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Pathogens 2022 Jun 6;11(6). Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Centre for Infectious Medicine, Institute of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal disease that affects a variety of hosts including animals and humans. Since no vaccines exist against the disease till date, drug treatment is the mainstay of disease control. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) is the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of human cryptosporidiosis. Read More

Microorganisms 2022 Jun 17;10(6). Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.

Cryptosporidiosis is an enteric infection caused by several protozoan species in the genus (phylum Apicomplexa). Immunosuppressed mice are commonly used to model this infection. Surprisingly, for a pathogen like , which is readily transmitted fecal-orally, mice housed in the same cage can develop vastly different levels of infection, ranging from undetectable to lethal. Read More

Infect Immun 2022 Jun 23:e0012722. Epub 2022 Jun 23.

Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health; Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts Universitygrid.429997.8, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA.

Cryptosporidiosis was shown a decade ago to be a major contributor to morbidity and mortality of diarrheal disease in children in low-income countries. A serious obstacle to develop and evaluate immunogens and vaccines to control this disease is the lack of well-characterized immunocompetent rodent models. Here, we optimized and compared two mouse models for the evaluation of vaccines: the Cryptosporidium tyzzeri model, which is convenient for screening large numbers of potential mixtures of immunogens, and the Cryptosporidium parvum-infected mouse pretreated with interferon gamma-neutralizing monoclonal antibody. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022 6;12:900878. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.

In the age of big data an important question is how to ensure we make the most out of the resources we generate. In this review, we discuss the major methods used in Apicomplexan and Kinetoplastid research to produce big datasets and advance our understanding of and biology. We debate the benefits and limitations of the current technologies, and propose future advancements that may be key to improving our use of these techniques. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2022 Jun 14:e0274121. Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergengrid.7914.b, Bergen, Norway.

Knowledge on the duration of oocyst shedding, and how shedding may be affected by subtypes and clinical parameters, is limited. Reduced transmission may be a secondary benefit of cryptosporidiosis treatment in high-prevalence areas. We conducted a prospective clinical case series in children of <5 years presenting with diarrhea to a health center and a hospital in Ethiopia over an 18-month period. Read More

Ecohealth 2022 Jun 10. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

School of Veterinary Science, Hopkirk Research Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4474, New Zealand.

Public health risks associated with the intensification of dairy farming are an emerging concern. Dairy cattle are a reservoir for a number of pathogens that can cause human illness. This study examined the spatial distribution of dairy cattle density and explored temporal patterns of human campylobacteriosis and cryptosporidiosis notifications in New Zealand from 1997 to 2015. Read More

J Trop Med 2022 31;2022:4271063. Epub 2022 May 31.

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The present study was conducted to elucidate the prevalence of in suckling and weaned cattle calves () from different governorates in northern, middle, and southern Egypt, such as Behera, Menofia, Qaliubiya, Assiut, and Sohag; result revealed that from the overall examined fecal samples ( = 825), the overall prevalence was 7.27%, the highest significant infection rate was in young suckling calves less than one month (8.2%), and seasonally, winter season has the highest significant level (11. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2022 Sep 5;838(Pt 3):156500. Epub 2022 Jun 5.

Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address:

Risk-informed decision making permits a more effective water safety management. In this framework, this article introduces the rationale and proposes a new approach to carry out a quantitative risk assessment along the water chain, from river source to tap water, by integrating predictive modelling combined with event-tree and fault-tree techniques. The model developed by this approach could not only account for normal but also for abnormal process conditions in the water treatment plant, as well as assess the real impact of the applied safety controls, such as turbidity control. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2022 Jun 6;15(1):188. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Zhaoqing/Maoming Branch Center of Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Livestock Disease Prevention of Guangdong Province, Key Laboratory for prevention and control of Avian Influenza and Other Major Poultry Diseases, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Institute of Animal Health, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.

Background: Cryptosporidium is one of the most prevalent parasites infecting both birds and mammals. To examine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species and evaluate the public health significance of domestic chickens in Guangdong Province, southern China, we analyzed 1001 fecal samples from 43 intensive broiler chicken farms across six distinct geographical regions.

Methods: Individual DNA samples were subjected to nested PCR-based amplification and sequencing of the small subunit of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rRNA). Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 06 6;16(6):e0010508. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.

Background: Cryptosporidiosis is a major cause of diarrhoea in young children in low-and-middle-income countries. New interventions should be informed by evidence pertaining to risk factors and their relative importance. Inconsistencies in the literature may to some extent be explained by choice of methodology, furthermore, most previous risk factor studies compared cryptosporidiosis cases to diarrhoea cases of other aetiologies rather than with controls without diarrhoea. Read More

Parasite Immunol 2022 Jun 2:e12937. Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Biohazards (Shanghai) of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China.

Until now, no completely effective parasite-specific drugs or vaccines have been approved for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis. Through the separation and identification of the sporozoite membrane protein of Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum), 20 related proteins were obtained. Read More

Infect Immun 2022 Jun 1:e0019622. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.

is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhea in children, which is one of the major causes of death in children under 5 years old. Nitazoxanide is the only FDA-approved treatment for cryptosporidiosis. However, it has limited efficacy in immunosuppressed patients and malnourished children. Read More

J Med Microbiol 2022 May;71(5)

Public Health Wales Microbiology, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK.

A retrospective data analysis of 34 months (spanning 2016-2020) of 961573 diagnostic results obtained before and after nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) implementation, across the Public Health Wales microbiology network. This is the first network-wide analysis of the implementation of enteric NAAT in diagnostic microbiology. To assess the outcome of replacing microscopy and bacterial culture with NAAT as the primary test in the diagnosis of: spp. Read More

Drug Discov Today 2022 May 27. Epub 2022 May 27.

ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India. Electronic address:

Halofuginone is a clinically active derivative of febrifugine that was first isolated from the Chinese herb Dichroa febrifuga. The beneficial biological effects of halofuginone on various diseases including parasitic diseases, cancer, fibrosis, and autoimmune disorders have been investigated. Halofuginone has reduced toxic side effects when compared to febrifugine, an advantage that has led to the commercial availability of halofuginone-based antiparasitic drugs for animal use, and to human clinical trials for the treatment of tumors and fibrosis. Read More

Water Res 2022 Jul 24;220:118659. Epub 2022 May 24.

Water Futures, Sydney, Australia and Water Research Australia, Australia.

As urban communities continue to grow, demand for recreational access (including swimming) in drinking water sources have increased, yet relatively little is understood about the public health implications this poses for drinking water consumers. Preventative risk-based approaches to catchment management, informed by quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), requires accurate input data to effectively model risks. A sound understanding of the knowledge gaps is also important to comprehend levels of uncertainty and help prioritise research needs. Read More

J Water Health 2022 May;20(5):849-862

Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Climate change is already impacting the North American Great Lakes ecosystem and understanding the relationship between climate events and public health, such as waterborne acute gastrointestinal illnesses (AGIs), can help inform needed adaptive capacity for drinking water systems (DWSs). In this study, we assessed a harmonized binational dataset for the effects of extreme precipitation events (≥90th percentile) and preceding dry periods, source water turbidity, total coliforms, and protozoan AGIs - cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis - in the populations served by four DWSs that source surface water from Lake Ontario (Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Lake Michigan (Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) from January 2009 through August 2014. We used distributed lag non-linear Poisson regression models adjusted for seasonality and found extreme precipitation weeks preceded by dry periods increased the relative risk of protozoan AGI after 1 and 3-5 weeks in three of the four cities, although only statistically significant in two. Read More

Vet Q 2022 Dec;42(1):95-118

School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia.

Fish and aquatic-derived zoonotic diseases have caused considerable problems in the aquaculture industry and fishery worldwide. In particular, zoonotic diseases can pose widespread threats to humans. With the world's growing population and potential global trade of aquaculture and fish, the risk of environmental contamination and development of fish and aquatic-derived zoonoses in humans are increasing. Read More

Pathogens 2022 Apr 26;11(5). Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Department of Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, Unit of Microbiology and Diagnostic Immunology, Unit of Microbiomics and Multimodal Laboratory Medicine Research Area, Unit of Human Microbiome, 00146 Rome, Italy.

Cryptosporidiosis is increasingly identified as a leading cause of childhood diarrhea and malnutrition in both low-income and high-income countries. The strong impact on public health in epidemic scenarios makes it increasingly essential to identify the sources of infection and understand the transmission routes in order to apply the right prevention or treatment protocols. The objective of this literature review was to present an overview of the current state of human cryptosporidiosis, reviewing risk factors, discussing advances in the drug treatment and epidemiology, and emphasizing the need to identify a government system for reporting diagnosed cases, hitherto undervalued. Read More

Genes (Basel) 2022 May 16;13(5). Epub 2022 May 16.

Institute of Bioinformatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements found in the majority of eukaryotic genomes. Genomic studies of protozoan parasites from the phylum Apicomplexa have only reported a handful of TEs in some species and a complete absence in others. Here, we studied sixty-four Apicomplexa genomes available in public databases, using a 'de novo' approach to build candidate TE models and multiple strategies from known TE sequence databases, pattern recognition of TEs, and protein domain databases, to identify possible TEs. Read More

Water Environ Res 2022 May;94(5):e10726

Department of Civil and Environmental, Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA.

Ozone-biological activated carbon (ozone-BAC)-based technologies are emerging as an appealing option for potable reuse systems; however, uncertainty remains regarding the reduction of waterborne pathogens. Common log reduction requirements have been modeled after California Department of Drinking Water's 12-10-10 log reduction value (LRV) for enteric virus, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia, respectively. The objective of this research was to investigate appropriate LRVs of pathogens that can be achieved in ozone-BAC-based treatment systems and to assess the applicability of employing drinking water pathogen guidelines for potable reuse applications. Read More

Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022 13;20:2322-2331. Epub 2022 May 13.

State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.

As one of the most studied Apicomplexan parasite () causes worldwide serious diarrhea disease cryptosporidiosis, which can be deadly to immunodeficiency individuals, newly born children, and animals. Proteome-wide identification of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) has proven valuable in the systematic understanding of the genome-phenome relationship. However, the PPIs of are largely unknown because of the limited experimental studies carried out. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2022 06;28(6):1289-1291

We identified an unusual subtype of a Cryptosporidium sp. horse genotype as the cause of cryptosporidiosis in a 13-year-old girl in Poland who was undergoing immunosuppressive treatment for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. The same subtype was identified in a horse the girl had ridden. Read More

Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2022 05;46(2):124-128

Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Parasitology, İzmir, Turkey

Objective: Beyond the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) itself, the pandemic influenced healthcare settings in all aspects. It is aimed to demonstrate the effect of the pandemic on access to the healthcare setting in the parasitology direct diagnosis laboratory.

Methods: Stool parasitological examination results were obtained retrospectively from the laboratory information system. Read More

Turkiye Parazitol Derg 2022 05;46(2):119-123

Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Tıbbi Parazitoloji Anabilim Dalı, Kırşehir, Türkiye

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine and evaluate retrospectively the distribution of intestinal parasites detected in patients who applied to Dicle University Medical Faculty Parasitology Laboratory between 2011-2020.

Methods: Stool samples sent to the parasitology laboratory for parasite examination were examined by the native-Lugol method and the samples sent with cellophane tape were examined microscopically for parasite examination. In addition, modified acidfast and trichrome staining methods were used to identify protozoan. Read More

Food Waterborne Parasitol 2022 Jun 4;27:e00161. Epub 2022 May 4.

Medical Parasitology Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (TBRI), Giza, Egypt.

is a widely distributed food and water-borne enteric protozoan that affects a wide range of vertebrates, resulting in life-threatening consequences, particularly in immunocompromised hosts. The lack of effective anti-cryptosporidial drugs may be related to the parasite's unique intestinal location, plus the lack of studies on the process by which the protozoan is able to impair intestinal cellular function. The present work aimed to assess the effect of clofazimine (CFZ), an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of leprosy, as an anti-cryptosporidial drug, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and an immunocompromised mouse model. Read More

Food Waterborne Parasitol 2022 Jun 29;27:e00160. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Department of Parasitology/Mycology, University Hospital of Rouen, 76000 Rouen, France.

is a known foodborne pathogen, ranked fifth out of 24 among foodborne parasites in terms of importance and a cause of many cryptosporidiosis outbreaks worldwide. In France, very few outbreaks were reported before 2017, and data recently obtained by the Expert Laboratory of the Cryptosporidiosis National Reference Center (CNR-LE-Cryptosporidiosis) have shown that outbreaks are in fact common and frequently underreported. In this work, we aim to report the characteristics of outbreaks detected in France during the period 2017-2020 and present a summary of investigations carried out by the CNR-LE-Cryptosporidiosis. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 05 18;18(5):e1010003. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of severe diarrhea and diarrheal-related death in children worldwide. As an obligate intracellular parasite, Cryptosporidium relies on intestinal epithelial cells to provide a niche for its growth and survival, but little is known about the contributions that the infected cell makes to this relationship. Here we conducted a genome wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen to discover host genes that influence Cryptosporidium parvum infection and/or host cell survival. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2022 May 17;15(1):170. Epub 2022 May 17.

Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, The Institute of Zoonosis, The College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, China.

Background: Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic parasite and member of the phylum Apicomplexa with unique secretory organelles, including a rhoptry, micronemes and dense granules that discharge their contents during parasite invasion. The mucin-like glycoprotein GP900 with a single transmembrane domain is an immunodominant antigen and micronemal protein. It is relocated to the surface of excysted sporozoites and shed to form trails by sporozoites exhibiting gliding motility (gliding sporozoites). Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022 28;12:882995. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

In recent years, massive attention has been attracted to the development and application of machine learning (ML) in the field of infectious diseases, not only serving as a catalyst for academic studies but also as a key means of detecting pathogenic microorganisms, implementing public health surveillance, exploring host-pathogen interactions, discovering drug and vaccine candidates, and so forth. These applications also include the management of infectious diseases caused by protozoal pathogens, such as , , , , and , a class of fatal or life-threatening causative agents capable of infecting humans and a wide range of animals. With the reduction of computational cost, availability of effective ML algorithms, popularization of ML tools, and accumulation of high-throughput data, it is possible to implement the integration of ML applications into increasing scientific research related to protozoal infection. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 28;13:840767. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

X-linked hyper-IgM (XHIGM) syndrome is caused by mutations of the CD40LG gene, encoding the CD40L protein. The clinical presentation is characterized by early-onset infections, with profound hypogammaglobulinemia and often elevated IgM, susceptibility to opportunistic infections, such as pneumonia, biliary tract disease due to , and malignancy. We report a 41-year-old male presenting with recurrent leishmaniasis, hypogammaglobulinemia, and myopathy. Read More