Parasitology International

Trichinosis spiralis is a global disease with economic impact. Albendazole is the current-treatment. Yet, the world-widely emerging antimicrobial resistance necessitates search for therapeutic substitutes. Curcumin is a natural compound with therapeutic benefits. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of crude-curcumin, chitosan and for the first time curcumin-nano-emulsion and curcumin-loaded-chitosan-nanoparticles against Trichinella spiralis adults and larvae in acute and chronic trichinosis models. Trichinosis spiralis was induced in 96 Swiss-albino mice...

The mortality rate caused by parasitic worms on their hosts is of great concern and studies have been carried out to find molecules to reduce the prevalence, host-parasite interaction, and resistance of parasites to treatments. Existing drugs on the market are very often toxic and have many side effects, hence the need to find new, more active molecules. It has been demonstrated in several works that medicinal plants constitute a wide range of new molecules that can solve this problem. Several works have already been able to demonstrate that cyclic peptides of plant origin have shown good activity in the fight against different types of helminths...

Fasciola spp. is a major livestock parasite, especially in cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats. Infection reduces animal productivity, e.g., meat, dairy, wool and might cause death. In Thailand, reports of Fasciola spp. infection in livestock, especially dairy and beef cattle, are sparse. Pakchong district in Nakhon Ratchasima province is one of Thailand's largest farming areas for dairy and beef cattle, but the prevalence of Fasciola spp. infection has never been reported in this district. The landscape of this area is mainly a hilltop plateau with many water sources suitable for the development of lymnaeid snails, the intermediate host of Fasciola spp...

Among the effects of the larval development of digenetic trematodes on their intermediate hosts, changes in the carbohydrate metabolism in the snails stand out. The aim of this study was to analyze, every 10 days after infection (d.p.i.), the effects of Paratanaisia bragai infection on the glycogen content in the digestive gland and cephalopedal mass in Subulina octona snail, and also verify the glucose concentration and the enzyme D - and L -lactate dehydrogenase activity (EC1.1.1.27 and EC1.1.1.28) (LDH) and the concentration of some metabolites(oxalic, succinic, pyruvic and lactic acid) presents in the hemolymph...

A gorgoderid species, Phyllodistomum cyprini Feng et Wang, 1995 obtained from ureters of common carp, Cyprinus carpio in Japan is described both morphologically and molecularly. Its larval stage is a macrocercous cercaria found in a unionid mussel, Nodularia nipponensis first described by Urabe et al. (2015). A molecular phylogenetic study revealed that P. cyprini is not closely related to rhopalocercous cercariae from unionid mussels both in Europe and North America. This result indicates that there are several distinct clades in Phyllodistomum species that use unionid mussels as a first intermediate host, and suggests that the cercarial morphology may be a more accurate indicator of the phylogeny of Phyllodistomum than molluscan host identity...

Chivi vireos Vireo chivi (Vieillot, 1817) are passerine birds widely distributed throughout Brazil, but mainly observed in the Atlantic Forest of the South and Southeast regions of the country. In this context, the current study identifies a new species of Isospora Schneider, 1881 from V. chivi captured in the Marambaia Island, on the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. The oocysts of Isospora juruviarae Andrade & Berto n. sp. are subspheroidal to ovoidal, measuring on average 26 by 24 μm...

According to the latest taxonomy of Spirometra species, six species (lineages) have been tentatively classified as valid. These species are Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, S. folium, S. mansoni, undescribed Spirometra sp. 1, and S. decipiens complex 1 and 2. Among these species, the undescribed species was first discovered as plerocercoid larvae in wild boars in Japan and further studies have confirmed that this species is a new taxon belonging to the genus Spirometra. Here, we describe Spirometra asiana sp. nov...

In captivity, snakes may present chronic infections with high mortality, such as those caused by Cryptosporidium serpentis, or they may be pseudoparasitized by species that present zoonotic potential. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of helminths and protozoa in the feces of captive snakes, characterize the species and subtypes of Cryptosporidium spp. and correlate the parasites detected with other information obtained from these animals. Feces were collected from 189 snakes kept at the Vital Brazil Institute, Rio de Janeiro, including samples from Bothrops jararaca, Bothrops jararacussu, Bothrops moojeni, Bothrops atrox, Bothrops leucurus, Crotalus durissus and Lachesis muta...

Myxozoans of Ceratomyxidae Doflein, 1899 are common coelozoic parasites of marine life, and are also found less frequently in freshwater fish. The present study describes Ceratomyxa ranunculiformis n. sp. as a new freshwater myxosporean species infecting the gall bladder of the Amazonian sciaenid Plagioscion squamosissimus. The new Ceratomyxa was described based on its host, myxospore morphology, ribosomal rDNA gene sequencing, parasite distribution, and phylogenetic analysis. Immature and mature plasmodia were tadpole-shaped or pyriform, and exhibited slow undulatory motility...

Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 is the most speciose myxozoan genus, although some species have only been described according to the morphological characteristics of spores. In the present study, a new Myxobolus species infecting the gill lamellae of goldfish from Chongqing, China, was described using a comprehensive analysis of morphological, molecular, and histological data. Mature spores were flat-pear in valvular view with tapering anterior and rounded posterior ends, measuring 11.0 ± 0...

Species of the genus Pseudoterranova, infect kogiid cetaceans and pinnipeds. However, there is mounting molecular evidence that those from cetaceans and pinnipeds are not congeneric. Here, we provide further evidence of the non-monophyly of members of Pseudoterranova from phylogenetic analyses of the conserved nuclear LSU rDNA gene, entire ITS rDNA region and mtDNA cox2 gene, and identify morphological characters that may be used to distinguish the members of the two clades. We propose the resurrection of the genus Phocanema, with Ph...

Philopinna higai is a species of Didymozoidae (Digenea: Hemiuroidea). The definitive hosts of this parasite only belong to the fish genus Sarcocheilichthys. Sarcocheilichthys fishes are endemic to Lake Biwa and southwestern Japan and were introduced into the northeastern (Tohoku) region. However, P. higai parasitism has not been investigated in the Tohoku region. In this study, we surveyed the distribution of P. higai in the Tohoku region and sequenced 28S rDNA (994 bp) and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene (721 bp) of P...

Hydatid disease, also known as echinococcosis, is an endemic zoonotic parasitic disease caused by larvae of the Echinococcus tapeworm.Humans as accidental intermediate hosts in the parasite life cycle, echinococcus usually parasitizes the liver, solitary cystic echinococcosis in the gallbladder is very rare. Here we report a rare case of cystic echinococcosis in the gallbladder without liver involvement. A female patient was admitted to the hospital primarily for "right upper abdominal pain with radiating pain in the back of the shoulder for 20 days", initially suspected to be gallbladder stones, and underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy after completing the relevant investigations, and was diagnosed with primary cystic echinococcosis of the gallbladder based on the pathologic findings in the postoperative period...

The emergence of Tick-borne Anaplasma spp. poses a significant threat to humans and animals worldwide. Traditional surveys based on examining blood smears overlook the existence of emerging pathogens. This study aimed to screen Anaplasma spp. in livestock species from diverse geographies with molecular tools. We collected 276 blood samples from cattle (Bos indicus), gayals (Bos frontalis) and goats (Capra hircus) in Jhenaidah, Bogura, Sirajganj and Bandarban districts, and Naikhongchari sub-district from June 2021 to March 2022...

Cattle production is a major contributor to the national economy of Kyrgyzstan. Most cattle in Kyrgyzstan are managed via extensive systems and graze in communal pastures. As a result, infestations with ectoparasites are widespread, implying that various vector-borne diseases might be common in cattle. However, methods to control such infectious diseases are not available in Kyrgyzstan because the epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) infecting cattle remains unclear. The present study was therefore designed to survey Kyrgyz cattle for VBPs...

This study examined the correlation between intestinal protozoans and the bacterial microbiome in faecal samples collected from 463 patients in New Zealand who were diagnosed with gastroenteritis. In comparison to traditional microscopic diagnosis methods, Multiplexed-tandem PCR proved to be more effective in detecting intestinal parasites. Among the identified protozoans, Blastocystis sp. and Dientamoeba fragilis were the most prevalent. Notably, D. fragilis was significantly associated with an increase in the alpha-diversity of host prokaryotic microbes...

Plasmodium falciparum parasites are the primary cause of malaria across Africa. The problem of drug resistance to malaria is ever growing and novel therapeutic strategies need to be developed, particularly those targeting the parasite and also the host or host-pathogen interaction. Previous studies have shown that the development of cerebral malaria (CM) is related to dysregulation of the immune system in a murine malaria model of experimental cerebral malaria. It involves a complex interaction of events and interferon-gamma seems to be the unifying factor...

As drug-resistant strains of Eimeria have emerged and concerns about drug residues in poultry have grown, there is renewed interest in identifying natural alternatives to control coccidiosis. Cedrol, a natural sesquiterpene alcohol, was used in this study to test anticoccidial efficacy in chicks. Both the control and treatment groups were orally challenged with 2 × 104 oocysts per chicken. Chicks administered with cedrol had reduced oocyst count, an increase in the relative weight gain rate of chicks, and a decrease in severe swelling of the cecum...

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of animals contains various helminth parasites, responsible for subclinical and clinical parasitism. The health situation of animals is seriously affected by these parasites and leads massive financial losses for the livestock trade. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of GIT parasites in small and large ruminants of Mardan district and zoo animals of Golden Life Safari Park Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A total of 419 fecal samples were collected including 117 from goats, 110 from cattle, 80 from sheep, 66 from buffaloes, 40 from birds, four from deer, and two from leopards...

With one exception, the only known hemiurid trematodes that do not use teleost fishes as definitive hosts instead occur in marine elapid snakes. These comprise six species across four genera and three subfamilies, and so presumably indicate at least three independent invasions of marine snakes from teleost fishes. Here, one of these taxa, Tubulovesicula laticaudi Parukhin, 1969 (= T. orientalis Chattopadhyaya, 1970 n. syn.) is reported from Sri Lanka, collected from Shaw's sea snake Hydrophis curtus (Shaw) (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae: Hydrophinii), the annulated sea snake H...