Search results for "Parasite"
showing 10 items of 827 documents
Intraperitoneal administration of the anti-IL-23 antibody prevents the establishment of intestinal nematodes in mice
2018
AbstractPrevious studies have established that an increased Th-9 response creates a hostile environment for nematode parasites. Given that IL-23, a cytokine required for maintenance of the IL-17–secreting phenotype, has inhibitory effects on IL-9 production, we hypothesized that reducing circulating IL-23 by treatment with anti-IL-23 antibodies would reduce the establishment and development of parasitic intestinal nematodes. In this study, we show that animals treated with anti-IL-23 monoclonal antibodies showed a drastic reduction in the number of mouse pinworms (Aspiculuris tetraptera) recovered from the intestine (p < 0.001) at 23 days post-infection compared to the untreated animals.…
Antischistosomal activity of artemisinin derivatives in vivo and in patients
2016
Schistosomiasis is a helminthic disease affecting more than 200 million people in the tropics as well as returning travellers. Treatment mainly relies on a single drug, praziquantel. Praziquantel cannot kill developing schistosomula resulting in frequent treatment failures and re-infections. Monotherapy also favors the selection for resistance. New drugs are therefore urgently needed. The activity of the semi-synthetic artemisinin derivatives artemether, artesunate and arteether is not restricted to malaria. We reviewed their anti-schistosomal activity in vivo and in patients by searching the PubMed database for publications since 1983 with the search terms "artemisinin" and "Schistosoma". …
Human case of Fasciola gigantica-like infection, review of human fascioliasis reports in Nepal, and epidemiological analysis within the South Central…
2018
Abstract The diagnosis of a 22 year-old male patient from Kerabari, Morang District, Nepal led to the review of human fascioliasis cases and analysis of the epidemiological situation in that country not included in the WHO fascioliasis map. Symptom onset one month before egg detection and normal levels of ALT and AST did not agree with the 3–4-month migratory period of fascioliasis. A shorter acute phase may happen when the main biliary duct is reached by the migratory juveniles directly from the intestinal lumen. The causal agent was ascribed to F. gigantica-like worms after considering adult fluke morphology, altitude of the patient’s infection area, fasciolid characteristics in the neigh…
Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence varies by cat breed.
2017
Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread zoonotic parasite that is relevant for veterinary and public health. The domestic cat, the definitive host species with the largest worldwide population, has become evolutionarily and epidemiologically the most important host of T. gondii. The outcome of T. gondii infection is influenced by congenital and acquired host characteristics. We detected differences in T. gondii seroprevalence by cat breed in our previous studies. The aims of this study were to estimate T. gondii seroprevalence in selected domestic cat breeds, and to evaluate whether being of a certain breed is associated with T. gondii seropositivity, when the age and lifestyle of the cat are tak…
Friend or foe? The apparent benefits of gregarine (Apicomplexa: Sporozoa) infection in the European earwig
2020
International audience; Studying the costs and benefits of host-parasite interactions is of central importance to shed light on the evolutionary drivers of host life history traits. Although gregarines (Apicomplexa: Sporozoa) are one of the most frequent parasites in the gut of invertebrates, the diversity of its potential impacts on a host remains poorly explored. In this study, we addressed this gap in knowledge by investigating the prevalence of natural infections by the gregarine Gregarina ovata and testing how these infections shape a large set of morphological, behavioural and physiological traits in the European earwig Forficula auricularia. Our results first show that G. ovata was p…
Intestinal symptoms and Blastocystis load in schoolchildren of Paranaguá Bay, Paraná, Brazil
2017
ABSTRACT The symptomatology of Blastocystis cannot be attributed to any particular subtype, although can be related to a high Blastocystis infection load. One stool sample from each of 217 schoolchildren of Vale de Sol Paranaguá Bay (Paraná, Brazil) was collected. Three milliliters of each fixed stool sample were processed applying the formalin-ether concentration technique. After obtaining the overall prevalence of intestinal parasites, quantification was carried out in Blastocystis positive samples. A total of 75/217 (34.6%) children suffered from intestinal symptoms (abdominal pain and/or persistent diarrhea), of whom 41.3% (31/75) presented moderate/heavy Blastocystis load with a statis…
A case report of human gastrodiscoidiasis in Nepal.
2018
Gastrodiscoidiasis is a snail-transmitted zoonotic infection caused by the digenean trematode Gastrodiscoides hominis, which is the only species in the genus Gastrodiscoides infecting humans. We report a case of human gastrodiscoidiasis in a 66 years-old Nepali man without history of travels outside of Nepal who was admitted in the hospital with pain in upper abdomen for 4 months with history of passage of black-tarry stools, anemia and eosinophilia. During upper endoscopy a living trematode worm was seen in the antrum of the stomach. After isolation, the worm was identified morphologically as Gastrodiscoides hominis. Stool analysis of the patient revealed eggs of this parasite. The cause o…
ASPECTS OF THE ECOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF PARAERGASILUS RYLOVI (COPEPODA, ERGASILIDAE) PARASITIC IN UNIONIDS OF FINLAND
2004
The distribution of Paraergasilus rylovi in 17 populations of unionids was investigated. In 1 unionid population, the parasite was studied regarding host age, size, sex, and the reproductive period (occurrence of egg sacs). Results from pooled material from the years 1987--1989 and 1996 (southern Finland, 11 populations) indicated that Anodonta piscinalis (n = 1,359) is the main host (total mean prevalence 71% and intensity +/-SE of infection 16.4+/-0.6). Pseudanodonta complanata (n = 106) was infected occasionally (3% and 1.3+/-0.3), whereas Unio pictorum (n = 108) and U. tumidus (n = 17) were not infected. Results from 17 A. piscinalis populations showed that P. rylovi occurs in southern …
Assessing host-parasite specificity through coprological analysis: a case study with species of Corynosoma (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) from marin…
2011
In this paper we report an investigation of the utility of coprological analysis as an alternative technique to study parasite specificity whenever host sampling is problematic; acanthocephalans from marine mammals were used as a model. A total of 252 scats from the South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens, and rectal faeces from 43 franciscanas, Pontoporia blainvillei, from Buenos Aires Province, were examined for acanthocephalans. Specimens of two species, i.e. Corynosoma australe and C. cetaceum, were collected from both host species. In sea lions, 78 out of 145 (37.9%) females of C. australe were gravid and the sex ratio was strongly female-biased. However, none of the 168 females of …
Raiders from the sky: slavemaker founding queens select for aggressive host colonies.
2012
Reciprocal selection pressures in host–parasite systems drive coevolutionary arms races that lead to advanced adaptations in both opponents. In the interactions between social parasites and their hosts, aggression is one of the major behavioural traits under selection. In a field manipulation, we aimed to disentangle the impact of slavemaking ants and nest density on aggression of Temnothorax longispinosus ants. An early slavemaker mating flight provided us with the unique opportunity to study the influence of host aggression and demography on founding decisions and success. We discovered that parasite queens avoided colony foundation in parasitized areas and were able to capture more broo…