First published article in Cytokine Biology

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Since World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infection levels are determined prior to designing and implementing control programmes, as the treatment regimens depend on the population infection prevalence and the sensitivity of the parasitological infection diagnostic method is less reliable when infection levels are low. In this study we aimed to compare between parasitological methods and serological ones in diagnosing infected individuals in an endemic area.

Human infections with Schistosomiasis and other helminths induce strange immune responses which are characterised by the production of Th1 and Th2 cytokines. One hundred and thirty sera and urine were collected from patients with urinary schistosomiasis in two villages south Elduiem (Sudan). The disease were confirmed by finding Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine using syringe filtration techniques. 70 individuals who were Schistosoma haematobium negative included in the study as controls 42 from endemic area and 28 from nonendemic area were tested IFNγ and IL 2 were found in urine and sera. There are a positive association between the production of cytokine and intensity of the infection. They are low intensity in control of endemic area which can be used for early detection of the disease in endemic area.

Schistosomiasis is one of the wide spread of all parasitic infection of man. The (WHO 2006) estimated that Schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths represent more than 40% of the global disease burden caused by all tropical diseases excluding malaria. Urinary Schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium is endemic in 53 countries in the Middle East and most of the African continent Chitsulo, et al. especially in the rural areas where only the surface water bodies are sources of water supply [1,2]. Schistosoma haematobium infects over 112 million individuals and results in 150,000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa [3]. In a study from Kenya, individuals with chronic infections and hepatosplenic disease appear to have predominantly Th1 responses to Schistosoma antigens and more severe pathology [4]. T Milner et al. in his study from Schistosoma-endemic area in Zimbabwe showed that egg positive people had significantly higher levels of specific antibodies, IL-2, IFN-γ and IL-23 [5]. In contrast, egg-negative individuals had significantly higher circulating IL-10, IL-4, IL-13, and IL-21 that were detected with high frequency in all participants.

Regards,
Veronica Thompson
Riya Parker
Associate Editor
Journal of Cytokine Biology