The development of immunoregulatory networks is important to prevent disease. However, these same networks allow pathogens to persist and reduce vaccine efficacy. Here, we identify type I interferons (IFNs) as important regulators in developing anti-parasitic immunity in healthy volunteers infected for the first time with Plasmodium falciparum. Type I IFNs suppressed innate immune cell function...

Angiostrongylus costaricensis is a parasitic nematode of rodents and molluscs are the intermediate hosts. Nocturnal collection of molluscs and search for infective third stage larvae of A. costaricensis was carried out in 18 endemic foci identified by the notification of a confirmed diagnosis in human biopsies or surgical specimens. Molluscs were digested in acidic solution and isolation of lar...

Infectious and parasitic diseases create enormous health burdens, but because most of the people suffering from these diseases are poor, little is invested in developing treatments. We propose that developers of treatments for neglected diseases receive a "priority review voucher." The voucher could save an average of one year of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review and be sold by the...

Crustacean intersexuality is widespread and often linked to infection by sex-distorting parasites. However, unlike vertebrate intersexuality, its association with sexual dysfunction is unclear and remains a matter of debate. The 'Demon Shrimp,' Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, an amphipod that has invaded continental waterways, has recently become widespread in Britain. Intersexuality has been noted...

BACKGROUND We investigated the variations of heamathologic and biochemical parameters with different parasitic burdens and the correlation between fecal egg counts and fluke number in livers of sheep naturally infected with Dicrocoelium dendriticum. METHODS In order to detect excretion of D. dendriticum eggs, fecal samples from 120 sheep of different age groups were collected individually at ...

Parasitic infections are a major theme in the "hygiene hypothesis", as allergies and autoimmune diseases are less prevalent in countries with higher burdens of helminths and other parasitic organisms. Helminths"-the grouping of multicellular worm parasites including nematodes, cestodes and trematodes-tend to establish long-lived, chronic infections indicating successful down-modulation of the h...

Poor growth during parasitic infection may be due to a redistribution of amino acids away from skeletal muscle protein synthesis to the intestinal site of infection. The effect of a Trichostrongylus colubriformis infection on whole-body amino acid kinetics and tissue fractional protein synthesis rates were determined in lambs fed fresh Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium; 800 g DM/d). Lambs were dosed ...

BACKGROUND Parasitic diseases (eg, malaria and helminthiases) exert enormous burdens on public health and social well-being. Moreover, parasitic infections are important causes of anemia in tropical Africa, exacerbated by lack of a diversified diet and inflammatory and genetic diseases. There is a paucity of longitudinal studies monitoring the dynamics of anemia in relation to the aforementione...

Most veterinarians continue to recommend anthelmintic treatment programmes for horses that derive from knowledge and concepts more than 40 years old. However, much has changed since these recommendations were first introduced and current approaches routinely fail to provide optimal or even adequate levels of parasite control. There are many reasons for this. Recent studies demonstrate that anth...