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Hydatid disease was very much prevalent in Benghazi, Libya, with cysts found in many parts of the body. The Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Benghazi University has done research related to hydatid fluid composition as a means to understand the pathogenesis of the parasitic infection.
In one study, hydatid fluid collected from the lungs and livers of sheep and humans was analysed for protein and lipid composition. There were no marked differences in the composition of these parameters and the major lipids were triglycerides and diglycerides. [1] In another study, we found quantities of trace elements in hydatid fluid from sheep and man (for example, aluminium, cadmium, iron, manganese, nickel, sodium and tin in the corpuscles of Echinococcus granulosus), which shows their possible importance as nutrients or as cofactors in the metabolism of the parasite. [2]
References
1. Sheriff, D., El Fakhri, M., & Kidwai, S. (1989). Lipids in hydatid fluid collected from lungs and livers of sheep and man. Journal of Helminthology, 63(3), 266-268. doi:10.1017/S0022149X00009081
The phospholipids ...
2. Sheriff, D., Dar, F., & Kidwai, S. (1984). Metallic elements in hydatid fluid. Journal of Helminthology, 58(4), 335-336. doi:10.1017/S0022149X00025220