Parasitology Commons^™

Tapping Into Natural History Collections To Assess Latitudinal Gradients Of Parasite Diversity, Sebastian Botero-Cañola, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Parasites are key components of the biosphere not only due to their huge diversity, but also because they exert important influences on ecological processes. Nevertheless, we lack an understanding of the biogeographical patterns of parasite diversity. Here, we tap into the potential of biodiversity collections for understanding parasite biogeography. We assess species richness of supracommunities of helminth parasites infecting mammal assemblages in the Nearctic, and describe its relation to latitude, climate, host diversity, and land area. We compiled data from parasitology collections and assessed parasite diversity in Nearctic ecoregions for the entire parasite supracommunity of mammals in each ecoregion, as …

Anti-Tick Vaccine Candidate Subolesin Is Important For Blood Feeding And Innate Immune Gene Expression In Soft Ticks, Krittika Nandy, Comfort Tamakloe, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Subolesin is a conserved molecule in both hard and soft ticks and is considered as an effective candidate molecule for the development of anti-tick vaccine. Previous studies have reported the role of subolesin in blood feeding, reproduction, development, and gene expression in hard ticks. However, studies addressing the role of subolesin in soft ticks are limited. In this study, we report that subolesin is not only important in soft tick Ornithodoros turicata americanus blood feeding but also in the regulation of innate immune gene expression in these ticks. We identified and characterized several putative innate immune genes including Toll, Lysozyme …

A Short Introduction To Marine Parasitology: Marine Parasites Of Economic And Medical Importance, Klaus Rohde, Robin M. Overstreet

Concepts in Animal Parasitology Textbook

Introduction

Parasitism, in this chapter, is defined as “a close association of two organisms, in which one—the parasite—depends on the other—the host—deriving some benefit from it. The benefit is often food” (Rohde, 2005b). Many bacteria, viruses, and fungi are parasitic but usually not studied by parasitologists sensu stricto; they are the domain of microbiologists. Parasites as defined here do not always harm their host; the border between so-called genuine parasites and other symbionts such as commensals is often blurred, and investigators who work on disease aspects tend to emphasis the pathogenic aspects and may not consider non-pathogenic species as truly …

Antimalarial Chemoprophylaxis For Forest Goers In Southeast Asia: An Open-Label, Individually Randomised Controlled Trial, Rupam Tripura, Lorenz Von Seidlin, Siv Sovannaroth, Thomas J. Peto, James J. Callery, Meas Sokha, Mom Ean, Chhouen Heng, Franca Conradis-Jansen, Wanassanan Madmanee, Pimnara Peerawaranun, Naomi Waithira, Panarasri Khonputsa, Monnaphat Jongdeepaisal, Kulchada Pongsoipetch, Paphapisa Chotthanawathit, Ung Soviet, Christopher Pell, Jureeporn Duanguppama, Huy Rekol, Joel Tarning, Mallika Imwong, Mavuto Mukaka, Nicholas J. White, Arjen M. Dondorp, Richard J. Maude

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Summary

Background

Malaria in the eastern Greater Mekong subregion has declined to historic lows. Countries in the Greater Mekong subregion are accelerating malaria elimination in the context of increasing antimalarial drug resistance. Infections are now increasingly concentrated in remote, forested foci. No intervention has yet shown satisfactory efficacy against forest-acquired malaria. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of malaria chemoprophylaxis among forest goers in Cambodia.

Methods

We conducted an open-label, individually randomized controlled trial in Cambodia, which recruited participants aged 16–65 years staying overnight in forests. Participants were randomly allocated 1:1 to antimalarial chemoprophylaxis, a 3-day …

Diagnosing Neurocysticercosis In Skeletonized Human Remains Of Forensic Importance, John O. Obafunwa, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Neurocysticercosis is endemic in many parts of the underdeveloped and developing countries, with continuous presence in developed countries due to the influx of migrants from regions where the diseases are endemic. Neuroimaging, anatomic pathological techniques, immunodiagnostic tests, clinical examination and epidemiologic considerations will easily provide the diagnosis. However, physicians in developed countries are perhaps progressively missing the diagnosis, and need to re-acquaint themselves with the condition and acquire a high suspicion index. The authors present a medicolegal case where the forensic team made a conclusion of neurocysticercosis (among other diagnoses), following post mortem examination of a largely skeletonized and mummified …

Applications Of Bayesian Hierarchical Detection Models, Emily Beasley

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Bayesian hierarchical detection models are useful for addressing uncertainty in datasets in the form of detection error and can be adapted to a variety of research questions. This dissertation uses three case studies to highlight advantages of Bayesian hierarchical detection models: 1) using prior information to model undetected species, 2) efficiently modeling a naturally hierarchical system, and 3) correcting for observation bias in two interconnected ecological metrics for effective disease management.Detection error can bias ecological observations, especially when a species is never detected during sampling. In many communities, the probable identity of these species is known from previous research, but …

Let Emerging Plant Diseases Be Predictable, Valeria Trivellone

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

A prevalent concept for colonization and evolution among plant pathogens and their hosts stems from a post-Darwinian paradigm rooted in the formalized assumption of “specialized parasitism.” Seminal studies on rust fungi of socioeconomic importance integrated such an evolutionary perspective driven by the assumption of strict coevolution among pathogens and their plant hosts. Following this fundamentally unfalsifiable assumption, theories regarding host-switching for parasites were dismissed. If colonization occurred, this process would depend upon the origin of specific and novel mutations that allow infections of previously unexploited hosts or host groups, the acquisition of a broader host range. After a specific mutation …

An Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance Platform For The 21st Century, Eloy Ortiz, Alicia Juarrero

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Current vector surveillance programs are insufficient for coping with the emerging infectious disease crisis. In particular, current practices do not deploy sufficient information technology (IT) tools to generate actionable insights that can inform interventions and contain and mitigate the spread of vector-borne diseases. VectorAnalytica has developed a highly configurable and adaptable IT platform that imports, harmonizes, and integrates a range of data sources. The state-of-the-art backend development allows users to fully appreciate and understand the complexity of infectious disease dynamics without having to resort to additional statistical and GIS software packages. The platform yields actionable insights into outbreak patterns of …

Taking Action: Turning Evolutionary Theory Into Preventive Policies, Orsolya Molnár, Marina Knickel, Christine Marizzi

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

The emerging infectious disease (EID) crisis has been challenging global health security for decades, dealing substantial damage to all socioeconomic landscapes. Control measures have failed to prevent or even mitigate damages from an accelerating wave of EIDs, leading to the emergence and devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of the pandemic, we must critically review our public health policies and approaches. Current health security measures are based on the evolutionary theorem of host-parasite coevolution, which falsely deems EIDs as rare and unpredictable. The DAMA protocol (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act) is nested in a novel evolutionary framework that …

The Stockholm Paradigm Explains The Dynamics Of Darwin’S Entangled Bank, Including Emerging Infectious Disease, Salvatore J. Agosta

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Pathogens and their hosts are embedded within the larger biosphere, what Darwin called the “entangled bank.” Emerging infectious disease occurs when a parasite “switches” to a new host. Understanding the dynamics of emerging disease requires understanding the dynamics of host-switching, which requires a more general understanding of how the biosphere and its constituent members cope when conditions change. The Stockholm paradigm is an integrative evolutionary framework that describes how living systems cope with change by oscillating between exploiting and exploring the geographical and functional dimensions of their environments. It combines organismal capacity, ecological opportunity, and the repeated external perturbations to …

Anthelmintic Resistance In Sheep Across Ireland And The Uk: A Literature Review Of The In Vivo Versus In Vitro Methods, Megan Tumulty

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

Background: The animal welfare and production consequences of gastrointestinal nematode infections, namely Nematodirus battus, on sheep are compelling. The control of gastrointestinal infections has been heavily reliant on the administration of anthelmintics since their introduction into mainstream use in 1960. However, their frequent and often excessive use has resulted in anthelmintic resistance being reported extensively in several gastrointestinal nematode species. The prevalence of anthelmintic resistance as well as the increase in the number of cases of multiple-drug resistance in nematode populations now poses substantial hindrance on the viability of sheep production systems. However, despite the threat N. battus poses …

Knowing The Biosphere: Documentation, Specimens, Archives, And Names Reveal Environmental Change And Emerging Pathogens, Eric P. Hoberg, Valeria Trivellone, Joseph A. Cook, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Walter A. Boeger, Daniel R. Brooks, Salvatore J. Agosta, Jocelyn P. Colella

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

One Health programs and trajectories are now the apparent standard for exploring the occurrence and distribution of emerging pathogens and disease. By definition, One Health has been characterized as a broadly inclusive, collaborative, and transdisciplinary approach with connectivity across local to global scales, which integrates the medical and veterinary community to recognize health outcomes emerging at the environmental nexus for people, animals, plants, and their shared landscapes. One Health has been an incomplete model, conceptually and operationally, focused on reactive and response-based foundations, to limit the impact of emerging pathogens and emerging infectious diseases and, as such, lacks a powerful …

The Evolutionary Dynamics Of Infectious Diseases On An Unstable Planet: Insights From Modeling The Stockholm Paradigm, Angie T.C. Souza, Sabrina B.L. Araujo, Walter A. Boeger

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are, besides a question of food safety and public health, an ecological and evolutionary issue. The recognition of this condition combined with the accumulation of evidence that pathogens are not specialists in their original hosts evidences the need for understanding how the dynamics of interaction between pathogens and hosts occurs. The Stockholm Paradigm (SP) provides the theoretical fundaments to understand the dynamics of diseases and design proactive measures to avoid the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases. In this review, we revisit the models that evaluate several aspects of the proposed dynamics of the SP, including …

Investigating The Involvement Of The Tick Vector In The Induction Of Alpha-Galactose Hypersensitivity (Alpha-Gal Syndrome, Red Meat Allergy) In The United States., Gary Crispell

Dissertations

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS or sometimes called red meat allergy) is a result of the development of specific IgE antibodies to the oligosaccharide galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-gal) after a person has had exposure to tick bites. This dissertation investigates four common tick species found in North America: the lone-star tick (Amblyomma americanum), the Gulf-Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) for the presence of α-gal by utilizing a combination of immunoproteomic approaches and carbohydrate analysis techniques.

Anti-α-gal IgM antibodies (M86) were used in immunoblotting to detect …

A Field Synopsis, Systematic Review, And Meta-Analyses Of Cophylogenetic Studies: What Is Affecting Congruence Between Phylogenies?, Valeria Trivellone, Bernd Panassiti

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

We conducted a field synopsis and systematic meta-analysis of studies that carried out cophylogenetic analyses using algorithms and available software. We evaluated the influence of three factors—namely, cophylogenetic method, association, and ecosystem type—on the outcome of the analyses, that is, the degree of congruence between phylogenies of interacting species.

The published papers were identified using 4 different databases and 13 keywords; we included all studies for which statistical approaches to compare phylogenies (cophylogenetic analyses) of interacting lineages were used. After the initial screening, 296 studies were selected to extract response variable (outcome of the cophylogenetic analyses, i.e., congruent, incongruent, or …

Unraveling The Complex Interactions Between Members Of The Schistosoma Haematobium Group And Bulinus Snails In And Around Lake Victoria In West Kenya, Caitlin Raiselle Babbitt

Biology ETDs

Schistosoma haematobium, the agent of urogenital schistosomiasis, and
related schistosomes are transmitted by members of the genus Bulinus. Each of
the 38 Bulinus species vary in their ability to vector schistosome species and
non-schistosome trematodes resulting in a patchwork of snail-parasite
compatibilities. Accurately identifying snail intermediate hosts and the disease-
causing parasites they transmit is critical for snail control strategies and the
management of human schistosomiasis. Towards these ends, this thesis
identifies bulinid species and the parasites they transmit and implicates certain
species in the transmission of S. haematobium. The thesis also includes a
systematic review of …

The Stockholm Paradigm: Lessons For The Emerging Infectious Disease Crisis, Daniel R. Brooks, Walter A. Boeger, Eric P. Hoberg

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

The emerging infectious disease (EID) crisis represents an immediate existential threat to modern humanity. Current policies aimed at coping with the EID crisis are ineffective and unsustainably expensive. They have failed because they are based on a scientific paradigm that produced the parasite paradox. The Stockholm paradigm (SP) resolves the paradox by integrating four elements of evolutionary biology: ecological fitting, sloppy fitness space, coevolution, and responses to environmental perturbations. It explains why and how the EID crisis occurs and is expanding and what happens after an EID emerges that sets the stage for future EIDs. The SP provides a number …

The Dama Protocol, An Introduction: Finding Pathogens Before They Find Us, Eric P. Hoberg, Walter A. Boeger, Orsolya Molnár, Gábor Földvári, Scott Gardner, Alicia Juarrero, Vitaliy A. Kharchenko, Eloy Ortiz, Wolfgang Preiser, Valeria Trivellone, Daniel R. Brooks

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Globally, humanity is coming to recognize the magnitude of the interactive crisis for emerging infectious disease (EID). Strategies for coping with EID have been largely in the form of reactive measures for crisis response. The DAMA protocol (Document, Assess, Monitor, Act), the operational policy extension of the Stockholm paradigm, constitutes a preventive/proactive dimension to those efforts. DAMA is aimed at focusing and extending human and material resources devoted to coping with the accelerating wave of EID. DAMA is integrative, combining efforts to strategically document the distribution of complex pathogen and host assemblages in the biosphere in the context of dynamic …

The 3p Framework: A Comprehensive Approach To Coping With The Emerging Infectious Disease Crisis, Orsolya Molnár, Eric Hoberg, Valeria Trivellone, Gábor Földvári, Daniel R. Brooks

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest example of the profound socioeconomic impact of the emerging infectious disease (EID) crisis. Current health security measures are based on a failed evolutionary paradigm that presumes EID is rare and cannot be predicted because emergence requires the prior evolution of novel genetic capacities for colonizing a new host. Consequently, crisis response through preparation for previously emerged diseases and palliation following outbreaks have been the only health security options, which have become unsustainably expensive and unsuccessful. The Stockholm paradigm (SP) is an alternative evolutionary framework that suggests host changes are the result of changing conditions …

Exploring The Relationships Between South Texas Northern Bobwhite Populations And Cecal Worms Via System Dynamics, Nicole J. Traub, Benjamin L. Turner, Leonard A. Brennan, Alan M. Fedynich

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Community ecology historically focused on plants and free-living organisms; however, problems such as defining habitat boundaries and obtaining adequate sample sizes arise when evaluating such communities. The unique nature of host-helminth systems allows parasite community ecologists to avoid these problems when testing ecological hypotheses. Unlike free-living communities that have artificially constructed boundaries, parasite communities have well-defined unambiguous boundaries within host individuals. Due to the inherently complex and dynamic nature of ecological systems, traditional experimental methods often require expensive, long-term trials beyond investigators’ time and resource budgets. Conversely, a system dynamics approach facilitates learning about such systems via simulation of ecosystem …