Background; Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), are a range of mental disorders of neurodevelopmental type. More than three billion human hosts are estimated to be affected by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is intracellular pathogen with a particular preference for the central nervous system (CNS). Accumulating evidence suggests that latent chronic toxoplasmosis contributes to triggering and progression of many neurological and psychiatric disorders, however the link and prevalence in ASD is not clear. Objective; The present study aimed to detect the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infection in children suffering from autism disorder. Method: A case-controlled study was conducted on 80 children (40 cases and 40 controls), aged from 4-10 years. They were tested for the presence of anti-T. gondii. antibodies by ELISA. Analysis of data was performed using the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. Results; No significant differences were detected between healthy (5.0%) and diseased children regarding presence of anti-toxoplasmosis antibodies (17.5%). However a significant difference was observed between boys and girls concerning age and seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis, the percent of autistic boys with toxoplasmosis was 9.1%, while the infection was represented in 57.1% of girls with autism. History of acquiring infection with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy was positive in 27.5% of diseased children compared to control children where the percent was 12.5%, with no statistically significant result. Considering residence, there were no significant differences in the seroprevalence of T. gondii IgG among urban and rural regions (P-value =1.0). Conclusion: From our study, we concluded that despite the absence of significant difference between healthy and diseased children in regard to toxoplasmosis, autistic children were highly risky for catching toxoplasmosis infection which need more research in this era.

With increased national programs for eliminating schistosomiasis and viruses affecting the liver in Egypt, treating the remained pathology represented mainly by liver fibrosis will probably be a competitive goal in the coming few years. We aimed in our work to reinforce the antifibrotic effect of BM-MSCs in liver fibrosis related to Schistosoma mansoni (Egyptian strain) infection in murine model and correlating serum Hyaluronic acid (HA) to liver fibrosis. A pilot study was done first to ensure reaching of MSCs to the fibrosed liver tissues following infection with S. mansoni and secondly to detect the best route for MSCs inoculation. Then 70 female Swiss albino mice were divided into five groups. GI; uninfected untreated, (NC, n=10), infected mice were categorized into 4 groups each contained 15 mice regarding treatment at 6th week p.i; GII: Infected untreated, GIII: PZQ treated, GIV: received MSCs and GV: PZQ then MSCs treated. Sacrifaction of all mice at 14 th week p.i. was done and mice were subjected to parasitological, biochemical, histological and immunohistochemical workup. We observed that the use of BM-MSCs and PZQ significantly decreased mean granuloma number, with significant reduction in fibrosis percent (Masson trichrome) staining than PZQ. Presence of fibrosis was associated with high serum HA level and reduction of fibrosis was linked to lowering its serum levels. Use of the combined treatment improved liver function tests. Intravenous route for administration of MSCs and the use of HA as a noninvasive marker of fibrosis are recommended. MSCs significantly alleviate liver fibrosis induced by Schistosoma mansoni infection.

Entero-parasites protozoan of the genera Cryptosporidium and Giardia have emerged over the past decades as major waterborne pathogens with an increasing number of outbreaks reaching over one hundred and sixty. In line with the national goals of providing safe drinking water supplies, this research was designed. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia intestinalis infections in surface water plants from ShebinAl-Kom and Tala, Menoufia Governorate and to evaluate routine water purification methods used for parasitic elimination. The following methods were used for assessment of samples; mechanical filtration, staining techniques and qPCR assay for detecting DNA of (oo) cysts n water samples.Water samples collected over one year (four seasons) were 87 samples. Microscopic examination (our golden test) revealed, 49 samples positive for cryptosporidium, fourteen positive samples for Giardia and four samples were positive for both of them whereas, qPCR revealed only eight positive samples for Giardia and ten positive samples for cryptosporidium. A statistically significant result concerning seasonal variation was documented where water contamination crested in Summer (p < 0.05). The intensity of infection decreased significantly after water treatment in both Shebin and Tala water stations (P= 0.01).From the present survey, we found that the prevalence of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis accounted for 29.8% and 47.1% in Shebin Al-Kom and Tala respectively. The parasitic cyst wall structure rendered diagnosis by qPCR. Genotyping of water samples is recommended for sourcing of infection which may be accused of water-borne outbreaks.