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Simultaneous detection of Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia duodenalis and cryptosporidia by immunochromatographic assay in stool samples from patients living in the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt

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Abstract

Gastrointestinal infection due to intestinal parasites is an enormous health problem in developing countries and its reliable diagnosis is demanding. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating a commercially available immunochromatographic assay (ICA) for the detection of cryptosporidia, Giardia duodenalis, and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar for its usefulness in the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt. Stool samples of 104 patients who presented between October 2012 and March 2013 with gastrointestinal symptoms or for the exclusion of parasites at Kasr-Al-Ainy University Medical School were examined by light microscopy of wet mounts and the triple ICA. Microscopy revealed in 20 % of the patients [95 % confidence interval (CI), 13.5–29.0 %] parasites with Hymenolepis nana, E. histolytica/dispar and Blastocystis hominis being the most frequent ones, but was not able to detect G. duodenalis and cryptosporidia, whereas ICA was positive in 21 % (95 % CI, 14.3–30.0 %) and detected E. histolytica/dispar in 12.5 % (95 % CI, 7.3–20.4 %), cryptosporidia in 6.7 % (95 % CI, 3.1–13.5 %) and G. duodenalis in 15.4 % (95 % CI, 9.6–23.6 %) of the patients. Detection of one or more pathogens was associated with access to water retrieved from a well or pump (p = 0.01). Patients between 20 and 29 years of age (p = 0.08) and patients with symptoms of 5 days or longer (p = 0.07) tended to have a higher risk to be infected than patients of other age groups or with shorter-lasting symptoms. In conclusion, the ICA was easy to perform and timesaving. Importantly, it enabled the detection of cryptosporidia, which cannot be found microscopically in unstained smears, demonstrated a higher sensitivity for the detection of G. duodenalis than microscopy, and was more specific for distinguishing E. histolytica/dispar from apathogenic amoeba.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Renate Culley, Danijela Meister-Babić, Claudia Schubert and Antje Vincentz for their experienced help in microscopic diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany

    Dagmar M. Banisch

  2. Medical Parasitology Department, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Ayman El-Badry & Nadia El-Dib

  3. German Embassy Clinic, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, 13 Sh. Adel Hussein Rostom, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

    Jorge V. Klinnert

  4. Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 27, 12203, Berlin, Germany

    Ralf Ignatius

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  1. Dagmar M. Banisch
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  2. Ayman El-Badry
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  3. Jorge V. Klinnert
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  4. Ralf Ignatius
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  5. Nadia El-Dib
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Correspondence to Dagmar M. Banisch.

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Banisch, D.M., El-Badry, A., Klinnert, J.V. et al. Simultaneous detection of Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia duodenalis and cryptosporidia by immunochromatographic assay in stool samples from patients living in the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 31, 1251–1258 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-015-1875-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-015-1875-5

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