The Toxoplasma gondii genome contains two aromatic amino acid hydroxylase genes, AAH1 and AAH2 encode proteins that produce L-DOPA, which can serve as a precursor of catecholamine neurotransmitters. It has been suggested that this pathway elevates host dopamine levels thus making infected rodents less fearful of their definitive Felidae hosts. However, L-DOPA is also a structural precursor of m...

Two of 17 (12%) crevice bats, Tomopeas ravus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), from Peru had coccidian oocysts in their feces when examined. Sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tomopea n. sp. are ellipsoid to subspheroid, 30.6 X 24.6 (26-34 X 20-28) micron with ovoid sporocysts 13.9 X 9.0 (12-15 X 8-10) micron. A micropyle and substieda body are absent, but polar bodies, oocyst and sporocyst residua, a...

Feces from western barred bandicoots, Perameles bougainville, examined during routine monitoring of captive breeding colonies and wild populations were frequently found to contain oocysts. Fecal oocysts from 1 individual housed at Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre were allowed to sporulate in 2% potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) at room temperature. Sporulated oocysts are subspheroidal 18.8 X...

The in vitro cultivation of protozoan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium has advanced significantly in recent years. These obligate, intracellular parasites colonize the epithelium of the digestive and respiratory tracts, are often difficult to obtain in significant numbers, produce durable oocysts that defy conventional chemical disinfection methods, and are persistently infectious when st...

During experimental Eimeria infections in chickens, facilities are often contaminated by fecal oocysts known to be highly resistant to both chemical and enzymatic treatments. Thus, studies using experimental Eimeria infections have been limited due to the difficulty of complete elimination of residual oocysts from both cages and facilities. To overcome this limitation, simple, inexpensive, and ...

Two standard methods are available to infect mosquitoes with malaria parasites: direct feeding through the skin of the gametocyte carrier, and membrane feeding. Anopheles arabiensis collected at larval stages and reared in an insectary were fed in parallel by feeding on Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriers and by membrane feeding on venous blood of the same gametocyte carriers. Infection o...

Continuous exposure to low levels of Cryptosporidium oocysts is associated with production of protective antibodies. We investigated prevalence of antibodies against the 27-kDa Cryptosporidium oocyst antigen among blood donors in 2 areas of Scotland supplied by drinking water from different sources with different filtration standards: Glasgow (not filtered) and Dundee (filtered). During 2006-20...

Cryptosporidium parvum is an important pathogen that causes diarrhea in virtually all human populations. Improved diagnostic methods are needed to understand the risk factors, modes of transmission, and impact of cryptosporidiosis. In the present study, we fluorescently labeled and counted C. parvum oocysts by flow cytometry (FC) and developed a simple and efficient method of processing human s...

background: coccidiosis is recognized as the parasitic disease that has the greatest economic impact on poultry production. modern poultry production is largely dependent upon anticoccidials. objectives: the aim of the present study was to determine and compare the efficacy of two chemical anticoccidials (clopidol and diclazuril) on oocyst shedding and their probable effects on growth performan...