A reverse passive hemagglutination (RPH) assay was developed for Cryptosporidium oocyst antigen with an antioocyst monoclonal antibody (MAb; MAb-C1) coupled to stabilized sheep erythrocytes. RPH was compared with microscopy of auramine-phenol-stained smears of 56 oocyst-positive fecal samples, each of which was tested blindly by RPH with two oocyst-negative samples received on the same day (a t...

BACKGROUND Piglet isosporosis is one of the most common parasitic diseases in modern pig production. To prevent clinical disease, prophylactic treatment of piglets with toltrazuril (BAYCOX® 5%, Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health, Monheim, Germany) is widely practiced in the past 20 years. There are only very few reports documenting the likely effect of managerial practices, such as hygiene measure...

Biopsies from volunteers challenged with Cryptosporidium parvum were examined for transforming growth factor b1 (TGF-b1). None of the prechallenge biopsies exhibited TGF-b. Seven of 12 volunteers with oocyst shedding expressed TGF-b versus 2 of 13 volunteers without detected oocysts. The association of TGF-b expression with oocyst excretion and the timing of symptoms suggests that TGF-b mediate...

Coccidian parasites are transmitted via a fecal oocyst stage that is exceptionally resistant to environmental stress and harsh chemical treatments, which allows parasites to stably persist outside a host. Because of its oocyst durability Cryptosporidium parvum is a significant water- and food-borne pathogen of humans, as well as animals of agricultural importance. To date, only one apicomplexan...

Nitrate uptake by roots of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) was measured using (15)NO(3) (-), and the energy cost to the root was estimated by respirometry. Roots of 8-day-old cowpea seedlings respired 0.6 to 0.8 milligram CO(2) per plant per hour for growth and maintenance. Adding 10 millimolar NO(3) (-) to the root medium increased respiration by 20 to 30% during the following 6 hours. This increas...

Very recently, the Asian malaria vector (Anopheles stephensi) was stably transinfected with the wAlbB strain of Wolbachia, inducing refractoriness to the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. However, conditions in the field can differ substantially from those in the laboratory. We use the rodent malaria P. yoelii, and somatically transinfected An. stephensi as a model system to investi...

The association of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts with suspended particles can alter the oocysts' effective physical properties and influence their transport in aquatic systems. To assess this behavior, C. parvum oocysts were mixed with various suspended sediments under a variety of water chemical conditions, and the resulting settling of the oocysts was observed. Direct microscopic observation...

Toxoplasma gondii oocysts are environmentally resistant and can infect virtually all warm-blooded hosts, including humans and livestock. Little is known about the biochemical basis for this resistance of oocysts, and mechanism for excystation of T. gondii sporozoites. The objective of the present study was to evaluate different methods (mechanical fragmentation, gradients, flow cytometry) to se...