Pathogens and Global Health最新文献

Schistosomiasis remains a persistent global health challenge, primarily controlled through Mass Drug Administration (MDA) of praziquantel. While MDA has reduced prevalence and morbidity in endemic regions like China and Sierra Leone, its limitations, including rapid reinfection, logistical barriers to coverage, emerging drug resistance, and failure to interrupt transmission, highlight the inadequacy of a purely pharmacological approach. This review advocates for a paradigm shift from treatment-focused to prevention-oriented strategies, integrating Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions and environmental management with MDA. WASH interventions (safe water access, improved sanitation, hygiene education) reduce human contact with contaminated water and limit environmental egg contamination, cutting transmission pathways. Environmental management, particularly snail control via habitat modification, biological agents, and targeted mollusciciding, disrupts the parasite lifecycle by targeting intermediate hosts. Case studies from China, Rwanda, Brazil, and Zanzibar demonstrate the success of integrated approaches: China's multi-sectoral model combines chemotherapy with ecological modifications; Rwanda leverages WASH partnerships and community engagement; Brazil employs community-driven strategies; and Zanzibar's elimination efforts integrate snail control with behavioral change. Despite promising outcomes, implementation faces barriers: funding biases toward short-term MDA over sustainable WASH infrastructure, cultural resistance to behavioral change, and weak intersectoral coordination. The WHO's 2021-2030 NTD Roadmap underscores the need for cross-sector collaboration to address underlying determinants like poverty and infrastructure gaps. Eliminating schistosomiasis by 2030 requires reorienting global strategies toward holistic, equity-focused interventions combining 'pills, pipes, pits, and participation,' i.e. pharmacotherapy, water infrastructure, sanitation, and community agency, to achieve durable transmission interruption.

Trichinellosis treatment is complex and must be tailored to disease progression. No single drug is fully effective across all stages. Management includes antiparasitics, inflammation control, pain relief, symptomatic care, and rehabilitation for chronic cases. Disulfiram (DSF) has been recognized to have anti-parasitic effects and several medicinal uses. Consequently, the aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of DSF in the treatment of the intestinal and muscular phases of trichinellosis in mice compared with albendazole (ABZ). Mice were divided into five groups: negative control; positive control; ABZ treatment; DSF treatment; and combined treatment. Parasitological, immunological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical studies were performed to assess the effectiveness of the treatments. Parasitological analysis involved small intestinal adult worms and encysted muscle larvae count. The histopathological assessment used hematoxylin and eosin stain for intestinal and muscular sections. Moreover, immunological markers and the immunohistochemical expression of the NOD-like receptor-pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were evaluated. Under the tested formulations (ABZ as a water suspension; DSF in DMSO/propylene glycol), combined treatment was associated with the highest reductions in adult worms and encysted larvae count and NLRP3 and VEGF expressions. This is the first study to investigate DSF as an innovative adjunct therapy for trichinellosis. According to this research, DSF is recommended as an anti-trichinellosis drug especially when combined with ABZ. Given the non-equivalent drug vehicles, these comparative findings are exploratory and warrant confirmation with matched formulations and pharmacokinetic assessment.

Jingmen tick virus (JMTV) is a single-stranded RNA virus transmitted to humans through tick bites and classified within the Flaviviridae family. It has been detected in various arthropods and mammals. JMTV causes an acute febrile illness with symptoms such as skin lesions, fatigue, headache, nausea, and vomiting; however, limited research exists on its clinical impact and pathogenesis in humans. This study aims to report the first detection and molecular characterization of JMTV in patients with Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Türkiye. During the 2022 outbreak, serum samples from 206 hospitalized CCHF-suspected patients were retrospectively analyzed. JMTV was identified in 3 (1.5%) cases using nested PCR. The nucleotide similarity within the three JMTV sequences was found to be between 98.0% and 99.0%. Phylogenetic analysis showed 82-98% similarity with previously identified JMTV isolates in Türkiye. This study presents the first detection and molecular characterization of JMTV in humans in Türkiye. Clinicians should consider JMTV in patients with a history of tick bites, especially in CCHF-endemic regions.

It is now a well-known fact that antibiotic resistance in bacteria has increased with the widespread and uncontrolled use of antibiotics. However, the increase in antibiotic resistance should not be attributed solely to the use of antibiotics. Other antimicrobial agents used in the control of bacterial infections and even heavy metals are also among the factors causing an increase in antibiotic resistance. It is therefore important to study the effects of these agents on bacterial cells. It is generally believed that the selection of resistance typically occurs at high concentrations of antibiotics. However, accumulating evidence demonstrates that selection can also occur at sub-inhibitory levels, making it essential to better understand their impact. While most studies have focused on antibiotics, fewer have examined the influence of biocides, heavy metals, and bioactive components. In this review, we discuss how low concentrations of these agents not only contribute to the development of resistance but also modulate bacterial virulence by affecting biofilm formation, siderophore production, cell morphology, and gene expression. A comprehensive literature review has been conducted, highlighting both the potential risks of these agents in resistance development and their implications for bacterial virulence in the future.

Dengue fever, the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral disease, has experienced a tenfold increase in incidence over the past two decades, posing a significant global public health challenge. In 2023, more than five million cases and over 5000 dengue-related deaths were recorded, with exceeding numbers in 2024. This narrative review provides a comprehensive summary of the current epidemiology, clinical features, diagnostic methods, prevention and management strategies for dengue fever, with a particular focus on the influence of climate changes and human activities on the spread of this vector-borne disease. Factors such as climate change, urbanization, and population movements have contributed to the expanding geographic distribution and increased incidence of dengue. Additionally, this review highlights the challenges associated with accurate disease surveillance and underscores the importance of integrated strategies-including climate-adaptive surveillance, vector control, and public health policies-to mitigate the impact of dengue. This information is essential for clinicians and policymakers to implement effective surveillance and prevention measures, ultimately reducing the incidence and burden on public health.

Whole-genome sequencing, supported on short-read-sequencing, has revolutionized the precision to track Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) transmission. However, the complexity of the MTB genome (10% repetitive regions and 65% GC content) challenges short-read mapping and assembly, leading to the exclusion of certain genomic regions from the analysis. Long-read sequencing can overcome these limitations, giving access to these regions, generally uninterrogated. Our study aims to evaluate the potential of long-read sequencing in redefining long-term MTB transmission clusters, previously characterized by short-read sequencing. We selected 78 cases from eight long-term clusters (5-17 years; 7 to 16 cases), from a population-based genomic epidemiology program in Almería, Spain. The clusters were carefully selected to ensure cases i) infected by identical strains (0 SNPs), ii) exhibiting pairwise-SNP-based distances from 1 to 16 SNPs and iii) distributed along different branches in the genomic networks. Long-read analysis increased the distances of each cluster from the reference by an average of 258 SNPs and intercluster distances by 113 SNPs. Within-cluster diversity also increased, with pairwise distances rising from 1 to 22 SNPs across 1-7 network branches. In one cluster, the acquisition of diversity led to overpass the 12-SNP threshold to consider a transmission cluster. Additionally, in four clusters, 1-2 cases previously classified as infected by identical strains were now reclassified due to the identification of additional SNP differences. Thanks to the identification of new diversity between the cases we could identify index cases, reconstruct transmission chronologies, precise patient-to-patient relationships and propose new epidemiological interpretations among the cases in cluster.

Early detection and effective management of malaria are crucial for elimination efforts. Microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been the main diagnostic methods for over fifteen years, but they have limitations, especially in cases of low parasite density or deletions of target markers (HRP2/3). This study compares the diagnostic performance of a novel hemozoin-based diagnostic assay (Hz-MOD) with RDTs for detecting malaria in febrile patients in southwestern India. A prospective observational study involved 480 patients screened with Hz-MOD, RDT, microscopy, and nested PCR. Among the samples, 121 were positive by both microscopy and PCR. The sensitivity of Hz-MOD was 94.21% compared to microscopy and 91.74% compared to PCR. For RDTs, sensitivity was 90.91% compared to microscopy and 87.60% compared to PCR. In terms of specificity, Hz-MOD showed 98.61% compared to microscopy and 97.77% compared to PCR, while RDTs had 100% specificity against microscopy and 98.89% against PCR. These results suggest that the hemozoin-based test demonstrates similar sensitivity to RDTs and could serve as an effective screening tool for malaria detection.

The global expansion of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and West Nile virus is a major public health concern, intensified by climate change and environmental alterations. Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex pipiens are among the most important vectors for these pathogens, contributing to their transmission across increasingly broad geographic areas. In Europe, the expanding distribution and vectorial competence of Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens highlight the need for innovative control strategies beyond traditional chemical and mechanical interventions, which face growing limitations due to resistance and sustainability concerns. This review examines the potential of radiofrequency (RF) exposure as a novel method to disrupt mosquito development and reduce vector competence. While the biological effects of RF have been studied in other systems, its impact on mosquito physiology and pathogen transmission remains underexplored. Preliminary findings suggest that RF exposure may alter larval viability, adult emergence, and reproductive capacity, with possible downstream effects on pathogen replication and transmission. We contextualize RF-based approaches alongside other emerging biocontrol strategies, including Wolbachia-based methods, genetic modification, and sterile insect techniques, emphasizing their integration into climate-responsive vector control programs. Additional consideration is given to other arthropod vectors of medical relevance, such as sandflies (Phlebotominae) and biting midges (Culicoides spp.), which contribute to the spread of arboviruses. Finally, we identify research gaps and propose directions for interdisciplinary studies to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy, and ecological impact of RF-based interventions. By targeting mosquito competence through non-chemical, scalable technologies, RF exposure offers a promising avenue to strengthen arbovirus prevention in the context of climate-driven vector expansion.

Shigellosis is a leading cause of diarrheal mortality worldwide. Shigella boydii is one of four Shigella species that contributes to this burden, however studies on S. boydii are limited. Here we combined epidemiological and genomic data to better understand S. boydii circulating both in Australia and globally. Between 1991 and 2019, there were 294 cases of S. boydii infections notified to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System by Australian states and territories, with an increasing trend in notifications observed from 2013. Of cases whose place of acquisition was known, 54% (111/206) were acquired overseas, mainly from South-East Asia (57%; 63/111). Our genomic analysis included 250 S. boydii isolates: 44 from Victoria, Australia spanning 22 years (2001-2022) and 206 international isolates spanning 91 years (1930-2020). Phylogenomic analyses identified five major S. boydii phylogenetic lineages circulating globally. The Australian isolates were distributed across all five lineages, but the highest proportion was in Lineage 3. Antimicrobial resistance was common in both international and Australian isolates with > 60% of isolates classified as multi-drug-resistant. Resistance to the main clinically relevant antimicrobials was rare in S. boydii. Ciprofloxacin resistance was detected in seven S. boydii, however reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin was detected in 56 isolates and found in both Australian and international data. Importantly, resistance mechanisms to third-generation cephalosporins and macrolides were also detected. This study is the largest genomic analysis of S. boydii to date, providing insights into the population structure, epidemiology and emerging AMR threats in this neglected Shigella species.