Parasitic Diseases Commons^™

Observing The Effects Of Antimalarial Drug Availability On Women’S Work Absenteeism, Rei Imada

CMC Senior Theses

This study aims to provide insight on how availability of antimalarial drugs can help alleviate the economic burden of malaria. Much of the existing literature that looks into the effects of antimalarial drug availability focuses on the associated health benefits, but fails to draw a link to the economic benefits that may also be incurred. Using data from the 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey, this study performs a series of multiple regressions to observe how increased availability of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), a front-line antimalarial drug in most African countries, affects likelihood of work absenteeism …

Use Of Pefloxacin As A Surrogate Marker To Detect Ciprofloxacin Susceptibility In Salmonella Enterica Serotypes Typhi And Paratyphi A, Safia Moin, Mohammad Zeeshan, Sidra Laiq, Ahmed Raheem, Afia Zafar

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To determine the use of pefloxacin as a surrogate marker to detect fluoroquinolone (ciprofloxacin) susceptibility against Salmonella enterica serotypes Typhi and Paratyphi A.
Methods: The prospective, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from September 2016 to March 2018, and comprised Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A isolates of blood cultures. Disk susceptibility tests and broth microdilution to test minimum inhibitory concentration were performed as per standard guidelines. Data was analysed using SPSS 21.
Results: Of the 138 isolates, 91(66%) were intermediate resistant to ciprofloxacin but were resistant to pefloxacin, 42(30%) were resistant to both …

Drug Interactions With Antimalarial Medications In Older Travelers: A Clinical Guide, Jelena Lewis, Tania Gregorian, Ivan Portillo, Jeff Goad

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Increasingly older adults are traveling to international destinations with malaria as a present risk. Surveillance systems indicate that older adults are more likely to suffer severe complications from malaria. The role of health care providers in selecting an appropriate medication for chemoprophylaxis or treatment of malaria in adults becomes more difficult as older adults undergo physiologic changes that alter the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic nature of medications potentially causing increased drug interactions, adverse events, and altered drug action. A comprehensive literature search from 1970 to present, with a focus on the last 10 years, was conducted on drug interactions, pharmacokinetic and …

Establishing Computational Approaches Towards Identifying Malarial Allosteric Modulators: A Case Study Of Plasmodium Falciparum Hsp70s, Arnold Amusengeri, Lindy Astl, Kevin Lobb, Gennady M. Verkhivker, Özlem Tastan Bishop

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Combating malaria is almost a never-ending battle, as Plasmodium parasites develop resistance to the drugs used against them, as observed recently in artemisinin-based combination therapies. The main concern now is if the resistant parasite strains spread from Southeast Asia to Africa, the continent hosting most malaria cases. To prevent catastrophic results, we need to find non-conventional approaches. Allosteric drug targeting sites and modulators might be a new hope for malarial treatments. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are potential malarial drug targets and have complex allosteric control mechanisms. Yet, studies on designing allosteric modulators against them are limited. Here, we identified allosteric …

Bridging The Gap On Schistosomiasis: A Cross-Sectional Study Examining The Knowledge Gap And Common Attitudes And Practices Regarding S. Mansoni Infections Among Varying Education Levels In Luanda K’Otieno, Western Kenya, Kathy Zhang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Background: Schistosomiasis is considered one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most effective strategy for schistosomiasis control is through preventive chemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ). In order to successfully control morbidity rates, the WHO recommends mass treatment targeting high risk groups, such as school-age children and adults considered to be at risk.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the effects of the National School-Based Deworming Programme (NSBDP) on knowledge of schistosomiasis and subsequent prevalence rates and intensity. A total of 43 residents in Luanda K’Otieno were interviewed, and 34 of …

Cutaneous Leishmaniasis In A Traveler: A Case Report, Sarah Al-Obaydi Md, Nemer Dabage Md, James Demaio Md

Internal Medicine

Leishmaniasis, a vector-borne infection transmitted by sandflies, is endemic throughout the Mediterranean basin and the tropics. We present a case diagnosed in Florida after overseas travel.

Transmissible Dermatological Diseases Affecting Syrian Refugees In Lebanon, Nisrine Kawa, Edith Hanna, Abdul Rahman Bizri

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

The Syrian war led many to seek shelter in Lebanon, creating a major refugee crisis. Displaced populations in crowded unequipped settlements are vulnerable to infectious diseases. The burden and incidence of various transmissible skin conditions affecting Syrian refugees in Lebanon and their impact on the Lebanese public health system were evaluated. Literature regarding these conditions among Syrian refugees in host countries, and epidemiological data from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health Surveillance Unit and primary health-care network were reviewed. Lebanon has witnessed skin disorder outbreaks associated with the Refugee crisis, mainly leishmaniasis, scabies and lice infestations with little data about …

Review Of Chagas Disease And Treatment Obstacles To Eradication, Emily Sherman

Senior Honors Theses

The World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control reports Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, as a major neglected tropical disease prevalent in 21 endemic Latin American countries. The agent of the disease is a single-celled protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, and common modes of transmission include infected feces of a triatomine bug, crossing the placental barrier, and blood products. The two phases of infection are acute and chronic, and the three most affected body systems are cardiovascular, digestive, and nervous. Although research has led to several advances in the knowledge of CD, there are gaps in treatment and epidemiological …

The Use Of Geospatial Modeling And Novel Diagnostics To Detect And Map Risk Factors Of Soil-Transmitted Helminths In Feira De Santana, Brazil, Ryan Harry Avery

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections impact billions of people worldwide. The traditional STH control approach is a morbidity control strategy implementing mass drug administration (MDA) programs targeting school-aged children (SAC). In Brazil, this control strategy has decreased STH prevalence to less than 20% in most of the country and providing an opportunity to transition from the morbidity control program and towards a surveillance and response system geared towards STH elimination. Surveillance and response systems geared towards elimination require the implementation higher accuracy diagnostics to detect infection in low-transmission communities, surveillance of entire households, high-resolution modeling at the household-habitat scale, and targeted …

Characterizing The Permanence And Stationary Distribution For A Family Of Malaria Stochastic Models, Divine Wanduku

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

The Interface Between Invasive Species And The Increased Incidence Of Tick-Borne Diseases, And The Implications For Federal Land Managers, Ed Clark, Janis Mcfarland, Blaine Parker, Slade Franklin

National Invasive Species Council

Includes information on the dynamics of tick-borne disease, factors affecting the occurrence and density of ticks, matrices of ties between habitat, human activities, invasive plants, and ticks, federal resources and programs related to ticks and vector-borne disease in the United States, with references and an annotated bibliography of literature on ticks, vector-borne diseases, and invasive species.

Treatment Options For Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome, Barbara Bowman

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

With the high incidence of Lyme disease in the endemic areas of North America, it is important to appropriately diagnosis and treat this condition to prevent post treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). Background information regarding Lyme disease is given. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the treatment options available for those patients that fit the case definition of PTLDS. A literature review was conducted using several different electronic databases finding peer reviewed research articles pertaining to the treatment options available for PTLDS. Extended antibiotic use is shown to be not beneficial in most cases. Alternative treatment options listed …

Giardia Lamblia Growth In Viscoelastic Fluids, Kelly Watanabe

CMC Senior Theses

Giardia lamblia is a single-celled protozoan parasite that when ingested, causes diarrheal disease and infects 33% of people in developing countries. Previous studies observe Giardia in water-like fluids, but Giardia's infectious environment consists of viscoelastic mucus in the small intestine. Therefore, Giardia was cultured in viscoelastic fluids, and its population growth was observed in vitro. To create shear-thinning viscoelastic fluids, 0.2% and 0.4% long-chain polyacrylamide (LCPAM) was added to cell culture media. Giardia was cultured in control media, 0.2% LCPAM, and 0.4% LCPAM, and population growth was quantitatively determined over time. Increasing LCPAM concentration resulted in a solution with …

Multistate Survey Of American Dog Ticks (Dermacentor Variabilis) For Rickettsia Species, Joy A. Hecht, Michelle E.J. Allerdice, Elizabeth A. Dykstra, Laura Mastel, Rebecca J. Eisen, Tammi L. Johnson, Holly D. Gaff, Andrea S. Varela-Stokes, Jerome Goddard, Benedict B. Pagac, Christopher D. Paddock, Sandor E. Karpathy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Dermacentor variabilis, a common human-biting tick found throughout the eastern half and along the west coast of the United States, is a vector of multiple bacterial pathogens. Historically, D. variabilis has been considered a primary vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. A total of 883 adult D. variabilis, collected between 2012 and 2017 from various locations in 12 states across the United States, were screened for rickettsial DNA. Tick extracts were evaluated using three real-time PCR assays; an R. rickettsii-specific assay, a Rickettsia bellii-specific assay, and a Rickettsia genus-specific …

A Review Of Rat Lungworm Infection And Recent Data On Its Definitive Hosts In Hawaii, Chris N. Niebuhr, Susan I. Jarvi, Shane R. Siers

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) is a zoonotic nematode that causes rat lungworm disease (angiostrongyliasis), a potentially debilitating form of meningitis, in humans worldwide. The definitive hosts for rat lungworm are primarily members of the genus Rattus, with gastropods as intermediate hosts. This parasite has emerged as an important public health concern in the United States, especially in Hawaii, where the number of human cases has increased in the last decade. Here we discuss the current knowledge of the rat lungworm, including information on the life cycle and host species, as well as updates on known infection levels. Three …

Serological Proteomic Screening And Evaluation Of A Recombinant Egg Antigen For The Diagnosis Of Low-Intensity Schistosoma Mansoni Infections In Endemic Area In Brazil, Vanessa Silva-Moraes, Lisa Marie Shollenberger, William Castro-Borges, Ana Lucia Teles Rabello, Donald A. Harn, Lia Carolina Soares Medeiros, Wander De Jesus Jeremias, Liliane Maria Vidal Siqueira, Caroline Stephane Salviano Pereira, Maria Luysa Camargos Pedrosa, Nathalie Bonatti Franco Almeida, Aureo Almeida, Jose Roberto Lambertucci, Nidia Francisca De Figueiredo Carneiro, Paulo Marcos Zech Coelho, Refaella Fortini Queiroz Grenfell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Despite decades of use of control programs, schistosomiasis remains a global public health problem. To further reduce prevalence and intensity of infection, or to achieve the goal of elimination in low-endemic areas, there needs to be better diagnostic tools to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas in Brazil. The rationale for development of new diagnostic tools is that the current standard test Kato-Katz (KK) is not sensitive enough to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas. In order to develop new diagnostic tools, we employed a proteomics approach to identify biomarkers associated with schistosome-specific immune responses in hopes of developing …

Evaluation Of Cross-Reactivity To Taenia Hydatigena And Echinococcus Granulosus In The Enzyme-Linked Immunoelectrotransfer Blot Assay For The Diagnosis Of Porcine Cysticercosis, Lucho Gomez-Puerta, Ana Vargas-Calla, Yesenia Castillo, Maria Teresa Lopez-Urbina, Pierre Dorny, Hector H. Garcia, Armando E. Gonzalez, Seth E. O'Neal

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background:

Taenia solium is an important zoonotic parasite that infects humans as definitive host (taeniasis) and pigs as intermediate host (cysticercosis). Serological diagnosis of porcine cysticercosis is limited to antigen detection using ELISA, which is known to cross-react with other Taenia species, and antibody detection using the lentil-lectin glycoprotein enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (LLGP EITB), which has not been adequately evaluated for cross-reactivity to other parasites. Field studies suggest that the GP50 diagnostic band of the LLGP EITB may crossreact to Taenia hydatigena, a common non-zoonotic parasitic infection of pigs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the specificity of …

Feasibility Of A Point-Of-Care Test Based On Quantum Dots With A Mobile Phone Reader For Detection Of Antibody Responses, Chan Lee, John Noh, Seth E. O’Neal, Armando E. Gonzalez, Hector H. Garcia, Multiple Additional Authors

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

We developed a novel and portable fluorescent sensor that integrates a lateral flow assay with a quantum dot (Qdots) label and a mobile phone reader for detection of specific antibodies in human serum. We evaluated the utility of this assay to test for antibodies to the Taenia solium rT24H antigen. It was a retrospective study by examining 112 positive human sera from patients with neurocysticercosis (NCC) including samples from patients with single viable cyst (n = 18), two or more viable cysts (n = 71), and subarachnoid (racemose) cysts (n = 23). These samples were collected from previous study subjects …

Improving Access To Clean Water In Rural Ecuador: The Connection Between Willingness To Pay And Population Health, Micalea Leaska

Capstone Collection

Climate change is affecting social and environmental determinants of health through access to safe drinking water, safely managed sanitation systems, and access to health care services and the ability for individuals to break free from unsuitable circumstances. Ecological disturbances such as those caused by climate change can cause a shift in host vectors or a change in habitat that results in a greater likelihood of the pathogen coming in contact with humans. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and their accessibility to populations can directly impact a community’s vulnerability to diseases and limiting factors to increase economic growth. If rural …

การตรวจทางอณูชีววิทยาของเชื้อลิชมาเนียและทริพาโนโซมในจิ้งจกจากแหล่งระบาดของโรคลิชมาเนียในภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย, ประพิมพร ตุ่นทอง

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

จิ้งจกเป็นสัตว์เลื้อยคลานขนาดเล็กที่จัดอยู่ในสกุล Hemidactylus สามารถพบได้ในที่อยู่อาศัยของมนุษย์ ได้มีการรายงานว่าจิ้งจกสามารถเป็นแหล่งกักเก็บโรคได้ เช่น แบคทีเรีย และโปรโตซัว สำหรับในประเทศไทยเชื้อ Leishmania spp. และ Trypanosoma spp. มีการติดต่อสู่คนและสัตว์โดยการกัดของริ้นฝอยทรายเพศเมีย อย่างไรก็ตามข้อมูลในสัตว์ที่เป็นแหล่งกักเก็บโรคของเชื้อโปรโตซัวดังกล่าวในประเทศไทยยังมีอยู่อย่างจำกัด ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อตรวจหาเชื้อ Leishmania และ Trypanosoma DNA ในจิ้งจกที่เก็บจากบ้านของผู้ป่วย leishmaniasis ในภาคใต้ของประเทศไทย จากตัวอย่างจำนวน 57 ตัวอย่างซึ่งได้จากจิ้งจกทั้งหมด 19 ตัว ประกอบด้วยตับ ม้าม และหัวใจ ตัวอย่างทั้งหมดถูกนำมาใช้ในการตรวจหา DNA ของเชื้อ Leishmania spp. และ Trypanosoma spp. โดยเทคนิค Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) จากตำแหน่งยีน ITS1 และ SSU rRNA ตามลำดับ โดยผลการทดลองพบว่า มี 15 ตัวอย่างที่ตรวจพบเชื้อ Trypanosoma spp. ประกอบไปด้วย ตับ 4 ตัวอย่าง ม้าม 5 ตัวอย่าง และหัวใจ 6 ตัวอย่างจากตัวอย่างจิ้งจกทั้งหมด 9 ตัว แต่ไม่สามารถตรวจพบเชื้อ Leishmania spp. ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้ จากผลแผนภูมิวิวัฒนาการที่ตำแหน่งยีน ITS1 แสดงให้เห็นว่า เชื้อ Trypanosoma spp. จัดอยู่ใน An04/Frog1 ของกลุ่ม Anura clade และผลแผนภูมิวิวัฒนาการของจิ้งจกที่ตำแหน่งยีน cytb แสดงให้เห็นว่าจิ้งจกทั้งหมดในการศึกษาครั้งนี้มีความเหมือนกับจิ้งจกสายพันธุ์ Hemidactylus platyurus ที่จัดอยู่ในกลุ่ม tropical asian clade โดยการศึกษานี้เป็นการตรวจพบเชื้อ Trypanosoma spp.ในจิ้งจกเป็นครั้งแรก ซึ่งข้อมูลที่ได้จากการศึกษาครั้งนี้แสดงให้เห็นว่าจิ้งจกอาจมีศักยภาพเป็นแหล่งเก็บโรคของเชื้อ Trypanosoma spp. นอกจากนี้การศึกษาอาจเป็นประโยขน์ในการป้องกันและควบคุมโรค Trypanosomiasis …