Ali Elbakri

University of Sharjah | US · Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences

Introduction: Human microsporidiosis represents an important and rapidly emerging opportunistic disease. The present study investigated the prevalence of microsporidia among HIV positive and HIV negative patients with or without diarrhoea in Vhembe and Mopani Districts in the Limpopo Province. Methodology: A total of 170 stool samples were colle...

The aim of this study was to detect and characterize Giardia lamblia in animals in the UAE. Eighty-seven fecal samples were tested for G. lamblia using the conserved fragment of small subunit (SSU)-rRNA by nested PCR. Giardia-positive isolates were genotyped for assemblages A and B using assemblage specific primers of the triosephosphate isomerase...

Background: Our understanding of the disease caused by the various Entamoeba species and its epidemiology is changing with time, and very little is known about their genetic diversity. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Entamoeba species among children under 5 years in the Vhembe District, South Afri...

Intestinal parasitic diseases are common in developing countries including South Africa and have been documented to be the most common in children under the age of five. The present study aimed to identify any potential association that may exist between TNF-α promoter gene polymorphism and parasitic infections. A total of 199 blood samples were ev...

Objectives: Consuming raw vegetables presents a considerable risk to the public and is the chief mode of transmission of intestinal parasites. We sought to assess the degree of parasitic contaminations on selected vegetables in the UAE. Methods: A total of 218 fresh vegetable samples were collected randomly from different farms and local supermarke...

Amoebiasis occurs worldwide and affects about 20–50 million people annually. Stool samples were collected from patients attending different rural clinics in Northern South Africa in the present study. Microscopic examination was performed for the initial detection of Entamoeba parasites. A multiplex PCR protocol based on the small subunit rRNA gene...

Background: Very few studies have determined the prevalence and assemblage distribution of Giardia lamblia in South Africa. The present study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of G. lamblia infection and the spread of the various assemblages in two communities in South Africa - Giyani, Limpopo province (rural community) and Pretoria Guateng provin...

The contribution of Blastocystis from non-human hosts to zoonotic transmission is only partly known. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of Blastocystis genetic subtypes in different animal species in United Arab Emirates. A total of 114 stool samples were tested using PCR of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene and sequence...

Background Epidemiological data on Cryptosporidium infections in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is scarce. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species among a community of expatriates in Sharjah, UAE working in different sectors, including the food industry, house maids and other domestic o...

Intestinal parasitic infections are prevalent throughout many countries. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasite carriers among 21,347 expatriate workers, including food handlers and housemaids attending the public health center laboratory in Sharjah, UAE. Stool sample collection was performed throughout the period betwe...

The physico-chemical and parasitological parameters of wastewater and treated wastewaters in Limpopo, South Africa were studied from four sewage treatment plants in the Vhembe District. Samples were analyzed for various physical and physical and chemical properties methods. Modified ZiehlNeelson and real time PCR were used for the detection of Cryp...

Little research has been done on the occurrence and removal of helminths ova from wastewater and sludge in South Africa. In the present study, wastewater and treated wastewater samples collected from 6 different sewage treatment plants over a period of nine months in the Vhembe district, South Africa were analysed microscopically for helminthova wi...

Data on the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is lacking and scarce. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of both Treponema pallidum (causative agent of syphilis) and HIV infections among expatriates in Sharjah, UAE. The study group (N = 20,670) included expatriate workers of both sexes...

Blastocystis is estimated to be one of the most common parasites of the intestinal tract of humans, comprising multiple subtypes (ST). Meanwhile, the distribution of Blastocystis ST in many communities and countries remains unknown. In the present work, we aimed to identify the prevalence of Blastocystis and the ST distribution in human stool sampl...

Dientamoeba fragilis is an enteric protozoan parasite that remains neglected, probably due to the misconception that it is uncommon and non-pathogenic. As more information be‐ came available and antimicrobial agents were developed with activity against this para‐ site, it became clear that D. fragilis is responsible of an active infection, associat...

In addition to Cryptosporidium being recognized as a very important cause of morbidity and mortality among humans, it is also an important economical problem with hundreds of outbreaks reported throughout the world every year and in agriculture where it affects mostly young animals. Transmission of Cryptosporidium is often by oral route through wat...

Background: No data are available on Giardia lamblia genotypes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to identify G. lamblia from DNA extracted from human stool samples to gain information on its prevalence and to perform molecular analysis on isolates collected from expatriates from different localities residing in Sharjah, UAE. Met...

The genetic diversity of 20 Entamoeba histolytica isolates from asymptomatic individuals from the UAE was investigated by analyzing polymorphism in the serine-rich E. histolytica gene (SREHP) by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) on DNA extracted directly from stool sampl...

Amoebiasis is one of the most important infectious diseases afflicting mainly tropical and subtropical countries. This study was carried out in the Sharjah Emirate, UAE in order to accurately detect and differentiate Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and E. moshkovskii in fecal samples collected from the Sharjah municipality public health cli...

Therapeutic antibodies are widely used in the treatment of various diseases and disease conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders, malignancies, and infections. With at least 23 therapeutic agents currently in clinical use and a successful business generating large revenues, major technological advances are now in place to...