Journal of Parasitic Diseases最新文献

Fascioliasis and Dicrocoeliasis are important trematode infections that affect humans and ruminants worldwide. Molecular techniques have a conclusive role in detection of liver flukes. The purpose of the current study was to find outthe genotypic diversity of Fasciola and Dicrocoelium spp. isolated from different hosts in Iran. Totally, 160 and 200 adult Fasciola and Dicrocoelium spp. isolates were collected from infected cattle, sheep, and goatsfrom two abattoirs in the center of Iran.PCR-RFLP, and DNA sequences nuclear markers (18 S, 28 S, ITS) and the mitochondrial marker (ND1, CO1) were applied. PCR products of Dicrocoelium and Fasciola samples were subjected to digestion by BfaI, Tru1I, BsrBI, ECO881, and Hind III enzymes. DNA from 60 isolates of Fasciola and Dicrocoelium of different hosts were sequenced and evaluated. The PCR reaction showed the length of 18 S, 28 S, ND1, CO1 of Fasciola at 260 bp, 618 bp, 700 bp, and 500 bp, and the length of the ITS2 and 28 S of Dicrocoelium was 236 bp and 963 bp respectively. D. dendriticum has an RFLP pattern of 110, and 126 bp (ITS2), and 116, 293, 409 bp (28 S) using, BfaI and Tru1I restriction enzymes. F. gigantica has a profile of 333, and 285 bp (28 S) using BsrBI enzyme. The RFLP pattern of genotype F. hepatica was 73, 120, and 507 bp (ND1) and 119 and 381 bp (CO1) in size using Hind III and ECO881 enzymes. Using the PCR-RFLP, two species of Fasciola (F. hepatica and F. gigantica), and one species of Dicrocoelium (D. dendriticum) were identified. To uncover the genetic population structure of liver flukes across the country, future studies are still required.

Hepatozoon canis infects the haemolymphatic tissues of both domestic and wild dogs, resulting in symptoms such as anemia and lethargy. The transmission of this parasite occurs primarily through Rhipicephalus sanguineus and various other ixodid tick species. A study was conducted to determine the tick vector of H. canis in dogs in the Mashhad region, Khorasan Razavi province, from 2018 to 2021. A total of 976 ixodid ticks were collected from 39 sheepdogs and 76 shelterdogs during activating seasons of ticks. Adult ticks were identified according to general identification keys. The collected female ticks were separated into 81 tick pools according to their species. The hemolymph smear was prepared from engorged and semi-engorged female ticks and stained with the Giemsa method, Then, the DNA of each tick pool was extracted using a commercial kit and analyzed by PCR. Two ixodid species, R. sanguineus and R. turanicus were identified in infested dogs. The frequency of R. sanguineus and R. turanicus infestation in sheepdogs was 80.25% and 19.75% and in shelterdogs 76.5% and 23.5%, respectively. H. canis DNA has only been detected in 15 (18.5%) tick pool samples of R. sanguineus. Immature oocysts of Hepatozoon were detected in two hemolymph smears obtained from engorged female R. sanguineus that tested positive via PCR and were collected from shelter dogs. It is concluded that R. sanguineus was the dominant tick in sheepdogs and shelter dogs in the Mashhad area. Moreover, the results of the molecular and parasitological examination indicated that R. sanguineus ticks could be a vector of H. canis in dogs in Iran for the first time.

Intestinal perforations by worms are rare. Ascariasis is the commonest helminthic infestation in the world. Ascariasis must be considered as a differential diagnosis in intestinal obstruction and perforation especially in endemic regions. The clinical presentation can vary from an asymptomatic patient to severe complicated disease. Symptoms depend on the intestinal worm load and intestinal obstruction is a common complication. Because of the rarity of helminthic intestinal perforations and more so given the large-scale migration from developing countries, we wish to emphasize the need to inculcate awareness among treating clinicians, even from the developed world, about this potentially dangerous yet treatable condition. Early diagnosis and treatment is crucial to prevent significant mortality and morbidity from disease complications. Conservative treatment is advised for uncomplicated intestinal Ascariasis. Surgery is life saving in Ascaris complications. There is no effective vaccine available till date. Prevention is better than cure. We present a case series analysis of five children with worm infestation and intestinal perforation, and report clinical presentations, imaging modalities used, treatment and outcomes for each of the case.

The invasion of endoparasites into the human organ system causes a significant number of health issues and other clinical problems. In developing countries like India, such health predicaments are a well-established fact due to individuals' lifestyles as well as environmental factors to some extent. A very common case of parasitic infestation is seen with Ascaris sp., which is often overlooked in rural areas. Therefore, this study primarily focuses on determining the parasitic roundworms extracted from the common bile duct (CBD) of patients who came forward after experiencing severe conditions. The general trend of children being more affected than adults was observed in the study, with a maximum of 20 worms extracted from a 4-year-old child. All the patients who reported the same symptoms were thoroughly diagnosed and observed to exhibit normal health conditions. The rate of infection was higher in the case of female patients, indicating that females are more susceptible to the effects. The results provide valuable information about CBD parasites from cases in rural parts of eastern Meghalaya.

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the main causes of fatal watery diarrhea, especially in immunocompromised patients worldwide. Although nitazoxanide (NTZ) is the only effective FDA approved drug for cryptosporidiosis, it is partially effective in immunocompromised patients. So, there is an urgent need for new alternatives for treating cryptosporidiosis in those patients. The present study aims to assess the efficacy of ivermectin (IVM) and albendazole (ALB) as compared to NTZ and their combinations in treatment of cryptosporidiosis in immunosuppressed infected mice. Mice were divided into 7 groups (G) with 10 mice each; GI: treated with NTZ. GII: treated with IVM. GIII: treated with ALB. GIV: treated with combined NTZ and IVM. GV: treated with combined NTZ and ALB. GVI: non-infected non-treated (negative control). GVII: infected non-treated (positive control). Parasitological, histopathological, and immunological studies were done for all studied groups. The combined therapy of NTZ and IVM showed the best results in reducing the oocysts shedding (reduction rate of 91.9%), healing the histopathological inflammatory changes of ileum, in addition to enhancing the cellular immune response by marked elevation of serum INF-γ levels as compared to the other treatment regimens. Therefore, we concluded that this synergistic combination is promising in controlling cryptosporidiosis in immunocompromised patients.

Characterize the socio-environmental risk associated with parasitic infection based on the analysis of geographic distribution patterns and the population, household, and housing conditions of the productive peri-urban area of La Plata. A "Kernel" density map was used and a Socio-environmental Risk Analysis (SRA) criterion was developed to evaluate the tendency shown by the risk factors of parasitic contamination. The construction of the SRA was based on the variables of the concept of Unsatisfied Basic Needs and Territorial Vulnerability Index. In the "Kernel" density map a similar distribution trend was observed in the points analyzed that determine the presence of parasites, plots with intensive crops and the areas of highest altitude and watersheds of the basins. In the SRA, the majority of the surface area (71%) was important in the characterization of high risk. The houses built with sheet metal and wood, high critical overcrowding, limited access to waste collection, frequent flooding, distances to educational and limited access to health coverage are the variables that contributed most to the risk, confirming that access to drinking water and sewage systems are not the only limiting factors for parasitic infections. Consequently, non-farming families living in the region in conditions of similar materiality and without access to public services present a high risk of contamination by parasitic species. The information analyzed shows that the construction of distributive social policies and preventive health management to mitigate the presence of parasitic species in the region is priority.

Myxobolus is one of the most speciose genera of myxozoans, most species are found infecting freshwater fish. Although the absence of caudal appendages is one of the main taxonomic criteria to differentiate this genus from other species, in some cases anomalous forms of Myxobolus are observed, with the presence of caudal appendages. The Brazilian Amazon contains a diverse fish population, which includes a large number of Myxobolus species, some of which are pathogenic. Pellona castelnaeana (Valenciennes, 1847) is a species with huge migratory flows that contributes for the population's diet food. This study reports the observation of Myxobolus, including aberrant forms, on the gills of P. castelnaeana, a freshwater fish. Gill arch cysts with myxospores were found in 90% of the specimens analyzed, with 5% having elongated caudal appendages ranging in size from 4 to 16 µm. This is the first report of Myxobolus Abnormal forms in Clupeiformes, adding to our understanding of the genus Myxobolus phenotypic plasticity in South American fish.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s12639-024-01760-5.].

Trichinosis is a real threat to public health that infects humans and animals. Current treatments have high resistance and limited bioavailability. Consequently, it is imperative to enhance the bioavailability of these drugs by developing new agents. So, the purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of ivermectin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) and their combination with albendazole (ABZ) on the muscular and intestinal phases of trichinosis. We had eight main groups of mice: non-infected control; infected control; infected and treated with ABZ; infected and treated with ivermectin (IVM); infected and treated with CS NPs; infected and treated with ABZ and IVM; infected and treated with IVM-loaded CS NPS; and infected and treated with ABZ combined with IVM-loaded CS NPS. Two subgroups were formed for each group: a and b for both phases, intestinal and muscular, respectively. Drug efficacy was parasitologically, histopathologically, serologically, and molecularly evaluated. The ABZ combined with IVM-loaded CS NPS-treated group showed the highest statistically significant reduction in adult and encysted larval counts and a noticeable reduction of both intestinal and muscular inflammation. In the treated groups, there was a significant decrease in TNF-α, iNOS, and IFN-γ gene expression when compared with the infected control. Although the level of IL10 was increased in all treated groups. In conclusion, IVM-loaded CS NPS enhanced the efficacy of ABZ against T. spiralis-infected mice.

Malaria is one of the major public health and deadly parasitic diseases caused by the Plasmodium species. The microbiota plays a great role in host-Plasmodium interactions in their life cycle. There is a lack of comprehensive information on their role, and even their role in the Plasmodium lifecycle is not clearly defined as positive or negative. Generally, the importance of the present review helps have comprehensive information on the microbiota's role, which is important to generate an idea on the new prevention and control mechanism of malaria. This review is aimed at reviewing literature related to the role of microbiota in host plasmodium interactions. Common search terms were Anopheles mosquito, Microbiota, Malaria, and Plasmodium. Forty-seven related articles were reviewed. The sources of articles were Google Scholar, PubMed, and Wiley online library with retrieval time from August 15 to September 4/2021. The existence of microbiota in the midgut of Anopheles mosquitoes stimulates the mosquito's immunity, which enables the production of antimicrobial peptides and other immune effectors that act against Plasmodium. Microbiota also impairs Plasmodium survival by producing uncharacterized bacterial-associated metabolites and competing for essential nutrients or resources like lipoproteins. Peptidoglycan recognition protein LB in bacteria has been identified as a negative regulator of the immune deficiency pathway, which prevents systemic antimicrobial responses to the microbiota. The human gut microbiota is known to play a crucial role in the invasion, severity, and outcome of Plasmodium infections in the human host. Additionally, human skin bacteria have been found to convert components of sweat into volatile organic compounds that attract mosquitoes, indirectly affecting the Plasmodium life cycle. The interaction between female Anopheles mosquitoes and human hosts to Plasmodium is influenced by the microbiota of both the mosquito and the human host. However, many mechanisms of interaction are still unknown, and further original research is needed to better understand the host-pathogen interaction between Anopheles mosquitoes and Plasmodium.