Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

PLoS One 2021 30;16(4):e0250767. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Medical Data Systems, BioFire Diagnostics, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.

Acute gastrointestinal infection (AGI) represents a significant public health concern. To control and treat AGI, it is critical to quickly and accurately identify its causes. The use of novel multiplex molecular assays for pathogen detection and identification provides a unique opportunity to improve pathogen detection, and better understand risk factors and burden associated with AGI in the community. Read More

Ethiop J Health Sci 2020 Nov;30(6):867-874

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.

Background: The study investigated intestinal parasitic infestations (IPIs) and possible risk factors associated with asymptomatic children under five (5) years in five (5) selected communities in the Ho Municipality.

Methods: The study design was cross- sectional, with a simple random sampling technique involving 150 asymptomatic children under 5 years from 5 selected communities (Klave, Hoe, Freetown, Dave and Godokpe) in the Ho Municipality. A questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographics and other relevant parameters. Read More

Food Microbiol 2021 Sep 18;98:103792. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering, University of Foggia, Via Napoli 25, 71121, Foggia, Italy.

To investigate the presence of Cyclospora cayetanensis, Toxoplasma gondii and Echinococcus spp. in fresh produce sold in Italy, 324 locally produced 'ready-to-eat' (RTE) mixed-salad packages belonging to three brands and 324 berries packages (blueberries and blackberries imported from Peru and Mexico, respectively, and raspberries grown in Italy) were purchased at retail. Nine individual packages from each of the six types of fresh produce were collected monthly for one year, and with the same produce pooled, this resulted in a total of 72 pools for the whole year. Read More

Food Microbiol 2021 Sep 3;98:103802. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

University of Maryland, Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Or University of Maryland, JIFSAN. College Park, MD, USA.

Recently, outbreaks of Cyclospora cayetanensis in the U.S. were linked to the consumption of a variety of salads containing romaine and/or iceberg lettuce, carrots and/or red cabbage. Read More

Travel Med Infect Dis 2021 Mar 31;41:102042. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; National Reference Centre for Tropical Pathogens, Hamburg, Germany.

Microorganisms 2021 Mar 18;9(3). Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Medical Mission Institute, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.

Fecal-orally transmitted cyclosporiasis is frequent in remote resource-limited settings in Central and South America with poor hygiene conditions. In this study, we aimed at assessing seasonal effects on the epidemiology of colonization or infection with in Colombian indigenous people living under very restricted conditions. In the rainy season between July and November and in the dry season between January and April, stool samples from indigenous people with and without gastrointestinal symptoms were collected and screened for applying in-house real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Read More

Commun Biol 2021 Mar 19;4(1):376. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Krebs Institute for Biomolecular Research, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.

In infections by apicomplexan parasites including Plasmodium, Toxoplasma gondii, and Eimeria, host interactions are mediated by proteins including families of membrane-anchored cysteine-rich surface antigens (SAGs) and SAG-related sequences (SRS). Eimeria tenella causes caecal coccidiosis in chickens and has a SAG family with over 80 members making up 1% of the proteome. We have solved the structure of a representative E. Read More

Food Waterborne Parasitol 2021 Mar 15;22:e00111. Epub 2021 Jan 15.

Laboratório de Ciências e Tecnologias Aplicadas à Saúde (LaCTAS), Instituto Carlos Chagas (ICC), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rua Professor Algacyr Munhoz Mader 3775, Curitiba 81350-010, Brazil.

Foodborne outbreaks caused by parasites have long been a public health issue. Among the available contamination detection methods, qPCR is one of the most sensitive and specific. However, it can be cumbersome and error-prone, if used by unexperienced users. Read More

Food Waterborne Parasitol 2021 Mar 20;22:e00110. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.

The recent increase of reported cyclosporiasis outbreaks associated with fresh produce has highlighted the need for understanding environmental transmission of in agricultural settings and facilities. Conducting such environmental investigations necessitates robust sample collection and analytical methods to detect in water samples. This study evaluated three sample collection methods for recovery of oocysts from water samples during seeded recovery experiments. Read More

Foods 2021 Feb 23;10(2). Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adamstuen Campus, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 369 Sentrum, 0102 Oslo, Norway.

Due to the delicate nature of berries and the reduced shelf-life once washed, producers usually do not wash berries. Therefore, consumers are expected to wash the berries prior to consumption, and this might be a more effective way of infection prevention. However, the efficacy of consumer berry-washing procedures in removing the parasite contaminants from the berries surface has not been investigated. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2021 01 28;149:e49. Epub 2021 Jan 28.

Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.

Cyclospora cayetanensis is a parasite causing cyclosporiasis (an illness in humans). Produce (fruits, vegetables, herbs), water and soil contaminated with C. cayetanensis have been implicated in human infection. Read More

Food Microbiol 2021 Jun 23;96:103719. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

JIFSAN, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.

Although multiple outbreak clusters of Cyclospora cayetanensis have been traced back to consumption of dishes in Mexican-style restaurants, the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) does not currently provide methods to detect C. cayetanensis in dishes that contain multiple produce ingredients, such as salsas and guacamole. These complex food matrices also may contain high levels of fats, which can interfere with the detection. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2021 Jan 20;14(1):66. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.

Background: The waterborne pathogens Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Cyclospora cayetanensis can cause intestinal diseases in humans. An understanding of their occurrence and transport in the environment is essential for accurate quantitative microbial risk assessment. Read More

Emerg Infect Dis 2021 Jan;27(1):182-195

Illnesses transmitted by food and water cause a major disease burden in the United States despite advancements in food safety, water treatment, and sanitation. We report estimates from a structured expert judgment study using 48 experts who applied Cooke's classical model of the proportion of disease attributable to 5 major transmission pathways (foodborne, waterborne, person-to-person, animal contact, and environmental) and 6 subpathways (food handler-related, under foodborne; recreational, drinking, and nonrecreational/nondrinking, under waterborne; and presumed person-to-person-associated and presumed animal contact-associated, under environmental). Estimates for 33 pathogens were elicited, including bacteria such as Salmonella enterica, Campylobacter spp. Read More

Foods 2020 Nov 20;9(11). Epub 2020 Nov 20.

Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Archbishop Kyprianos 30, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus.

is a coccidian protozoan that causes cyclosporiasis, a severe gastroenteric disease, especially for immunocompromised patients, children, and the elderly. The parasite is considered as an emerging organism and a major contributor of gastroenteritis worldwide. Although the global prevalence of cyclosporiasis morbidity and mortality has not been assessed, global concern has arisen since diarrheal illness and gastroenteritis significantly affect both developing countries and industrialized nations. Read More

Korean J Parasitol 2020 Oct 22;58(5):589-592. Epub 2020 Oct 22.

Division of Vectors & Parasitic Diseases, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju 28159, Korea.

Cyclospora cayetanensis is an apicomplexan protozoan and is one of the most common pathogens causing chronic diarrhea worldwide. Eight stool samples with diarrheal symptom out of 18 Korean residents who traveled to Nepal were obtained, and examined for 25 enteropathogens including 16 bacterial species, 5 viral species, and 4 protozoans in stool samples as causative agents of water-borne and food-borne disease. Only C. Read More

J Microbiol Methods 2020 12 12;179:106102. Epub 2020 Nov 12.

Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address:

Microscopy is the gold standard for diagnosis of intestinal parasitic diseases in many countries, including Cuba, although molecular approaches often have higher sensitivity as well as other advantages. Fecal samples from 133 patients were analyzed by light microscopy and also real-time multiplex qPCR targeting Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., and Entamoeba histolytica, and, separately, Dientamoeba fragilis. Read More

Scand J Gastroenterol 2020 Dec 4;55(12):1405-1410. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Laboratory of Bacteriology, University Hospitals of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland.

Objective: Emergence of molecular methods to screen stools could provide a more complete picture of pathogens causing gastroenteritis, allowing to adequately treat patients whenever required but, so far, no aggregate data have been released. Our objective was to report pathogens identified in patients suffering from gastroenteritis using a multiplex molecular array.

Design: Medline and Embase were searched for original publications reporting pathogens identified with FilmArray GI panel in patients suffering from gastroenteritis. Read More

Parasitol Int 2021 Feb 26;80:102212. Epub 2020 Oct 26.

Research Unit, Regional High Specialty Hospital of the Yucatan Peninsula, Calle 22, Fracc. Altabrisa, 97133 Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

This study shows a clinical case report of a kidney transplant patient who traveled from Mexico to The Netherlands and ate green vegetables in an international food restaurant. After 5 days, he started having diarrhea, nausea, colic, and a physical feeling of malaise. The patient only received symptomatic treatment after showing the characteristic symptoms of traveler's diarrhea. Read More

Indian J Sex Transm Dis AIDS 2020 Jan-Jun;41(1):93-96. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Department of Microbiology, Military Hospital, Shillong, Meghalaya, India.

Introduction: Diarrhea is one of the major complications occurring in over 90% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals in developing countries. Coccidian group of parasitic infections remain the standout opportunistic pathogens in many parts of the world.

Aim: The objective was to understand the profile of diarrheagenic parasites in HIV/AIDS patients along with analysis of the changing trends in the profile of parasitic diarrhea with special context to coccidian parasitic infections. Read More

Acta Parasitol 2020 Oct 10. Epub 2020 Oct 10.

Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.

Introduction: The diagnosis of cyclosporiasis is currently based on the microscopic detection of oocysts, which may provide invalid results. The availability of simple, objective immunological screening tests would facilitate epidemiological studies of cyclosporiasis. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the antigens of Cyclospora cayetanensis oocysts and their validity in serodiagnosis. Read More

Eur J Microbiol Immunol (Bp) 2020 Oct 5. Epub 2020 Oct 5.

4Department of Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Bundeswehr Hospital Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

Introduction: The study was performed to assess the infection risk of German police officers on predominantly tropical deployments, mostly United Nations missions, with gastrointestinal pathogens.

Methods: Police officers were offered PCR-based screening for gastrointestinal pathogens before and after deployment. The screening panel comprised enteroinvasive bacteria (Salmonella spp. Read More

Food Waterborne Parasitol 2020 Sep 9;20:e00088. Epub 2020 Sep 9.

Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.

Parasitic food-borne diseases, particularly those caused by the protozoan parasites , , and are increasingly becoming common and have received considerable attention in the last two decades. The ability of the transmission stages of the parasites to survive in the environment for prolonged periods, globalization of the food industry and changes in eating habits have contributed to the numbers of human infections. This systematic scoping review highlights these important water- and foodborne parasites in the African context, detailing the burden in African water sources, wastewater/effluents and fresh produce. Read More

Appl Environ Microbiol 2020 11 10;86(23). Epub 2020 Nov 10.

Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland, USA.

is a protozoan parasite that causes foodborne and waterborne diarrheal illness outbreaks worldwide. Most of these outbreaks are associated with the consumption of fresh produce. Sensitive and specific methods to detect in agricultural water are needed to identify the parasite in agricultural water used to irrigate crops that have been implicated in outbreaks. Read More

J Clin Med 2020 Aug 28;9(9). Epub 2020 Aug 28.

Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medicine Rostock, 18051 Rostock, Germany.

Background: Intestinal infections remain a major public health burden in developing countries. Due to social, ecological, environmental, and cultural conditions, Indigenous peoples in Colombia are at particularly high risk.

Materials: 137 stool samples were analyzed by microscopy and real-time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), targeting protozoan parasites ( spp. Read More

BMJ Open 2020 08 31;10(8):e036560. Epub 2020 Aug 31.

British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Introduction: Over one in eight Canadians is affected by a foodborne infection annually; however, the long-term consequences, including the risks and costs of sequelae, are unclear. We aim to estimate the health burden and direct costs of 14 infections commonly transmitted by food, considering the acute illness and subsequent sequelae and mortality, for the population of British Columbia, Canada (~4.7 million). Read More

Gut Pathog 2020 11;12:37. Epub 2020 Aug 11.

Dept. Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Astiazarán Rojas No. 46, Hermosillo, 83304 Sonora Mexico.

Background: Intestinal bacterial dysbiosis and increased gut permeability are associated with higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D) or celiac disease (CD). There is a lack of information on parasitism involved in gut disturbance of predisposed children. We evaluated the effect of enteropathogenic parasites ( spp. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2020 08 3;148:e172. Epub 2020 Aug 3.

Parasitic Diseases Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Outbreaks of cyclosporiasis, a food-borne illness caused by the coccidian parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis have increased in the USA in recent years, with approximately 2300 laboratory-confirmed cases reported in 2018. Genotyping tools are needed to inform epidemiological investigations, yet genotyping Cyclospora has proven challenging due to its sexual reproductive cycle which produces complex infections characterized by high genetic heterogeneity. We used targeted amplicon deep sequencing and a recently described ensemble-based distance statistic that accommodates heterogeneous (mixed) genotypes and specimens with partial genotyping data, to genotype and cluster 648 C. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2020 Jul 29;13(1):380. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450046, China.

Diarrheal diseases caused by intestinal protozoan parasites are a major food-borne public health problem across the world. Vegetables and fruits provide important nutrients and minerals, but are also common sources of some food-borne human pathogenic microorganisms. The contamination of raw vegetables and fruits with human pathogenic parasites are now a global public health threat, despite the health benefits of these foods in non-pharmacological prophylaxes against diseases. Read More