The prevalence of helminthic infections in most of the developing countries is overwhelming, and almost a quarter of the world’s population is infected by them. Likewise, with the spread of the AIDS epidemic, dual helminthic and HIV-1 coinfections are extremely common, particularly in Africa [1]. Several years ago we suggested that helminth infections play a major role in the pathogenesis of HI...

Co-infection may affect transmission and recovery from infection, but remains an understudied element of disease ecology, particularly with regard to antagonism between parasites sharing a host. Helminth and giardia infections are often endemic in the same populations and both occupy the small intestine; yet few studies have examined interactions between these parasites. We report on helminth-g...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of helminth and/or malaria infection on the risk of HIV infection in pregnant women and its transmission to their offspring. DESIGN A retrospective cohort study of pregnant Kenyan women and their offspring from term, uncomplicated vaginal deliveries (n = 936) with a nested case-control study. METHODS We determined the presence of HIV, malaria, schistosomi...

Untreated tropical parasitic co-infections appear to speed the progression of HIV-1 disease. However, to date, there have been few studies conducted in resource limited settings to ascertain the interaction of parasitic co-infection where HIV/AIDS management largely depends on CD4+ T lymphocyte cells counts and WHO clinical staging. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of parasites, the...

BACKGROUND Zoonotic infections are among the most common on earth and are responsible for over 60% of human infectious diseases, some of which are caused by helminth parasites. Infection may result from ingestion of infective stage of worms with food, contaminated soil; skin penetration or direct animal contact. This study estimates the prevalence of zoonotic helminth infections (ZHI) among ani...

The Th2 immune response, culminating in eosinophilia and IgE production, is not only characteristic of allergy but also of infection by parasitic worms (helminths). Anti-parasite IgE has been associated with immunity against a range of helminth infections and many believe that IgE and its receptors evolved to help counter metazoan parasites. Allergens (IgE-antigens) are present in only a small ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between helminth infections and atherosclerosis. BACKGROUND Chronic helminth infection, which can lead to poor nutritional status and anti-inflammatory response, might protect against the development of atherosclerosis. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in Flores, Indonesia, an area highly endemic for soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Stool s...

Macrophages not only initiate and modulate immune responses, but also are the final effector cells. Recent studies suggested that macrophages conventionally associated with IFN-gamma dominant Th1-type responses and also playing an essential role in the Th2-type inflammatory response, exhibit a quite different activation from the classically activated macrophages (CAM Phi) stimulated during Th1-...

The endosymbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia, induce neutrophilic responses to the human helminth pathogen Onchocerca volvulus. The formation of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs), has been implicated in anti-microbial defence, but has not been identified in human helminth infection. Here, we demonstrate NETs formation in human onchocerciasis. Extracellular NETs and neutrophils were visualised arou...

It has been proposed that helminth infection may be particularly detrimental during pregnancy, through adverse effects on maternal anaemia and on birth outcomes, and that anthelminthic treatment during pregnancy will therefore be particularly beneficial. However, the few treatment trials that have been conducted have given, but little support to this notion and further trials in settings of nut...