Patterns of disease may take on irregular geographic shapes, especially when features of the physical environment influence risk. Identifying these patterns can be important for planning, and also identifying new environmental or social factors associated with high or low risk of illness. Until recently, cluster detection methods were limited in their ability to detect irregular spatial pattern...

BACKGROUND The hygiene hypothesis suggests that parasitic infections protect against allergic diseases by modulating the host's immune responses. Experimental studies indicate that this protection depends on the intensity of parasitic infection, but this observation has not been tested in human populations. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the intensity of Schistosoma haematobium...

The prevalence of Eimeria spp. infection and the intensity of fecal oocysts were determined in 250 sheep in Malayer suburb of Iran using flotation and sporulation techniques. The overall prevalence was 23.23% in which the young male sheep had the highest prevalence (37.61%) with the highest intensity (63.58%). There were no significant difference in the prevalence between male (27.9%) and femal...

Estimating parasite fitness is central to studies aiming to understand parasite evolution. Theoretical models generally use the basic reproductive rate R(0) to express fitness, yet it is very difficult to quantify R(0) empirically and experimental studies often use fitness components such as infection intensity or infectivity as substitutes. These surrogate measures may be biased in several way...

Background: Dicrocoeliasis is caused by digenean trematode of Dicrocoelium dendriticum, small liver fluke, a hepatic parasitic disease in ruminants and human, throughout the world. D. dendriticum infection has been considered to be correlated with the economic and veterinary aspects. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and intensity of infection with D. dend...

This study quantifies the rate and intensity of re-infection with human hookworm and Schistosoma mansoni infection 12 months following successful treatment, and investigates the influence of socio-economic, geographical and environmental factors. A longitudinal study of 642 individuals aged over 5 years was conducted in Minas Gerais State, Brazil from June 2004 to March 2006. Risk factors were ...

• The strength and consistency of genotypic differences in disease resistance determine the potential for resistance evolution in host populations that rely on vegetative reproduction. Here we surveyed infection intensity of host genotypes across space and time to estimate genotypic and environmental effects on quantitative disease resistance. • Cloned fragments of 12 Euthamia graminifolia geno...

Amphibians vary in their response to infection by the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Highly susceptible species are the first to decline and/or disappear once Bd arrives at a site. These competent hosts likely facilitate Bd proliferation because of ineffective innate and/or acquired immune defenses. We show that Atelopus zeteki, a highly susceptible speci...