are associated with tinea corporis. Four clinical varieties are described. The age and sex incidence are analysed and discussed.

Eucalyptus Tree: A Potential Source of Cryptococcus neoformans in Egyptian Environment

In Egypt, the River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) is a well-known tree and is highly appreciated by the rural and urban dwellers. The role of Eucalyptus trees in the ecology of Cryptococcus neoformans is documented worldwide. The aim of this survey was to show the prevalence of C. neoformans during the flowering season of E. camaldulensis at the Delta region in Egypt. Three hundred and eleven samples out of two hundred Eucalyptus trees, including leaves, flowers, and woody trunks, were collected from four governorates in the Delta region. Thirteen isolates of C. neoformans were recovered from Eucalyptus tree samples (4.2%). Molecular identification of C. neoformans was done by capsular gene specific primer CAP64 and serotype identification was done depending on LAC1 gene. This study represents an update on the ecology of C. neoformans associated with Eucalyptus tree in Egyptian environment.

Studies on the physical, chemical and serological properties of haemagglutinins of dermatophytes

Trichophyton rubrum, T. violaceum, T. schoenleinii, Epidermophyton floccosum and Microsporum canis were shown to be able to agglutinate the RBCs of different animals and man. The reaction was proved to be specific by using the haemagglutination inhibition test (HI). The application of HI on the homologous, as well as the heterologous, serum revealed the cross‐antigenic relationships between the 5 dermatophytes. The physical and chemical natures of the haemagglutinin were also investigated.