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Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Medicine and Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the leading causes of moderate to severe diarrhea in children in low-resource settings. The therapeutic options for cryptosporidiosis are limited to one drug, nitazoxanide, which unfortunately has poor activity in the most needy populations of malnourished children and HIV infected persons. This paper describes the discovery and early optimization of a class of imidazopyridine-containing compounds with potential for treating infections. Read More

Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd 2019 Feb;161(2):85-92

Abteilung für Veterinärepidemiologie, Vetsuisse-Fakultät, Universität Zürich.

Introduction: In the present study, the incidence of diseases in cattle in the area of a veterinary practice was analyzed spatially. Furthermore, the relationship between the incidence of diseases and the distance to geographical elements was investigated. For this study, all cattle farms that were customers of the ambulatory clinic of the animal hospital in Zurich (Tierspital Zürich) were exactly localized on a map. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2019 Jan 17;12(1):41. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.

Background: Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common enteric pathogens in humans and animals. Data on the transmission of these pathogens are scarce from Guangdong, China, which has a subtropical monsoon climate and is the epicenter for many emerging infectious diseases. Read More

BMC Genomics 2019 Jan 14;20(1):37. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, People's Republic of China.

Background: Cryptosporidium parvum is an important zoonotic parasitic disease worldwide, but the molecular mechanisms of the host-parasite interaction are not fully understood. Noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs) are considered key regulators of parasitic diseases. Therefore, we used microarray, qPCR, and bioinformatic analyses to investigate the intestinal epithelial miRNA expression profile after Cryptosporidium parvum infection. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2019 Jan 8;12(1):16. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

The Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

Background: Globally cryptosporidiosis is one of the commonest causes of mortality in children under 24 months old and may be associated with important longterm health effects. Whilst most strains of Cryptosporidium parvum are zoonotic, C. parvum IIc is almost certainly anthroponotic. Read More

ChemMedChem 2019 Jan 6. Epub 2019 Jan 6.

School of Chemistry and Physics, Pietermaritzburg Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa.

The Pathogen Box is a 400-strong collection of drug-like compounds, selected for their potential against several of the world's most important neglected tropical diseases, including trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, cryptosporidiosis, toxoplasmosis, filariasis, schistosomiasis, dengue virus and trichuriasis, in addition to malaria and tuberculosis. This library represents an ensemble of numerous successful drug discovery programmes from around the globe, aimed at providing a powerful resource to stimulate open source drug discovery for diseases threatening the most vulnerable communities in the world. This review seeks to provide an in-depth analysis of the literature pertaining to the compounds in the Pathogen Box, including structure-activity relationship highlights, mechanisms of action, related compounds with reported activity against different diseases, and, where appropriate, discussion on the known and putative targets of compounds, thereby providing context and increasing the accessibility of the Pathogen Box to the drug discovery community. Read More

J Zoo Wildl Med 2018 Dec;49(4):1061-1063

Feces collected from a wild-caught, young adult king cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah) were repeatedly positive for Cryptosporidium on both direct immunofluorescent antibody (DFA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and sequencing identified the organism as Cryptosporidium serpentis. Infection was subclinical, as the snake was in good body condition and active, and readily consumed dead rats that were scented with snake skin. A course of paromomycin, inserted in feeder rats, was initiated at 360 mg/kg, orally, twice weekly for 6 wk. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2018 Dec 27;18(1):704. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Medical student, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Pereira, Colombia.

Background: Those infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a higher risk of opportunistic infections. The risk is related to the level of immunosuppression. We report a case of a young male with the unusual scenario of three opportunistic infections occurring simultaneously: Cryptococcosis, Histoplasmosis and Cryptosporidiosis. Read More

Ann Agric Environ Med 2018 Dec 18;25(4):732-733. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland.

The risk of exposure to zoonotic factors among veterinarians comprises still underestimated problem. Many etiological factors of infectious diseases are so far poorly known, including the way of their transmission from environment to humans and their impact for health. The main aim of the study was to determine the risk of two selected zoonosis infections caused by Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. Read More

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2018 Dec 21. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory, National Centre for Microbiology, Health Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:

Front Microbiol 2018 20;9:2830. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

Few data are available on the transmission dynamics of intestinal protozoa in children in welfare institutes. In this study, fecal specimens were collected from 396 children in a welfare institute in Shanghai, China during December 2011 (207 specimens), June 2012 (78 specimens), and September 2013 (111 specimens), and examined for spp., , and by PCR analysis of the small subunit rRNA, triosephosphate isomerase, and internal transcribed spacer genes, respectively. Read More

J Water Health 2018 Dec;16(6):1033-1037

National Centre for Geographic and Resource Analysis in Primary Health Care, Australian National University, Canberra, 2600, Australia.

There is little evidence on how the health impacts of drought vary spatially and temporally. With a focus on waterborne cryptosporidiosis, we identify spatio-temporal hotspots and by using interrupted time series analysis, examine the impact of Australia's Big Dry (2001-2009) in these disease clusters in the Murray Darling Drainage Basin. Analyses revealed a statistically significant hotspot in the north of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and a hotspot in the north-eastern end of the basin in Queensland. Read More

J Parasit Dis 2018 Dec 19;42(4):630-635. Epub 2018 Oct 19.

4Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Damanhour University, Damanhûr, 21634 Egypt.

Patients with chronic renal failure are more susceptible to infections due to acquired immunodeficiency caused by uremia. Parasitic infections are one of the significant causes of morbidity and mortality in those patients, So we aimed to assess the prevalence of spp. and other protozoan infections in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Qena Governorate, Upper Egypt. Read More

Microbiol Resour Announc 2018 Nov 15;7(19). Epub 2018 Nov 15.

National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic protozoan parasite that causes food and waterborne gastrointestinal disease and whose major animal reservoirs are cattle and small ruminants. We report here on a draft whole-genome sequence of a zoonotic isolate of C. parvum isolated from a person with cryptosporidiosis. Read More

Exp Parasitol 2019 Jan 3;196:28-37. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Laboratory of Molecular and Evolutionary Parasitology, RAPID Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK; School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK. Electronic address:

Cryptosporidium is a genus of single celled parasites capable of infecting a wide range of animals including humans. Cryptosporidium species are members of the phylum apicomplexa, which includes well-known genera such as Plasmodium and Toxoplasma. Cryptosporidium parasites cause a severe gastro-intestinal disease known as cryptosporidiosis. Read More

Vet Parasitol 2018 Dec 12;264:74-78. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto de Patobiología Veterinaria, (CICVyA), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Hurlingham, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias exactas, químicas y naturales (FCEQN), Universidad de Morón, Morón, Argentina. Electronic address:

The apicomplexan protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum is an important causative agent of diarrhea of neonatal bovines. Vaccination has been proposed as an advantageous strategy against cryptosporidiosis of calves since besides protection against disease it has also the potential to prevent dissemination of infective oocysts into the environment. Antigens anchored to the parasite surface via glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) are implicated in host cell attachment and invasion and represent promising vaccine candidates. Read More

Vet Parasitol 2018 Dec 10;264:58-63. Epub 2018 Nov 10.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7054 SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.

Diarrhea is common in young calves and is often caused by Cryptosporidium parvum infection. The aim of this study was to investigate if disinfection of calf pens with hydrated lime would reduce contamination of C. parvum oocysts and improve calf health in herds with C. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2018 Dec 3:1-6. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Cryptosporidium Reference Unit, Public Health Wales Microbiology and Health Protection, Singleton Hospital,Swansea,UK.

In June 2015, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis with 35 cases (23 probable and 12 laboratory-confirmed) occurred among 191 attendees of a residential rehabilitation holiday for paediatric organ transplant patients (n = 49) and their families at a hotel in Somogy county, Hungary. The overall attack rate was 18%. Most of the cases were transplanted children who experienced severe acute disease and required adjustment to their tacrolimus immunosuppression. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019 Jan;100(1):78-80

Department of Infectious Diseases, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.

In high prevalence settings, cryptosporidiosis is commonly implicated as a cause of a gastroenteritis syndrome in the organ transplant population. Stool microscopy is predominant diagnostic modality. Therapeutic options in this group of patients are limited, making their management exceptionally challenging. Read More

J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2019 Dec;34(1):171-178

a Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture , Hokkaido University , Sapporo , Japan.

Inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is an essential enzyme for the production of guanine nucleotides. Disruption of IMPDH activity has been explored as a therapeutic strategy for numerous purposes, such as for anticancer, immunosuppression, antiviral, and antimicrobial therapy. In the present study, we established a luciferase-based high-throughput screening system to identify IMPDH inhibitors from our chemical library of known bioactive small molecules. Read More

Korean J Parasitol 2018 Oct 31;56(5):419-427. Epub 2018 Oct 31.

Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul 03080, Korea.

This study aimed to develop a new multiplex real-time PCR detection method for 3 species of waterborne protozoan parasites (Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, and Cyclospora cayetanensis) identified as major causes of traveler's diarrhea. Three target genes were specifically and simultaneously detected by the TaqMan probe method for multiple parasitic infection cases, including Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein for C. parvum, glutamate dehydrogenase for G. Read More

Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol 2018 11 13;27:61-70. Epub 2018 Oct 13.

CHICAS, Lancaster Medical School, Lancaster University, LA1 4YW United Kingdom.

Giardia and Cryptosporidium are both waterborne parasites and leading causes of gastroenteritis. Although specimens from diarrhoeic patients are routinely examined for Cryptosporidium, they are often not examined for Giardia so many cases go undiagnosed. Since 2002, all faecal specimens in Central Lancashire have been tested for infection with Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2018 Nov 6;11(1):582. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.

Background: Little is known on the occurrence and identity of Cryptosporidium species in sheep and goats in Algeria. This study aimed at investigating the occurrence of Cryptosporidium species in lambs and goat kids younger than 4 weeks.

Methods: A total of 154 fecal samples (62 from lambs and 92 from kid goats) were collected from 13 sheep flocks in Médea, Algeria and 18 goat flocks across Algiers and Boumerdes. Read More

J Infect Dis 2018 Nov 3. Epub 2018 Nov 3.

National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.

Background: In 2012, cryptosporidiosis cases increased in the Netherlands, but no single source was identified. In April 2013, we began a three year population based case-control study, coupled with genotyping, to identify risk factors for sporadic cryptosporidiosis.

Methods: Cryptosporidium cases were laboratory confirmed (microscopy or PCR), followed by C. Read More

Res Vet Sci 2018 Dec 29;121:117-123. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu 51014, Estonia.

In neonatal period, lamb's immune system goes through rapid adaptation to the extra-uterine environment. Success of this process can influence the animal's future performance and, thus, the quantitative assessment of it would greatly benefit sheep producers. The current study was conducted to investigate the acute phase response (APR) (measured through serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp) and albumin (ALB)) in relation to later life growth (measured at 122 days of age), and naturally occurring Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections in neonatal lambs grown in organic farm. Read More

Exp Parasitol 2018 Dec 29;195:59-65. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

Members of the genus Cryptosporidium are frequent protozoan pathogens in humans and a wide range of animals. There is no consistently effective treatment against cryptosporidiosis, especially in immunodeficient patients. The present study was carried out to study the therapeutic effects of curcumin against cryptosporidiosis in immunosuppressed BALB/c mice. Read More

Open AIDS J 2018 12;12:106-116. Epub 2018 Sep 12.

Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, Collage of Health and Allied Science, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Objective: To identify the socio-behavioral risk factors associated with cryptosporidiosis among HIV/AIDS patients with chronic diarrhea symptoms visiting the HIV referral clinic at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 HIV/AIDS patients with recurrent diarrhea. Questionnaires were administered to collect social and behavioral risk factors associated with and other opportunistic protozoan parasitic infections in HIV patients. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2018 Oct 26;11(1):563. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Grupo de Investigaciones Microbiológicas-UR (GIMUR), Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, 110111, Bogotá, Colombia.

Background: Protozoan parasites such as Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora cayetanensis, Toxoplasma gondii and Entamoeba histolytica represent a great challenge to the systems producing water for human consumption because their cystic forms are persistent in the environment and resist to the disinfection methods conventionally used for their control. In this study, we investigated the presence of these protozoan pathogens in both raw and treated water samples used for the production of drinking water in Nariño Department, southwest Colombia. Read More

Semin Diagn Pathol 2018 Nov 16;35(6):370-380. Epub 2018 Oct 16.

Department of Pathology, St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, CA 92835, United States. Electronic address:

The alimentary tract serves as host to a large number of diseases. In the non-neoplastic group of disorders, conventional histochemistry continues to play an important diagnostic role. It is particularly important in recognizing specific infectious diseases, such as Helicobacter gastritis, Whipple disease, intestinal tuberculosis and other forms of mycobacteriosis, malakoplakia, intestinal spirochetosis, fungal enteritides, amebiasis, cryptosporidiosis, isosporiasis, and microsporidiosis. Read More

Epidemiol Health 2018 28;40:e2018047. Epub 2018 Sep 28.

School of Allied Health Sciences (Southeast Asia Water Team), Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.

Objectives: For the first time, Boliwong, an indigenous community in the Philippines, was surveyed for the prevalence of Cryptosporidium from April to December 2017.

Methods: Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in samples from the river, creek, and water pumps via immunomagnetic separation techniques, and from human and animal concentrated faecal samples using the modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique.

Results: Seven of the 24 water samples (29. Read More

J Vet Med Sci 2018 Dec 8;80(12):1808-1812. Epub 2018 Oct 8.

School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, 582 Midorimati, Bunnkyoudai, Ebetsu, Hokkaido 069-8501, Japan.

This study assessed the advantages of dextrose and amino acid mixture solution as parenteral nutrition (PN) therapy for diarrheic calves. Thirty diarrheic calves were randomly assigned to receive PN (PN group, n=15) or only dextrose solution (Dex group, n=15). The treatment period for the PN group (4. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2018 Dec 26;62(12). Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.

species cause significant morbidity in malnourished children. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) is the only approved treatment for cryptosporidiosis, but NTZ has diminished effectiveness during malnutrition. Here, we show that amixicile, a highly selective water-soluble derivative of NTZ diminishes infection severity in a malnourished mouse model despite a lack of direct anticryptosporidial activity. Read More

J Water Health 2018 Oct;16(5):762-772

Section of Parasitology, Department of Biology, Healthcare and the Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII s/n, Barcelona, Spain.

A study was conducted of the occurrence of Cryptosporidium in indoor heated public swimming pools and of three bacterial indicators (Escherichia coli, faecal enterococci and Clostridium perfringens) on pool surrounds. Although all examined pools adhered strictly to the Spanish regulations, the influence of several parameters related to water conditions, pool structure, users and location on the presence of protozoa and bacteria was analysed. Cryptosporidium was detected in 18. Read More

J Water Health 2018 Oct;16(5):704-710

Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Unit of Clinical Research Center - Östersund, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden E-mail:

We investigated sick leave from work, studies, preschool, and kindergarten occurring between 1 November 2010 and 31 January 2011 and associated with a waterborne outbreak of diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium hominis in late November 2010 in Östersund, Sweden with 45.2% of 60,000 residents being symptomatic. A questionnaire defining acute watery diarrhoea and/or ≥3 diarrhea episodes/day as cryptosporidiosis was sent to 1,508 residents in late January 2011 (response rate 69. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 10 3;115(42):10750-10755. Epub 2018 Oct 3.

California Institute for Biomedical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037;

The chemical diversity and known safety profiles of drugs previously tested in humans make them a valuable set of compounds to explore potential therapeutic utility in indications outside those originally targeted, especially neglected tropical diseases. This practice of "drug repurposing" has become commonplace in academic and other nonprofit drug-discovery efforts, with the appeal that significantly less time and resources are required to advance a candidate into the clinic. Here, we report a comprehensive open-access, drug repositioning screening set of 12,000 compounds (termed ReFRAME; Repurposing, Focused Rescue, and Accelerated Medchem) that was assembled by combining three widely used commercial drug competitive intelligence databases (Clarivate Integrity, GVK Excelra GoStar, and Citeline Pharmaprojects), together with extensive patent mining of small molecules that have been dosed in humans. Read More

Parasitol Res 2018 Nov 29;117(11):3669-3674. Epub 2018 Sep 29.

Department of Veterinary Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-58 Rinku Orai Kita, Izumisano, Osaka, 598-8531, Japan.

Recent research suggests that raccoons (Procyon lotor) can transmit several important pathogens affecting humans, including protozoans. In Japan, the number of wild raccoons has increased since they were first introduced more than 50 years ago. Here, we report the first survey of Cryptosporidium infection using fecal swabs of raccoons captured in Osaka, Japan. Read More

Vaccine 2018 10 26;36(45):6703-6710. Epub 2018 Sep 26.

University of Zaragoza, Animal Pathology Department, Veterinary Sciences Faculty, Spain.

Cryptosporidium spp. is a zoonotic intracellular protozoan and a significant cause of diarrhoea in humans and animals worldwide. This parasite can cause high morbidity in immunocompromised people and children in developing countries, livestock being the main reservoir. Read More

Exp Parasitol 2018 Dec 25;195:19-23. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; International Joint Research Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases of Henan, Zhengzhou, China. Electronic address:

Cryptosporidium is a genus of protozoal parasites that affects the gastrointestinal epithelium of a variety of hosts. Several models of experimental infection have been described to study the susceptibility, infectivity and pathogenicity among different Cryptosporidium species and isolates. This study aimed to establish an experimental infection of Cryptodporidium canis in canids. Read More

Comput Biol Chem 2018 Dec 8;77:44-51. Epub 2018 Sep 8.

Department of Food Science and Technology, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561756, South Korea. Electronic address:

Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite which causes waterborne diseases known as Cryptosporidiosis. It is an acute enteric diarrheal disease being severe in the case of immunocompromised individuals and children. C. Read More

Parasitol Int 2019 Feb 19;68(1):9-13. Epub 2018 Sep 19.

Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, 1-7-1 Kyonancho, Musashino, Tokyo 180-8602, Japan. Electronic address:

Long-tailed chinchillas Chinchilla lanigera are popular rodent species kept both in households, where they are hand-raised as pets, and in zoological facilities. From January 2016 to February 2017, 13 juvenile chinchillas from five facilities in Japan were diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis at the animal hospital. Eight of the cases were fatal. Read More

Exp Parasitol 2018 Nov 17;194:1-8. Epub 2018 Sep 17.

UMR BIPAR, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, ANSES, INRA, Université Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort, F-94700, France. Electronic address:

Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease caused by species in the genus Cryptosporidium. In young ruminants, Cryptosporidium parvum causes economically significant disease with mild to severe clinical signs and occasional death. The typical clinical course in animals aged 1-3 weeks old is acute diarrhoea. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2018 Sep 19;11(1):514. Epub 2018 Sep 19.

College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.

Background: Cryptosporidium spp. are protozoans that cause diarrheal illness in humans and animals, including birds, worldwide. The present study was aimed to revisit the infectivity and pathogenicity of C. Read More

Parasite 2018 18;25:48. Epub 2018 Sep 18.

Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, 2 rue Henri Le Guilloux, 35033, Rennes, France.

Although microscopic examination of stool samples remains the reference method for the diagnosis of intestinal protozoal infections, these techniques are time-consuming and require operators who are experienced and well trained. Molecular biology seems to offer performances at least equivalent in terms of sensitivity and specificity for certain parasites. This study aimed to compare three multiplex PCR assays on 93 prospectively collected positive stools (prospective cohort) and a panel of 12 more Cryptosporidium-positive samples (Cryptosporidium panel). Read More

F1000Res 2018 3;7. Epub 2018 Sep 3.

Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111, USA.

The intestinal apicomplexan parasite is a major cause of diarrheal disease in humans worldwide. However, treatment options are severely limited. The search for novel interventions is imperative, yet there are several challenges to drug development, including intractability of the parasite and limited technical tools to study it. Read More

J Eukaryot Microbiol 2018 Sep 17. Epub 2018 Sep 17.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 77843-4467.

Cryptosporidium parvum is one of the major species causing mild to severe cryptosporidiosis in humans and animals. We have previously observed that 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2DG) could inhibit both the enzyme activity of C. parvum hexokinase (CpHK) and the parasite growth in vitro. Read More

J Parasitol 2018 Dec 12;104(6):639-644. Epub 2018 Sep 12.

3   Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, Massachusetts 01536.

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the leading causes of diarrhea in humans and several other vertebrate species. Because surveys of Cryptosporidium genotypes from animals and humans living in the same region are rare, our understanding of the importance of zoonotic transmission in the epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis remains superficial. PCR was used to amplify a portion of the Cryptosporidium 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA gene from fecal DNA from humans and livestock living in Ekiti and Oyo states, Nigeria. Read More

Vet Parasitol 2018 Aug 10;260:30-37. Epub 2018 Jul 10.

School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are common parasites of ruminant livestock worldwide. These parasites are associated with diarrhoea outbreaks in young goats (pre-weaning), but the impacts on health and productivity for older goats (post-weaning) are not well understood. Here we show Cryptosporidium faecal shedding is associated with reduced growth and diarrhoea in goats aged approximately 9-15 months. Read More

Mol Cell 2018 Sep;71(5):653-673

Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 2Y2, Canada. Electronic address:

Lipid phosphoinositides play fundamental roles in virtually all pathways that control a cell's decision to grow, move, divide, and die. Because of this, kinases that phosphorylate phosphoinositide lipids are critically involved in myriad essential functions including growth, development, and membrane trafficking. The misregulation of phosphoinositide kinases is critical in human diseases, including cancer, primary immunodeficiencies, and developmental disorders. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2018 Sep 6. Epub 2018 Sep 6.

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Background: Cryptosporidium is a leading contributor to diarrheal morbidity and mortality in under-5 children worldwide. As there is no vaccine and no effective drug therapy in young children for this infection, preventing infection is critical. We undertook a pilot case-control study to define the extent of person-to-person transmission of cryptosporidiosis within an urban and a rural community in Bangladesh. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2018 Sep 5;11(1):498. Epub 2018 Sep 5.

Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.

Background: Eukaryotic pathogens, including Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Enterocytozoon, have been implicated in neonatal diarrhoea, leading to marked morbidity and mortality in the alpaca (Vicugna pacos) and llama (Lama glama) around the world. Australia has the largest population of alpacas outside of South America, but very little is known about these pathogens in alpaca populations in this country. Here, we undertook the first molecular epidemiological survey of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Enterocytozoon in V. Read More