Browsing by Author "Balcioglu, IC"
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Item The in vitro Effects of Azithromycin and Clarithromycin on Promastigotes and Amastigotes of Leishmania tropicaBalcioglu, IC; Ok, ÜZ; Özbel, Y; Girginkardesler, N; Özbilgin, ALeishmania (L.) tropica is one of the most common species responsible for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Old World including Turkey. The pentavalent antimonials are widely used as intralesional and/or intramuscular in the treatment of CL, but increase in resistance to these agents led to investigations on alternative drugs. In vitro antileishmanial activities of two macrolides, azithromycin and clarithromycin were evaluated on promastigotes in RPMI 1640 medium and amastigotes in macrophage series of L. tropica. ED50 values of azithromycin and clarithromycin were found to be 5 mu g/ml and <5 mu g/ml on promastigotes, and 50-75 mu g/ml and <3 mu g/ml on amastigotes, respectively, while ED90 values of the same drugs were 75 mu g/ml and 25 mu g/ml on promastigotes and 100 mu g/ml and 10 mu g/ml on amastigotes, respectively. Our data suggested that clarithromycin and azithronnycin were effective on both L. tropica promastigotes and amastigotes in vitro. Clarithromycin was found to be more effective than azithromycin at lower concentrations on promastigotes and amastigotes. In vivo studies should be planned to detect intracellular concentrations of these drugs for the effective route and dosage.Item Semen Cannabis and Oleum Hyperici: Antileishmanial activity against Leishmania tropica promastigotes and intracellular amastigotesYildirim, A; Aksoy, T; Kayalar, H; Balcioglu, ICThe exploration of alternative agents and novel drug candidates for the effective treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis has garnered significant attention, driven by the high cost, toxic effects, and the emergence of drug resistance associated with current therapeutic options. Plant extracts derived from Semen Cannabis, the seeds of the Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) plant, and Oleum Hyperici, the oily macerate of Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's Wort) plant, were prepared by using solvents of varying polarity (n-hexane, chloroform, ethanol, and 60% aqueous ethanol). The primary objective of this study was to research in vitro and ex vivo antileishmanial efficacy of Semen Cannabis and Oleum Hyperici plant extracts against Leishmania tropica promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. The efficacy of plant extracts against promastigotes were assessed using the cell counting by hemocytometer and the CellTiter-Glo assay. Additionally, their impact on infected THP-1 macrophages and the quantity of intracelluler amastigotes were investigated. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in THP-1 macrophages. Among the tested plant extracts, chloroform extract of Oleum Hyperici demonstrated significant antileishmanial activity against promastigotes (SI: 12.6) and intracellular amastigotes (SI: 16.8) of L. tropica without inducing cytotoxic effects and hold promise for further investigation as potential antileishmanial agents.Item A new experimental in vitro culture medium for cultivation of Leishmania speciesLimoncu, ME; Balcioglu, IC; Yereli, K; Ozbel, Y; Ozbilgin, AA new liquid culture medium prepared with chemicals that can be obtained economically and commercially was tested in in vitro cultivation of Leishmania promastigotes to obtain a large number of organisms to use in serological studies, The number of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica promastigotes taken from Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle (NNN) medium reached 1 x 10(7)/ml at the end of the 8th day In our nem medium, though in NNN medium the number of organisms reached only 5 x 10(6)/ml. After 10 subsequent passages, the culture medium prepared was evaluated as being quite inexpensive, simple, and successful compared with other commercially available liquid culture media.Item Rural life, lower socioeconomic status and parasitic infectionsBalcioglu, IC; Kurt, Ö; Limoncu, ME; Dinç, G; Gümüs, M; Kilimcioglu, AA; Kayran, E; Özbilgin, AThis study was conducted both to assess the prevalence of parasitic infections in two neighboring villages of Manisa province in Turkey, with different socioeconomic levels and investigate the influences of some individual and environmental factors on these infections. A total of 100 school children were enrolled and their cellophane tape and stool samples were examined for parasites. Pediculus capitis infestation was diagnosed by visual inspection of the hair. Although the prevalences of both intestinal parasitosis and pediculosis were high in both villages, there was a statistically significant difference for pediculosis, but not for intestinal parasitosis. Lack of social security and father's regular job were found to be highly correlated with all parasitic infections. Pediculosis was more common in younger children, girls and those in crowded families. These results indicate not only the high prevalence of parasitic infections, but also the urgent need for the improvement of basic health services and infrastructure in the rural areas, crowded with poorer immigrant population. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Are Regular Controls Conducted in Schools Adequate in Lowering the Incidence of Head Lice (Pediculus capitis) Infestation?Balcioglu, IC; Kurt, Ö; Limoncu, ME; Ermis, VÖ; Tabak, T; Oyur, T; Muslu, H; Kavur, H; Görgün, S; Girginkardesler, N; Yereli, K; Bilaç, C; Özbel, YIn the present study, school children of similar age-groups from two villages of Manisa province, namely Osmancali and Maldan, were examined in regular time periods to monitorize the changes in the incidence of head lice (Pediculus capitis). A total of 2091 children (1565 in Osmancali and 526 in Maldan) were combed with a newly-designed lice comb (PDC (R), KSL Consulting, Helsinge, Denmark) four times in May and November in 2008 and 2009. The assessment of the results was conducted with SPSS (R) v.15 program using CHAID and logistic regression analysis. The results of the periodic examinations of the children showed that the infestation rate of girls were found to be higher significantly compared to boys (P<0.001), and the incidence of head lice infestation in boys from Osmancali was found three times higher than the incidence in boys in Maldan (P=0.002). In addition, regular dry combing and treatment lowered the infestation rates among girls significantly (P=0.001). According to the results of the study, regular dry combing of school children with specially-designed lice combs may be essential for the control of this common infestation, especially in rural areas.Item Leishmaniasis in TurkeyOk, ÜZ; Balcioglu, IC; Özkan, AT; Özensoy, S; Özbel, YLeishmaniases are widespread in most countries in the Mediterranean basin, including Turkey. Two forms are observed in Turkey; Leishmania infantuni is responsible from visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and L. tropica causes cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Phlebotomus sergenti, P. papatasi, P. major and P. syriacus are considered to be the probable vectors, and dogs are the main reservoir of L. infantuni, while P. sergenti is the main suspected vector of L. tropica. VL is sporadically seen mainly in the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Central Anatolia Regions, but CL is endemic, especially in the Southeastern and Mediterranean Regions. Major touristic sites are free of both infections, and no infection is reported in any tourist. Mean number of annual VL and CL cases reported to Ministry of Health are 40 and 1,204, respectively, in the last four years. These data suggest that both VL and CL represent a public health problem in Turkey, but a decline is observed in the number of cases with both infections in recent years. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Item Treatment of head lice with dimeticone 4% lotion: comparison of two formulations in a randomised controlled trial in rural TurkeyKurt, Ö; Balcioglu, IC; Burgess, IF; Limoncu, ME; Girginkardesler, N; Tabak, T; Muslu, H; Ermis, Ö; Sahin, MT; Bilac, C; Kavur, H; Özbel, YBackground: Dimeticone 4% lotion was shown to be an effective treatment for head louse infestation in two randomised controlled trials in England. It is not affected by insecticide resistance but efficacy obtained (70-75%) was lower than expected. This study was designed to evaluate efficacy of dimeticone 4% lotion in a geographically, socially, and culturally different setting, in rural Turkey and, in order to achieve blinding, it was compared with a potential alternative formulation. Methods: Children from two village schools were screened for head lice by detection combing. All infested students and family members could participate, giving access to treatment for the whole community. Two investigator applied treatments were given 7 days apart. Outcome was assessed by detection combing three times between treatments and twice the week following second treatment. Results: In the intention to treat group 35/36 treated using dimeticone 4% had no lice after the second treatment but there were two protocol violators giving 91.7% treatment success. The alternative product gave 30/36 (83.3%) treatment success, a difference of 8.4% (95% CI-9.8% to 26.2%). The cure rates per-protocol were 33/34 (97.1%) and 30/35 (85.7%) respectively. We were unable to find any newly emerged louse nymphs on 77.8% of dimeticone 4% treated participants or on 66.7% of those treated with the alternative formulation. No adverse events were identified. Conclusion: Our results confirm the efficacy of dimeticone 4% lotion against lice and eggs and we found no detectable difference between this product and dimeticone 4% lotion with nerolidol 2% added. We believe that the high cure rate was related to the lower intensity of infestation in Turkey, together with the level of community engagement, compared with previous studies in the UK.Item Seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis in Kuadasi, TurkeyTöz, SÖ; Ertabaklar, H; Özbel, Y; Balcioglu, IC; Yildizli, N; Alkan, MZHuman and canine visceral leishmaniasis cases have been reported from Kusadasi, a town in western Turkey, since 1993. In order to better understand the epidemiology of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanVL) in the region, we aimed: (i) to determine the prevalence of CanVL in Kusadasi using a randomly selected dog population and (ii) to measure the effect of case control on the prevalence of the disease. In this study, all 109 dogs kept at the dog shelter of Kusadasi Municipality (reflecting random selectivity) were screened serologically using IFAT and rK39 ELISA in 1999. Ten dogs (9.1%) were seropositive or borderline in 1 of the 2 tests. Seropositive dogs (8) died spontaneously or were euthanized, while borderline dogs (2) under-went monthly serological examinations. One year later, in a second sampling, a total of 85 dogs were examined (27 previously tested and 58 new). Four dogs (4.7%) showed seropositivity. Seropositive dogs (2) were euthanized while borderline dogs (2) underwent monthly serological examinations. The reduction in the prevalence of the disease (from 9.1% to 4.7%) appears to be the result of culling CanVL positive dogs from the general population.Item Short Report: Quantiferon-Leishmania as an Epidemiological Tool for Evaluating the Exposure to Leishmania InfectionTurgay, N; Balcioglu, IC; Toz, SO; Ozbel, Y; Jones, SLThe aim of the present preliminary study was to investigate the potential of measurement of IFN-gamma secretion by T cells into blood plasma using QuantiFERON assay with leishmanial antigens to determine the presence of Leishmania infection. Blood samples from cured visceral (N = 1.8), and cutaneous (N = 20) leishmaniasis cases, and 20 healthy controls were tested. The IFN-gamma responses to Leishmania major H2B and Leishmania infantum H2B antigens were detected from the majority of treated old visceral leishmaniasis cases, but not from controls. Future studies using larger groups will be required to establish the true potential of the assay for epidemiological screening of leishmaniasis.Item Assessment of In-vitro Antileishmanial Activities of Cynara scolymus Extracts Against Leishmania tropicaYildirim, A; Aksoy, T; Ceylan, SS; Kayalar, H; Tayfur, E; Balcioglu, ICIt was aimed to investigate in vitro antileishmanial activities of the receptacle, bractea, and stem leaves extracts of Cynara scolymus (artichoke) against Leishmania tropica. The Leishmania isolate, isolated from a cutaneous leishmaniasis patient from Manisa province, Turkey and stored in liquid nitrogen, was identified as L. tropica (MHOM/TR/2012/CBCL-LT) by genotyping. In vitro antileishmanial activities of C. scolymus plant extracts were examined by CelltTiter-glo and hemocytometry, and cytotoxic activities by MTT. IC50 values of receptacle water (WRC), aqueous ethanol (ARC) and ethanol (ERC), bractea leaf water (WBC), aqueous ethanol (ABC) and ethanol (EBC), and stem leaf water (WSC), aqueous ethanol (ASC) and ethanol (ESC) extracts were determined as 2.45 mg/mL, 1.52 mg/mL, 1.66 mg/mL, 3.45 mg/mL, 1.46 mg/mL and 0.58 mg/mL, 0.24 mg/mL, 0.21 mg/mL and 0.08 mg/mL, respectively. When these results are compared with the drug-free control group, it was determined that stem leaf aqueous ethanol (SI: 7.98), ethanol (SI: 4.96) and water (SI: 2.71) extracts with the highest selectivity index (SI) values showed antileishmanial activity (P<0.05). Extracts of C. scolymus did not show cytotoxic activity except for WBC, WRC and ARC. In conclusion, the data presented in the current study indicated that C. scolymus stem leaf extracts (ESC, ASC and WSC) present effective antileishmanial activity. Future studies could focus on the identification and purification of the antileishmanial compounds within these extracts for analysis of their in vivo antileishmanial activity.Item Complement C1, C3 and C4 levels in sera of leishmaniasis cases in TurkeyLimoncu, ME; Sanlidag, T; Balcioglu, IC; Akçali, S; Özensoy, S; Özbel, YLeishmaniasis is still a problem for many countries including developed ones. The subgroups of the serum complements have significant roles on the onset of the infection. The aim of this study was to determine the serum complement (C1, C3, C4) levels of cases with definite diagnosis of leishmaniasis and compare them with healthy controls. The study group included 43 visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and 13 cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases. Two control groups were formed for the study. The first control group included 50 individuals of the same age group having no health complaints, admitted for routine control and found to be serologically negative. The second control group included 28 individuals, consistent with the diagnostic criteria of VL. The serum complement levels of C1, C3 and C4 were measured by the nephelometric method. The average levels of C1 were found to be high in VL cases (78.98%) and low in CL (41.69%) group, which was statistically significant (p=0.011). In addition, the average levels of C3 were high in CL group (96.08%) and low in VL group (62.00%), which was also statistically significant (p=0.010). C4 levels were found to be high in the control group, while similar in VL and CL groups. C1, C3, C4 levels were found to be lower in the first control group of healthy individuals. The levels of the subgroups of complement system show statistically significant in both VL and CL cases, which suggested that they could be useful in verifying the results of the serological examinations.Item Cutaneous leishmaniasis infection in Balb/c mice using a Leishmania tropica strain isolated from TurkeyGirginkardesler, N; Balcioglu, IC; Yereli, K; Özbilgin, A; Özbel, YLeishmania tropica, which is endemic in Turkey, is the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Leishmania tropica promastigotes (2 x 10(7)) isolated from a patient with dermal leishmaniasis and reproduced in NNN medium were inoculated subcutaneously into the footpads of 10 Balb/c mice. Cutaneous leishmaniasis developed on the footpads of 4 mice approximately 45 days later. Leishmania tropica amastigotes were observed in smear slides and then cultivated in NNN medium. Balb/c mice are a suitable laboratory model for this isolate of L. tropica and thus a source of amastigotes for studies on the immunology, chemotherapy, and pathogenicity of cutaneous leishmaniasis.Item Serological levels of zinc, copper and iron elements among Giardia lamblia infected children in TurkeyErtan, P; Yereli, K; Kurt, Ö; Balcioglu, IC; Onag, ABackground : Giardiasis, an intestinal protozoan infection caused by Giardia lamblia , is common in Turkey, especially among children aged between 2- and 14-years-old. Effects of giardiasis on serological levels of zinc, copper and iron elements were assessed in this study. Methods : A total of 45 children, aged between 2- and 14-years-old, who were admitted to the Pediatrics Department of Celal Bayar University Medical School with gastrointestinal complaints and diagnosed as having giardiasis by stool examinations in the Parasitology Department, were enrolled as the study group (SG). The control group (CG) consisted of 45 age-matched healthy children. Serological levels of zinc, copper and iron were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer in all samples. Results : As a result of the study, serum zinc levels were 67.43 +/- 17.72 mug/dL and 145.20 +/- 9.13 mug/dL, copper levels were 198.45 +/- 39.14 mug/dL and 150 +/- 21.14 mug/dL and iron levels were 87.98 +/- 18.31 mug/dL and 160.45 +/- 45.40 mug/dL, in SG and CG, respectively. When compared separately as SG and CG, there was a statistically significant difference between the serological levels of all these elements. Conclusion : These results revealed that giardiasis increased the serological levels of copper, like other infectious agents. However, zinc and iron levels decreased during giardiasis due to malabsorption.Item A comparison of metronidazole and single-dose ornidazole for the treatment of dientamoebiasisKurt, Ö; Girginkardesler, N; Balcioglu, IC; Özbilgin, A; Ok, ÜZRecent reports of the pathogenic potential of Dientamoeba fragilis have underlined the need for an effective treatment against this colon-dwelling protozoan. Metronidazole is a well-known and commonly used anti-protozoal agent, but another 5-nitroimidazole derivative, ornidazole, may be preferable, where available, because of its longer half-life and fewer side-effects. This study compared the efficacies of metronidazole and ornidazole in a group of 112 patients with dientamoebiasis. Patients were randomised into two treatment groups: group 1 (n = 56) received metronidazole for 5 days, 20 mg/kg/day for children and 1.5 g/day for adults, in three oral doses, while group 2 (n = 56) received a single oral dose of ornidazole, 30 mg/kg for children and 2 g for adults. Stool samples were examined on the seventh and 14th days after treatment, and clinical symptoms were recorded to evaluate the efficacy of treatment. A statistically significant difference was recorded between the efficacies of ornidazole and metronidazole, both parasitologically (92.9% vs. 69.6%, p 0.001) and clinically (96.4% vs. 76.8%, p 0.001). Patients in the metronidazole group reported more side-effects than patients in the ornidazole group, none of whom required termination of treatment. These results suggest that single-dose ornidazole may be an important alternative agent for the treatment of dientamoebiasis.Item Dientamoeba fragilis, a neglected cause of diarrhea, successfully treated with secnidazoleGirginkardesler, N; Coskun, S; Balcioglu, IC; Ertan, P; Ok, ÜZObjective To evaluate the pathogenicity of Dientamoeba fragilis by comparing it with Giardia lamblia and to investigate the effect of a single dose of secnidazole in dientamoebiasis. Methods Stool samples of 400 patients, admitted to the Department of Parasitology, Celal Bayar University, were examined by direct wet mount, formalin-ethyl acetate concentration and trichrome staining methods on three consecutive days. All cases positive for D. fragilis were treated with a single dose of secnidazole, 30 mg/kg for children, and 2 g for adults. On the seventh and fourteenth days, at the end of the treatment, stool samples were examined by the same methods, and clinical symptoms were again evaluated. Results D. fragilis and G. lamblia were detected in 35 (8.8%) and 34 (8.5%) cases, respectively. The most frequent symptoms were found to be abdominal pain and diarrhea in both infections. D. fragilis was eradicated in 34 (97.1%) patients with a single dose of secnidazole, but a second dose was necessary in one patient. Clinical symptoms disappeared in 27 (77.1%) and decreased in eight (22.9%) cases, after eradication. Conclusions These data suggested that D. fragilis is as prevalent and pathogenic as G. lamblia , and secnidazole seems to be highly effective in achieving parasitologic and clinical cure. To our knowledge, this is the first report of secnidazole being used in the treatment of dientamoebiasis.Item The Follow-Up of Treatment Process of Malaria By Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction: In Vivo ModelCavus, I; Ozbilgin, A; Balcioglu, ICMicroscopic methods are accepted as the gold standard in the diagnosis of malaria and in the follow-up of treatment. However, as the microscopical methods require experienced personnel, it is important to confirm the diagnosis with a different method for accurate diagnosis and treatment follow-up. In our study, we aimed to investigate the utility of the use of real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR), as well as microscopic methods for malaria treatment follow-up. In our study, we formed five groups each consisting of five male Balb/c mice. Each mouse was injected intraperitoneally with 10(7)/ml Plasmodium berghei parasites. After 48 hours following the injection, the mice in the first, second and third groups received 50 mg/kg/day of chloroquine treatment for one, two and three days, respectively. The fourth group was not treated and the fifth group of mice received saline for three days. The parasitemia was monitored for 21 days by blood smears prepared from the end of tail of the mice and searching the presence of the target gene region of the parasite by rRT-PCR. Both the blood smears and rRT-PCR results were positive for groups I, II, IV and V. Both blood smears and rRT-PCR results of mice in groups other than the third group were found to be positive. Blood smears of the mice in third group were found to be positive on the 5th and 7th days of the infection, and the subsequent preparations were evaluated as negative. rRT-PCR results showed positivity on day seven, but no presence of the target gene region of the parasite was detected on the other days. The comparison of microscopy and rRT-PCR methods, had shown parallel results. Apart from the microscopic examination method, it was concluded that the rRT-PCR method is important in the diagnosis of malaria and in the follow-up of the patient during the treatment process, and that different methods that support each other should be used.Item Incidence of giardiasis among siblings in TurkeyBalcioglu, IC; Limoncu, E; Ertan, P; Yereli, K; Özbilgin, A; Onag, ABackground: Giardiasis, a common infection among children, is caused by a flagellated protozoan called Giardia lamblia . It is well known to be contagious in common living places. This is an epidemiologic study investigating the incidence of giardiasis among the siblings of patients with giardiasis living in the same household. Methods: Stool samples of 50 patients with a G. lamblia positive sibling in the same household, and 50 patients with a G. lamblia negative sibling in the same household, were examined for giardiasis by saline-Lugol, formalin-ethyl acetate concentration and trichrome staining methods. Other causes of diarrhea were excluded by microbiologic laboratory tests. Results: Thirty-eight per cent of siblings of G. lamblia positive patients and 8% of siblings of G. lamblia negative children were found to be positive for G. lamblia cysts and/or trophozoites. The differences between the groups were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The results suggested that the examination of G. lamblia among the siblings of patients with giardiasis both in the same age group and living in the same household should be considered.Item Is Toxoplasma gondii a potential risk for traffic accidents in Turkey?*Yereli, K; Balcioglu, IC; Özbilgin, AIn Turkey, traffic accidents are the major causes of mortality and morbidity. According to the statistics made by Turkish Security Headquarters in the year 2000, 7500 people are killed in the traffic accidents every year. Drivers are mostly blamed for the traffic accidents. Tired, weary, sleepy and absentminded driving are common reasons for traffic accidents due to many reasons. Among these reasons mental and reflex conditions of drivers are significant. Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonoses throughout the world. In immumocomponent adults, toxoplasmosis has no clinical signs or symptoms and infection in such people can only be detected by serological examinations. This kind of latent or dormant toxoplasmosis can be located in neural or muscular tissues and cause prolonged reaction times of the muscles. Extended reaction times also lead to deceleration of the reflexes which could be a major cause of the traffic accidents. By the light of this situation, the incidence of Toxoplasma gondii is investigated among the population who were involved in a traffic accident while driving. A total of 185 people (100 men and 85 women), aged between 21 and 40 years, living in Izmir and Manisa cities, were enrolled in the study group (SG) during a period of 6 months time. Their informed consents were taken initially and the laboratory tests of all these individuals related to blood alcohol levels after the accidents were found negative. The control group (CG) were also consisted 185 people (95 men and 90 women), residents of the same region, in same age group. The people in CG had no clinical signs or symptoms concerning toxoplasmosis. All collected sera were examined using a commercial IgG and IgM ELISA kit. According to the results of serological tests of the SG, 45 (24.32%) sera were IgG positive, six (3.24%) were IgM positive and 10 (5.40%) were both IgG and IgM positive. On the other hand in CG, 12 (6.48%) people found IgG positive, one (0.54%) found IgM positive and three (1.62%) found both IgG and IgM positive. This data was considered as statistically significant by Yates corrected chi(2)-test. (p < 0.05). In conclusion, there is an increased risk for traffic accidents for drivers owing to these high seroprevalence of latent toxoplasmosis. Prospective studies are still necessary on this subject but latent toxoplasmosis of drivers should be taken into account while developing strategies to prevent traffic accidents in Turkey. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Giardiasis treatment in Turkish children with a single dose of ornidazoleÖzbilgin, A; Ertan, P; Yereli, K; Tamay, AT; Kurt, Ö; Degerli, K; Balcioglu, IC; Ok, ÜZ; Onag, AThis study was designed to compare the treatment efficacy of single dose of ornidazole with 5 d treatments of ornidazole and metronidazole in children with giardiasis. 175 children, between 2 and 15 y old, whose stool samples were found to be positive for Giardia lamblia cysts and/or trophozoites by either saline-Lugol, formalin-ethyl acetate or trichrome staining, were enrolled in the study. Of these children, 105 were treated with a single dose of ornidazole: 35 with 30 mg/kg, 35 with 25 mg/kg and 35 with 20 mg/kg; 35 were treated with 25 mg/kg per day of ornidazole for 5 d in 2 doses and 35 children were treated with 20 mg/kg per day metronidazole for 7 d in 3 doses. All cases were examined on the 7th, 10th and 14th days after treatment by the same methods; clinical symptoms were also evaluated. Giardia lamblia was eradicated in 34 of 35 (97%), 34 of 35 (97%) and 33 of 35 (94%) patients treated with 30, 25 and 20 mg/kg single doses of ornidazole, respectively. Eradication was achieved in all 35 patients treated with 25 mg/kg per day ornidazole for 5 d and in 31 of 35 (89%) patients treated with metronidazole. There was no statistically significant difference among doses of ornidazole ( p > 0.05); however, all ornidazole treatment regimens were significantly more effective than metronidazole treatment ( p < 0.05). No important side-effects were detected in any patients and clinical symptoms disappeared in all. Single-dose ornidazole treatment could be considered as a proper and effective alternative method for the treatment of giardiasis in children.Item Investigation of Leishmania RNA Virus 2 in Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica Strains Isolated from Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Patients in TurkiyeKarabulut, C; Aksoy, T; Yildirim, A; Balcioglu, ICLeishmania RNA virus (LRV) is a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus that is thought to contribute to the severe inflammatory response of the causative Leishmania parasite in the mammalian host by being present in many isolates of Leishmania spp. In our study, it was aimed to obtain data on the presence of Leishmania RNA Virus 2 (LRV2), which is thought to cause a change in the clinical course of leishmaniasis, in Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica isolates isolated from cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients in Turkiye. Leishmania strains stored in liquid nitrogen tank by cryopreservation in Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine Parasite Bank were resuscitated under suitable conditions and cultivated in NNN and RPMI-1640 media. Then, the isolates were allowed to enter the logarithmic phase in a 26 degrees C incubator and DNA isolations were made using the High Pure PCR Template Preparation Kit. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (Rt-PCR) melting analyzes were applied to the DNAs obtained by using primers and probes specific to the internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) gene region of Leishmania. After RNA isolation from promastigote suspension, cDNA synthesis was performed by reverse transcription. After gel electrophoresis with PCR amplification products, dsRNA band formation was evaluated in terms of LRV2 positivity under ultraviolet light. Among the 20 examined Leishmania spp. isolates (10 L.tropica and 10 L.major), four (three L.tropica, one L.major) were found to be positive for the presence of LRV2. Although the mechanism of LRV in recent studies has not been fully understood, it is known that it exacerbates the clinic of the disease and even has an effect on the formation of drug resistance by the parasite. It is important to obtain data on the presence of LRV in our country and to contribute to various clinical, drug development, prevalence studies, diagnosis and treatment of the disease in the future.