The aim of the present study was to estimate the genetic diversity of the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis Leuckart, 1863 in Poland based on sequence analysis of the mitochondrial genes of worms isolated from red foxes, Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus). Overall, 83 adults of E. multilocularis from the same number of foxes in different parts of Poland were used for analysis. Sequences of the three mitochondrial genes, cytochrome b (cob), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (nad2) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), were analysed. Seventy-four individual biological samples were successfully sequenced. Combined sequence analysis of these three genes exhibited fifteen Polish haplotypes (EmPL1-EmPL15). Most isolates (n = 29; 39%) were classified to the EmPL1 haplotype, which occurred mainly in the east, north and centre of Poland. Haplotype EmPL4 (n = 14; 19%) and other haplotypes appeared predominantly in the south and west area. Fourteen haplotypes were grouped in the European clade. One Polish haplotype (EmPL9) (n = 7, 10%) was assigned to the Asian clade with haplotypes from Japan and Kazakhstan. This haplotype was found only in northeast Poland and this is the westernmost report of haplotype of E. multilocularis belonging to the Asian clade in Europe. The investigation demonstrated that populations of E. multilocularis in Poland (and probably also in eastern Europe) included not only different European haplotypes but also those of the Asian origin., Jacek Karamon, Krzysztof Stojecki, Małgorzata Samorek-Pieróg, Ewa Bilska-Zajac, Mirosław Rózycki, Ewa Chmurzyńska, Jacek Sroka, Jolanta Zdybel, Tomasz Cencek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Knowledge of blood parasites in Brazilian chelonians is limited, since they have been recorded in only six species. Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei (Bour) is a freshwater turtle with a wide geographic distribution in Brazil, but there is little information about its natural history. This paper reports on a study of the prevalence and infection intensity of a haemogregarine in two subpopulations of M. vanderhaegei. The study was conducted in two areas of Cerrado in the Upper Paraguay River basin in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, between November 2010 and August 2013. Ninety-five (53%) of the 179 turtles captured were positive for haemogregarine parasites. The parasitic forms observed were two morphotypes of intraerythrocytic gametocytes. The prevalence differed between size classes, increasing significantly according to the animals' body size. There was no significant difference between prevalence and sex, or between sampling periods. The mean parasite intensity was 9 parasites/2,000 erythrocytes (0.45%) and the parasite population presented an aggregated distribution, with an aggregation index of 19 and discrepancy of 0.772. This is the first record of a hemoparasite in the freshwater turtle M. vanderhaegei., Vinícius C. Goes, Elizângela S. Brito, Rafael M. Valadão, Camila O. Gutierrez, Amanda M. Picelli, Lúcio A. Viana., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The K13 propeller domain mutation and pfmdr1 amplification have been proposed as useful molecular markers for detection and monitoring of artemisinin resistant Plasmodium falciparum Welch, 1897. Genomic DNA isolates of P. falciparum was extracted from 235 dried blood spot or whole blood samples collected from patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria residing in areas along the Thai-Myanmar border during 2006-2010. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing were performed to detect mutations in K13 propeller domain of P. falciparum at codon 427-709. Pfmdr1 gene copy number was determined by SYBR Green I real-time PCR. High prevalence of pfmdr1 multiple copies was observed (42.5% of isolates). The presence of K13 mutations was low (40/235, 17.2%). Seventeen mutations had previously been reported and six mutations were newly detected. The C580Y was found in two isolates (0.9%). The F446I, N458Y and P574L mutations were commonly detected. Seven isolates had both K13 mutation and pfmdr1 multiple copies. It needs to be confirmed whether parasites harbouring both K13 mutation and pfmdr1 multiple copies and/or the observed new mutations of K13 propeller domain are associated with clinical artemisinin resistance., Papichaya Phompradit, Wanna Chaijaroenkul, Phunuch Muhamad, Kesara Na-Bangchang., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Microcercous cercariae possess a very short tail and are produced by digenean species of several families including medically important species, such as members of the genera Paragonimus Braun, 1899, Nanophyetus Chapin, 1927 and Troglotrema Odhner, 1914. During our survey of cercariae of Paragonimus spp. in Vietnam, we found microcercous cercariae from ten (0.29%) out of 3,400 snails of Triculinae gen. sp. 2. They were morphologically and molecularly analysed for species identification. The molecular analysis, based on ITS2 sequences, revealed two distinct species: four specimens were identical to Paragonimus proliferus Hsia et Chen, 1964 (Paragonimidae Dollfus, 1939), and the other six specimens were closest to members of the family Troglotrematidae Odhner, 1914 and were temporarily named Troglotrematidae gen. sp. Morphologically, cercariae of the two species found in this study are similar to each other in their gross characteristics but can be distinguished from one another by subtle morphological details. The cercaria of P. proliferus has an I-shaped excretory bladder and does not have mucous gland cells. In contrast, that of Troglotrematidae gen. sp. has a Y-shaped excretory bladder and mucous gland cells. Besides, the redia of P. proliferus is elongate with a short intestine and contains 5-6 cercariae whereas that of Troglotrematidae gen. sp. is more round with a longer intestine and harbours 3-4 cercariae. Our results have shown the importance of the shape of the excretory bladder and the presence/absence of mucous gland cells of the cercaria as well as the shape and size of the redia, and its intestinal length as valuable taxonomic characters of intramolluscan trematode larvae. In addition, the finding of similar microcercous cercariae of different species in the same snail species suggests that careful attention to morphological details is required in the differentiation of Paragonimus cercariae and those of closely related species., Pham Ngoc Doanh, Hoang Van Hien and Bui Thi Dung., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Migratory birds have an important role in transporting ticks and associated tick-borne pathogens over long distances. In this study, 2,793 migratory birds were captured by nets in a ringing station, located in northern Italy, and checked for the presence of ticks. Two-hundred and fifty-one ticks were identified as nymphs and larvae of Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758) and they were PCR-screened for the presence of bacteria belonging to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Rickettsia spp., Francisella tularensis and Coxiella burnetii. Four species of Borrelia (B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. valaisiana and B. lusitaniae) and three species of Rickettsia (R. monacensis, R. helvetica and Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii) were detected in 74 (30%) and 25 (10%) respectively out of 251 ticks examined. Co-infection with Borrelia spp. and Rickettsia spp. in the same tick sample was encountered in 7 (7%) out of the 99 infected ticks. We report for the first time the presence of Candidatus Rickettsia mendelii in I. ricinus collected on birds in Italy. This study, besides confirming the role of birds in dispersal of I. ricinus, highlights an important route by which tick-borne pathogens might spread across different countries and from natural environments towards urbanised areas., Massimo Pajoro, Dario Pistone, Ilaria Varotto Boccazzi, Valeria Mereghetti, Claudio Bandi, Massimo Fabbi, Francesco Scattorin, Davide Sassera, Matteo Montagna., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Toxoplasmosis is a common parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908), an obligate parasite capable of infecting a range of cell types in almost all warm-blooded animals. Upon infecting an intermediate host, the parasites differentiate into tachyzoites which rapidly infect host tissues. Usually, the invading parasites are cleared by the immune system and administered drugs, but some tachyzoites differentiate into bradyzoites forming tissue cysts. These tissue cysts could serve as a source for re-infection and exacerbations. Currently, treatment for toxoplasmosis is limited and, moreover, there are no drugs for treating the cystic stage thus rendering toxoplasmosis a global burden. Recently, we demonstrated that inorganic nanoparticles showed promising activity against the tachyzoite stage T. gondii. In the present study, we evaluated nanoparticles for effect on bradyzoite formation in vitro. Data revealed that the nanoparticles limited bradyzoite burden in vitro. Further, the nanoparticles decreased the bradyzoite-specific BAG-1 promoter activity relative to the untreated control under a bradyzoite-inducing culture condition, even though this reduction in BAG-1 promoter activity waned with increasing concentrations of nanoparticles. In contrast, a parallel experiment under normal cell culture conditions showed that the nanoparticle treatment mildly increased the BAG-1 promoter activity relative to the untreated control. Taken together, the findings are evidence that nanoparticles not only possess anti-tachyzoite potential but they also have anti-bradyzoite potential in vitro., Oluyomi Stephen Adeyemi, Yuho Murata, Tatsuki Sugi, Yongmei Han, Kentaro Kato., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Changes in behaviour and cognition have been associated with latent infection from the apicomplexan protozoan Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) in both animal and human studies. Further, neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia have also been associated with latent toxoplasmosis. Previously, we found no association between T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibody (IgG) seropositivity and depression in human adults between the ages of 20 and 39 years (n = 1 846) in a sample representative of the United States collected by the Centers for Disease Control as part of a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from three datasets collected between 1999-2004. In the present study, we used NHANES data collected between 2009 and 2012 that included subjects aged 20 to 80 years (n = 5 487) and used the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression with the overall aim of testing the stability of the results of the prior study. In the current study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii was 13%. The percentage of subjects reporting clinical levels of depression assessed with the PHQ-9 was 8%. As before, we found no association between T. gondii IgG seroprevalence and depression (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.81-1.25; p = 0.944) while controlling for sex, educational attainment, race-ethnicity, age, poverty-to-income ratio and cigarette smoking. We also found no positive associations between anti-T. gondii antibody titre and depression (OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.96-1.06; p = 0.868). Moreover, we found no association between T. gondii seroprevalence or antibody titre and suicidal ideation (seroprevalence: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = .85-1.75; p = 0.277, titre: OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.98-1.14; p = 0.177)., Defining depression to also include subjects currently taking antidepressant medication even with non-elevated questionnaires did not find evidence of a positive association between latent toxoplasmosis and depression. In the present study, neither T. gondii seroprevalence nor anti-T. gondii antibody titre was positively associated with depression or suicidal ideation among subjects aged 20 to 80 years., Shawn D. Gale, Andrew N. Berrett, Bruce Brown, Lance D. Erickson, Dawson W. Hedges., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) is an intracellular parasite that can cause ongoing latent infection persisting for the duration of a non-definitive host's life. Affecting approximately one-third of the world's population, latent toxoplasmosis has been associated with neuropsychological outcomes and a previous report suggested an association between latent toxoplasmosis and adult height. Given the large number of people with latent toxoplasmosis and its potential associations with human height, we sought to better understand the association between latent toxoplasmosis and human morphology by evaluating seropositivity for T. gondii and multiple body measures reported in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) and in the more recent continuous NHANES data sets from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for which data on T. gondii are available. In these analyses, latent toxoplasmosis was not associated with any of the body measures assessed in the NHANES datasets even after taking into account interactions between latent toxoplasmosis and testosterone suggesting that in these samples, latent toxoplasmosis is not associated with adult morphology including height., Andrew N. Berrett, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Bruce L. Brown, Dawson W. Hedges., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Specimens of the recently established European round goby (Neogobius melanostomus Pallas, 1811) and, tubenose goby (Proterorhinus marmoratus Pallas, 1811) were collected from different locations in the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair, USA and were examined for parasites. Parasites were observed in 76% of the round gobies and 35% of the tubenose gobies. Four species of parasites in the gobies occur in the Black Sea watershed. Two of them have been reported in North America for the first time: Sphaeromyxa sevastopoli Naidenova, 1970 and Ichthyocotylurus pileatus (Rudolphi, 1802). Three parasite species found in the gobies are endemic to North America and were most likely obtained locally.