Parasitic Diseases Commons^™

Sociocultural And Structural Factors Contributing To Delays In Treatment For Children With Severe Malaria: A Qualitative Study In Southwestern Uganda, Radhika Sundararajan, Juliet Mwanga-Amumpaire, Harriet Adrama, Jackline Tumuhairwe, Sheilla Mbabazi, Kenneth Mworozi, Ryan W. Carroll, David Bangsberg, Yap Boum Ii, Norma C. Ware

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Malaria is a leading cause of pediatric mortality, and Uganda has among the highest incidences in the world. Increased morbidity and mortality are associated with delays to care. This qualitative study sought to characterize barriers to prompt allopathic care for children hospitalized with severe malaria in the endemic region of southwestern Uganda. Minimally structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with guardians of children admitted to a regional hospital with severe malaria. Using an inductive and content analytic approach, transcripts were analyzed to identify and define categories that explain delayed care. These categories represented two broad themes: sociocultural and structural factors. Sociocultural …

The Leishmania Years At Unl (Or, My Life As A Cell Biologist, 1966-1981), John J. Janovy Jr.

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Slides for a talk during which Professor Janovy discussed the methods he used in researching Leishmania during the years 1966-1981. Includes lists of references.

Two Potential Hookworm Daf-16 Target Genes, Snr-3 And Lpp-1: Gene Structure, Expression Profile, And Implications Of A Cis-Regulatory Element In The Regulation Of Gene Expression, Xin Gao, Kevin Goggin, Camille Dowling, Jason Qian, John Hawdon

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Hookworms infect nearly 700 million people, causing anemia and developmental stunting in heavy infections. Little is known about the genomic structure or gene regulation in hookworms, although recent publication of draft genome assemblies has allowed the first investigations of these topics to be undertaken. The transcription factor DAF-16 mediates multiple developmental pathways in the free living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and is involved in the recovery from the developmentally arrested L3 in hookworms. Identification of downstream targets of DAF-16 will provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of hookworm infection.

Methods

Genomic Fragment 2.23 containing a DAF-16 binding …

An Improved Method For Generating Axenic Entomopathogenic Nematodes., Shruti Yadav, Upasana Shokal, Steven Forst, Ioannis Eleftherianos

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Steinernema carpocapsae are parasitic nematodes that invade and kill insects. The nematodes are mutualistically associated with the bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophila and together form an excellent model to study pathogen infection processes and host anti-nematode/antibacterial immune responses. To determine the contribution of S. carpocapsae and their associated X. nematophila to the successful infection of insects as well as to investigate the interaction of each mutualistic partner with the insect immune system, it is important to develop and establish robust methods for generating nematodes devoid of their bacteria.

FINDINGS: To produce S. carpocapsae nematodes without their associated X. nematophila bacteria, we …

The Carcinogenic Liver Fluke Opisthorchis Viverrini Is A Reservoir For Species Of Helicobacter., Raksawan Deenonpoe, Chariya Chomvarin, Chawalit Pairojkul, Yaowalux Chamgramol, Alex Loukas, Paul J. Brindley, Banchob Sripa

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

There has been a strong, positive correlation between opisthorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma and infection with Helicobacter. Here a rodent model of human infection with Opisthorchis viverrini was utilized to further investigate relationships of apparent co-infections with O. viverrini and H. pylori. A total of 150 hamsters were assigned to five groups: i) Control hamsters not infected with O. viverrini; ii) O. viverrini-infected hamsters; iii) non-O. viverrini infected hamsters treated with antibiotics (ABx); iv) O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated with ABx; and v) O. viverrini-infected hamsters treated both with ABx and praziquantel (PZQ). Stomach, gallbladder, liver, colonic tissue, colorectal feces and O. viverrini worms …

Comparison Of Findings Using Ultrasonography And Cystoscopy In Urogenital Schistosomiasis In A Public Health Centre In Rural Angola, Julio Santos, Jacinta Chaves, Heriberto Araujo, Nuno Vale, Jose Manuel Costa, Paul J. Brindley, Carlos Lopes, Jean Naples, Clive Shiff, Jorge Dupret, Lucio Lara Santos

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background. Schistosomiasis is a chronic disease caused by infection with parasitic worms of the genus Schistosoma. In sub-Saharan Africa, infections with S. haematobium are most common. Cystoscopic examination (CE) has been accepted as the gold-standard test for detecting the late manifestations of schistosomiasis, including urothelial cancer of the bladder. However, this procedure is invasive and 10 - 40% of tumours may remain undetected. A non-invasive examination and a new generation of biomarkers are needed for better monitoring of the disease.

Objective. To assess the usefulness of ultrasound (US) scans for monitoring of structural urinary tract disease by local public health …

Assessment Of Longitudinal Efficacy Of Community Based Intervention For Schistosomiasis In Mara District, Lake Victoria Region Of Tanzania, Lauren Ogawa, Guy Bennallack, Aaron Heffner, Jason Duong, Robin Rosenblatt, Yasmin Nibbe, Eiman Mahmoud

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

Program/Project Purpose: An estimated 200 million people are infected with schistosomiasis, making the disease one of the top neglected tropical diseases and a major global health concern. In Tanzania, with a population just over 42 million, about 33 million are in need of treatment or preventative chemotherapy. The disease is of particular concern in the Lake Victoria region, due to daily use of lake water. In conjunction with the Shirati district hospital, Touro University-CA has led control programs carried out in mobile clinics at local villages by providing screening, treatment, and education. Recently there has been a push for …

Slavery, Agriculture, And Malaria In The Arabian Peninsula, Benjamin Reilly

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

In Slavery, Agriculture, and Malaria in the Arabian Peninsula, Benjamin Reilly illuminates a previously unstudied phenomenon: the large-scale employment of people of African ancestry as slaves in agricultural oases within the Arabian Peninsula. The key to understanding this unusual system, Reilly argues, is the prevalence of malaria within Arabian Peninsula oases and drainage basins, which rendered agricultural lands in Arabia extremely unhealthy for people without genetic or acquired resistance to malarial fevers. In this way, Arabian slave agriculture had unexpected similarities to slavery as practiced in the Caribbean and Brazil.

This book synthesizes for the first time a body of …

Altered Intraerythrocytic Development Phenotypes Of Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium Falciparum Confer A Fitness Advantage, Amanda Hott

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Resistance to artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) has emerged in southeast Asia threatening the most widely used treatment against antimalarial-resistant Plasmodium falciparum worldwide. Artemisinin resistance has been associated with a reduced rate of parasite clearance following treatment with an ACT and is attributed to increased survival of ring-stage parasites. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in kelch gene (K13) has been associated with delayed in vivo clearance half-life of artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum and is the only known molecular marker of resistance. The absence of reliable in vitro phenotypes for artemisinin resistance has limited our understanding of the resistance mechanism(s) and fitness costs, therefore …

Evolution Of Hematophagous Habit In Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), Fernando Otálora-Luna, Antonio J. Pérez-Sánchez, Claudia Sandoval, Elis Aldana

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

All members of Triatominae subfamily (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), potential vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of the Chagas disease, feed on blood. Through evolution, these bugs have fixed special morphological, physiological, and behavioral aptations (adaptations and exaptations) adequate to feed on blood. Phylogeny suggests that triatomines evolved from predator reduvids which in turn descended from phytophagous hemipterans. Some pleisiomorphic traits developed by the reduvid ancestors of the triatomines facilitated and modeled hematophagy in these insects. Among them, mouthparts, saliva composition, enzymes, and digestive symbionts are the most noticeable. However, the decisive step that allowed the shift from predation to hematophagy …

Taxonomy And Molecular Epidemiology Of Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Lato, Thomas Romig, Dennis Ebi, Marion Wassermann

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Echinococcus granulosus, formerly regarded as a single species with a high genotypic and phenotypic diversity, is now recognized as an assemblage of cryptic species, which differ considerably in morphology, development, host specificity (including infectivity/pathogenicity for humans) and other aspects. This diversity is reflected in the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes and has led to the construction of phylogenetic trees and hypotheses on the origin and geographic dispersal of various taxa. Based on phenotypic characters and gene sequences, E. granulosus (sensu lato) has by now been subdivided into E. granulosus sensu stricto (including the formerly identified genotypic variants G1-3), …

P53 And Cancer-Associated Sialylated Glygans Are Surrogate Markers Of Cancerization Of The Bladder Associated With Schistosoma Haematobium Infection, Julio Santos, Elisabete Fernandes, Jose Alexandre Ferreira, Luis Lima, Ana Tavares, Andreia Peixoto, Beatriz Parreira, Jose Manuel Correia Da Costa, Paul J. Brindley, Carlos Lopes, Lucio L. Santos

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Bladder cancer is a significant health problem in rural areas of Africa and the Middle East where Schistosoma haematobium is prevalent, supporting an association between malignant transformation and infection by this blood fluke. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms linking these events are poorly understood. Bladder cancers in infected populations are generally diagnosed at a late stage since there is a lack of non-invasive diagnostic tools, hence enforcing the need for early carcinogenesis markers.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Forty-three formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded bladder biopsies of S. haematobium-infected patients, consisting of bladder tumours, tumour adjacent mucosa and pre-malignant/malignant urothelial lesions, were screened for bladder …

Strengthening Neglected Tropical Disease Research Through Enhancing Research-Site Capacity: An Evaluation Of A Novel Web Application To Facilitate Research Collections, Tanzin Furtado, Samuel Franzen, Francois Van Loggerenberg, Gwenaelle Carn, Shannon Grahek, Megan Mcbride, Maureen Power, Barbara Savarese, Margaret Ann Snowden, Gwynn Stevens, Almarie Uys, Trudie Lang

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Anthelmintic Efficacy Of Mebendazole In School Children In Six Countries Where Soil-Transmitted Helminths Are Endemic, Bruno Levecke, Antonio Montresor, Marco Albonico, Shaali M. Ame, Jerzy M. Behnke, Jeffrey M. Bethony, +15 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:

Robust reference values for fecal egg count reduction (FECR) rates of the most widely used anthelmintic drugs in preventive chemotherapy (PC) programs for controlling soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm) are still lacking. However, they are urgently needed to ensure detection of reduced efficacies that are predicted to occur due to growing drug pressure. Here, using a standardized methodology, we assessed the FECR rate of a single oral dose of mebendazole (MEB; 500 mg) against STHs in six trials in school children in different locations around the world. Our results are compared with those previously obtained …

Chagas Disease: A Dangerous Kiss, Stephen Maynard

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Parasitic infections are a common occurrence worldwide and are often more common in low income countries. While these infections are associated with poor compromised communities outside the United States these diseases effect people within the United States and are more common than realized. One specific parasitic infection infects its human host causing Chagas disease. Chagas disease is an infection that occurs from the parasite T. cruzi and was named for the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas who discovered the disease in 1909 (CDC, 2014). According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2014), Chagas disease has been targeted as a priority …

Ascaris Lumbricoides: The Unforeseen Diagnosis, Suzette Maynard

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Infections from Ascaris lumbricoides have become very prevalent in lesser developed countries. These infections are believed to migrate into the United States through the border with Mexico, and immigration from other countries, through increased world travel and international adoptions (Cardenas et al., 2010). A. lumbricoides have been found to cause cases in the United States, one being in Westerville, Ohio (J. Leonard, personal communication, September 6, 2014). As the world has become smaller, it has become imperative that as a nation we are able to prepare for infections that are popular outside the United States. The first step in preparing …

Genetics Of The Pig Tapeworm In Madagascar Reveal A History Of Human Dispersal And Colonization, Tetsuya Yanagida, Jean-François Carod, Yasuhito Sako, Minoru Nakao, Eric P. Hoberg, Akira Ito

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

An intricate history of human dispersal and geographic colonization has strongly affected the distribution of human pathogens. The pig tapeworm Taenia solium occurs throughout the world as the causative agent of cysticercosis, one of the most serious neglected tropical diseases. Discrete genetic lineages of T. solium in Asia and Africa/Latin America are geographically disjunct; only in Madagascar are they sympatric. Linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence has indicated that the people in Madagascar have mixed ancestry from Island Southeast Asia and East Africa. Hence, anthropogenic introduction of the tapeworm from Southeast Asia and Africa had been postulated. This study shows that …

Global Burden Of Disease Study 2010: Interpretation And Implications For The Neglected Tropical Diseases, Peter J. Hotez, Miriam Alvarado, Maria Gloria Basanez, Ian Bolliger, Et Al.

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Five Malaria Transmission Models: Benchmark Tests And Implications For Disease Control, Dorothy I. Wallace, Ben S. Southworth, Xun Shi, Jonathan W. Chipman, Andrew K. Githeko

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Models for malaria transmission are usually compared based on the quantities tracked, the form taken by each term in the equations, and the qualitative properties of the systems at equilibrium. Here five models are compared in detail in order to develop a set of performance measures that further illuminate the differences among models.

Methods: Five models of malaria transmission are compared. Parameters are adjusted to correspond to similar biological quantities across models. Nine choices of parameter sets/initial conditions are tested for all five models. The relationship between malaria incidence in humans and (1) malaria incidence in vectors, (2) man-biting …

A Likelihood Approach To Estimate The Number Of Co-Infections, Kristian A. Schneider, Ananias A. Escalante

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Article abstract:

The number of co-infections of a pathogen (multiplicity of infection or MOI) is a relevant parameter in epidemiology as it relates to transmission intensity. Notably, such quantities can be built into a metric in the context of disease control and prevention. Having applications to malaria in mind, we develop here a maximum-likelihood (ML) framework to estimate the quantities of interest at low computational and no additional costs to study designs or data collection. We show how the ML estimate for the quantities of interest and corresponding confidence-regions are obtained from multiple genetic loci. Assuming specifically that infections are …

Cytokine Changes In Colonic Mucosa Associated With Blastocystis Spp. Subtypes 1 And 3 In Diarrhoea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Javed Yakoob, Zaigham Abbas, Muhammad Waqas Usman, Aisha Sultana, Muhammad Islam, Safia Awan, Zubair Ahmad, Saeed Hamid, Wasim Jafri

Section of Gastroenterology

We determined cytokines (e.g. interleukin-8, 10, 12 and TNF-α) expression by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in rectal mucosa in diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) with Blastocystis spp. Eighty patients with D-IBS and Blastocystis spp. infection were classified as 'cases' and 80 with D-IBS without Blastocystis spp. infection were classified as 'control'. Cases were subdivided into D-IBS and Blastocystis sp. defined type 1 (subtype-specific primer SB83) and type 3 (SB227). Stool microscopy and culture were performed. Rectal biopsies were obtained for histology and cytokines by real-time PCR for mRNA expression of cytokines. PBMCs IL-8 was similar in different groups …

Cystic Echinococcoses In Mongolia: Molecular Identification, Serology And Risk Factors, Akira Ito, Temuulen Dorjsuren, Anu Davaasuren, Tetsuya Yanagida, Yasuhito Sako, Kazuhiro Nakaya, Minoru Nakao, Oyun-Erdene Bat-Ochir, Tsendjav Ayushkhuu, Narantuya Bazarragchaa, Nyamkhuu Gonchigsengee, Tiaoying Li, Gurbadam Agvaandaram, Abmed Davaajav, Chinchuluun Boldbaatar, Gantigmaa Chuluunbaatar

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Abstract

Background

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a globally distributed cestode zoonosis that causes hepatic cysts. Although Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) is the major causative agent of CE worldwide, recent molecular epidemiological studies have revealed that E. canadensis is common in countries where camels are present. One such country is Mongolia.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Forty-three human hepatic CE cases that were confirmed histopathologically at the National Center of Pathology (NCP) in Ulaanbaatar (UB) were identified by analysis of mitochondrial cox1 gene as being caused by either E. canadensis (n = 31, 72.1%) or E. granulosus s.s. ( …

Bedbugs Biting Back? A Multifactorial Consideration Of Bedbug Resurgence, Vanessa L. Abejuela-Matt

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Bedbugs, previously thought to be eradicated during the mid-20th century, have reemerged in the new millennium with unforeseen furor. Affected patients and families frequently present in primary care settings, not only with complaints of pruritus or rash, but with anxiety and shame regarding the condition. Changes in eradication techniques and resistance, as well as lack of reporting – from both patients and lodging institutions – have hindered control. The increased mobility of goods and the human population has provided further avenues for bedbug spread. While current literature thoroughly describes the clinical presentation of bedbugs and the increasingly problematic effects on …

Urinary Estrogen Metabolites And Self-Reported Infertility In Women Infected With Schistosoma Haematobium, Julio Santos, Maria Joao Gouveia, Nuno Vale, Maria De Lurdes Delgado, Ana Goncalves, Gabriel Rinaldi, Paul J. Brindley, +10 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease, endemic in 76 countries, that afflicts more than 240 million people. The impact of schistosomiasis on infertility may be underestimated according to recent literature. Extracts of Schistosoma haematobium include estrogen-like metabolites termed catechol-estrogens that down regulate estrogen receptors alpha and beta in estrogen responsive cells. In addition, schistosome derived catechol-estrogens induce genotoxicity that result in estrogen-DNA adducts. These catechol estrogens and the catechol-estrogen-DNA adducts can be isolated from sera of people infected with S. haematobium. The aim of this study was to study infertility in females infected with S. haematobium and its …

Suppression Of Basophil Histamine-Release And Other Ige-Dependent Responses In Childhood Schistosoma Mansoni Hookworm Co-Infection, Angela Pinot De Moira, Colin M. Fitzsimmons, Frances M. Jones, Shona Wilson, Pierre Cahen, Edridah Tukahebwa, Harriet Mpairwe, Joseph K. Mwatha, Jeffrey M. Bethony, Per S. Skov, Narcis B. Kabatereine, David W. Dunne

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Background. The poor correlation between allergen-specific-IgE (asIgE) and clinical signs of allergy in helminth infected populations suggests that helminth infections could protect against allergy by uncoupling asIgE from its effector mechanisms. We investigated this hypothesis in Ugandan schoolchildren coinfected with Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm.

Methods. Skin prick test (SPT) sensitivity to house dust mite allergen (HDM) and current wheeze were assessed pre-anthelmintic treatment. Non-specific (anti-IgE), helminth-specific and HDM-allergen-specific basophil histamine release (HR), plus helminth- and HDM-specific IgE and IgG4 responses were measured pre- and post-treatment.

Results. Non-specific- and helminth-specific-HR, and associations between helminth-specific-IgE and helminth-specific-HR increased post-treatment. Hookworm infection appeared …

Avirulent Strains Of Toxoplasma Gondii Infect Macrophages By Active Invasion From The Phagosome, Yanlin Zhao, Andrew H. Marple, David J. P. Ferguson, David J. Bzik, George S. Yap

Dartmouth Scholarship

Unlike most intracellular pathogens that gain access into host cells through endocytic pathways, Toxoplasma gondii initiates infection at the cell surface by active penetration through a moving junction and subsequent formation of a parasitophorous vacuole. Here, we describe a noncanonical pathway for T. gondii infection of macrophages, in which parasites are initially internalized through phagocytosis, and then actively invade from within a phagosomal compartment to form a parasitophorous vacuole. This phagosome to vacuole invasion (PTVI) pathway may represent an intermediary link between the endocytic and the penetrative routes for host cell entry by intracellular pathogens. The PTVI pathway is preferentially …

Babesiosis: An Under-Recognized Tick Bourne Illness, Michael N. Daniels Do, Katie Mastoris Do, Mark Knouse Md, Stacey Smith Md, Facp

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

An Immunomics Approach To Schistosome Antigen Discovery: Antibody Signatures Of Naturally Resistant And Chronically Infected Individuals From Endemic Areas, Soraya Gaze, Patrick Driguez, Mark S. Pearson, Tiago Mendes, Denise L. Doolan, Jeffrey M. Bethony, +14 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that is responsible for almost 300,000 deaths annually. Mass drug administration (MDA) is used worldwide for the control of schistosomiasis, but chemotherapy fails to prevent reinfection with schistosomes, so MDA alone is not sufficient to eliminate the disease, and a prophylactic vaccine is required. Herein, we take advantage of recent advances in systems biology and longitudinal studies in schistosomiasis endemic areas in Brazil to pilot an immunomics approach to the discovery of schistosomiasis vaccine antigens. We selected mostly surface-derived proteins, produced them using an in vitro rapid translation system and then printed them to …

Chagas Disease In The 21st Century: A Public Health Success Or An Emerging Threat?, Kevin M. Bonney

Publications and Research

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a major public health burden in Latin America and a potentially serious emerging threat to a number of countries throughout the world. Although public health programs have significantly reduced the prevalence of Chagas disease in Latin America in recent decades, the number of infections in the United States and non-endemic countries in Europe and the Western Pacific Region continues to rise. Moreover, there is still no vaccine or highly effective cure available for the approximately 10 million people currently infected with T. cruzi, a third of which will develop potentially …

Genome Of The Human Hookworm Necator Americanus, Yat T. Tang, Xin Gao, Bruce A. Rosa, Sahar Abubucker, Kymberlie Hallsworth-Pepin, Peter J. Hotez, Jeffrey M. Bethony, +23 Additional Authors

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

The hookworm Necator americanus is the predominant soil-transmitted human parasite. Adult worms feed on blood in the small intestine, causing iron-deficiency anemia, malnutrition, growth and development stunting in children, and severe morbidity and mortality during pregnancy in women. We report sequencing and assembly of the N. americanus genome (244 Mb, 19,151 genes). Characterization of this first hookworm genome sequence identified genes orchestrating the hookworm's invasion of the human host, genes involved in blood feeding and development, and genes encoding proteins that represent new potential drug targets against hookworms. N. americanus has undergone a considerable and unique expansion of immunomodulator proteins, …