Ephemeral parasitism on blooming diatoms in a temperate estuary

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria A. Guinder ◽  
M. Cecilia Carcedo ◽  
Natalia Buzzi ◽  
Juan Carlos Molinero ◽  
Celeste López Abbate ◽  
...  

Parasites of phytoplankton influence phytoplankton bloom dynamics and may severely affect the type of food available for higher trophic levels. The incidence of parasitic infections generally is expected to increase across ecosystems worldwide under the scenario of global change. Herein we report on a massive parasite infection on two dominant diatoms of the austral winter bloom, namely Thalassiosira pacifica and Chaetoceros diadema, recorded during an extreme precipitation period in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina. The parasite infection was concomitant with a marked drop in water salinity and affected more than 40% of host cells. Although the parasite on C. diadema was not identified, the parasite on T. pacifica was most likely Pirsonia sp., a nanoflagellate with high host specificity. After the intense rainy period and the parasitic infection, the phytoplankton biomass dropped (by more than 80%) and the community structure shifted to one with smaller species (i.e. Thalassiosira curviseriata, T. hibernalis and T. minima). We discuss the implications that these modifications may have on the food web dynamics and the potential relationship between precipitation-driven modifications in water properties and the emergence of parasitism in coastal eutrophic environments.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1344-1348
Author(s):  
Maura Fiamma ◽  
Silvia S Longoni ◽  
Emmanuel E Siddig ◽  
Sonia Attene ◽  
Vito Astone ◽  
...  

Introduction: Imported parasitosis, which do not require an invertebrate vector, are extremely dangerous and can lead to the occurrence of disease in currently parasite free areas. In the present study we report a case of multi-parasitic infection in a young immigrant from Ghana to Italy caused by filaria, Schistosoma sp. and Strongyloides sp. Case presentation: A 27-year-old Ghanaian man attended the Hospital of Nuoro (Sardinia), Italy, at the end of August 2015, claiming pain to the kidney and hypertensive crisis; the patient presented with dyspnea and epistaxis, chronic itchy skin of the back, shoulders, arms and legs, anuria and high creatinine, metabolic acidosis and hypereosinophilic syndrome. Serological test for parasitic infections were done, and showed a marked positivity for filaria, Schistosoma sp. and Strongyloides sp. The patient started the treatment immediately with two doses per day of Bassado Antibiotic (tetracycline) for twenty days and then with a single dose of 3 mg of ivermectin that was repeated after 3 months. Conclusions: Immigrant patients from endemic areas who show clinical signs, such as a general itching on the back, shoulders and arms and legs, should have a thorough history in order to make early diagnosis and prevent further complications. Therefore, general practitioners and doctors in Europe and in other parasitosis non-endemic countries, should consider to test for parasites in any immigrant from endemic countries to aid in establishing the final diagnosis and prevent further complications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasina Banu ◽  
Hamida Khanum ◽  
Md Anwar Hossain

A total of 1570 adolescent girls (aged 10-19 years) of rural, urban and slum areas in and around Dhaka city were investigated to determine the association of anaemia with parasitic infection. About one third (33.50%) of the adolescent girls were found to be infected with one or more protozoans (Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia) and helminths (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura, Strongyloieds stercoralis, hookworms). Anaemia (32.22%) was reported among the adolescent girls and 39.52% anaemic girls were infected with intestinal parasites against the 30.63% non anaemic cases. Anaemia was significantly associated with parasitic infestation (?2 =11.76, p<0.000). Percentage of anaemic cases was higher in slum area (38.75%) and lower in urban area (24.11%) respectively. Socioeconomic status of the adolescent girls had also impact on the prevalence of parasites and anaemia. Parasitic infestation was much lower (16.10%) among the literate compared to the illiterate respondents (47.58%). The prevalence of parasite infection was positively associated with illiterate adolescent girls (?2=171.27, OR=4.73, p<0.000). The level of education was inversely related (r = -0.98, p<0.01) with the prevalence of anaemia. Unhygienic latrine users were associated with parasite infection (OR=2.80) and anaemia (OR=2.16) respectively. The present study revealed that parasitic infection and socioeconomic status may be responsible for anaemia among the adolescent girls.Bangladesh J. Zool. 42(1): 91-103, 2014


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1632-1638
Author(s):  
Mehru Nisha ◽  
Nurul Nadiah Ab Talib ◽  
Naim Khir ◽  
Intan Sufinaz Daud ◽  
Fabian Davamani

Parasites are live organism that lives in a host to obtain the nutrients for their survival. Parasitic infections are commonly as seen in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. These parasitic infections can be caused by protozoa, helminths and ectoparasites. However, the knowledge of parasitic infections could vary among the adults in urban or semi urban areas where parasitic infections are rare among them. This study was conducted to detect the level of knowledge, awareness and practice of parasite infection among adults in Selangor. The study was conducted using an online questionnaire. Around 59 participants from Selangor district in the age group of 21 to 60 years responded to the questionnaire. The results of this research was analysed by Google Docs software. According to the result obtained, the level of knowledge, awareness and practice of adults towards parasite infection is highly satisfactory. As majority of participants (76.3%, n=45) are familiar with the symptom of intestinal parasitic infection, majority of contributors (93.2%, n=55) practice the correct way in processing the meat by cooking the meat thoroughly, and some of the participants (14.9%, n=9) were aware of malaria as the high risk of being contagious in Selangor district. The level of knowledge, awareness and practice of parasite infection among adults in Selangor is adequately high. However, it is still necessary for these populations to get more exposed the information on parasite infection.


Author(s):  
Lidia Bosurgi ◽  
Carla V. Rothlin

AbstractFor a long time, host cell death during parasitic infection has been considered a reflection of tissue damage, and often associated with disease pathogenesis. However, during their evolution, protozoan and helminth parasites have developed strategies to interfere with cell death so as to spread and survive in the infected host, thereby ascribing a more intriguing role to infection-associated cell death. In this review, we examine the mechanisms used by intracellular and extracellular parasites to respectively inhibit or trigger programmed cell death. We further dissect the role of the prototypical “eat-me signal” phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) which, by being exposed on the cell surface of damaged host cells as well as on some viable parasites via a process of apoptotic mimicry, leads to their recognition and up-take by the neighboring phagocytes. Although barely dissected so far, the engagement of different PtdSer receptors on macrophages, by shaping the host immune response, affects the overall infection outcome in models of both protozoan and helminth infections. In this scenario, further understanding of the molecular and cellular regulation of the PtdSer exposing cell-macrophage interaction might allow the identification of new therapeutic targets for the management of parasitic infection.


2017 ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  

Introduction: Intestinal parasite infections werecommonintropical country such as Vietnam. Having good knowledge of parasitic infectious prevention and changing risk behaviors can decrease the infection rate. Objective: To evaluate the parasitic infectious rate in Vinh Thai community before and after being health education and the changing of knowledge of parasitic infectious prevention and risk behaviors. Materials and methods: 60 households in Vinh Thai commune were interviewed their knowledge of parasitic infectious prevention and examined intestinal parasite infection by Kato technique and then trained the knowledge of parasitic infectious prevention. The interview and examination parasite infectiousrate were carried out after 6 months to evaluating their knowledge. Result: Before health education, the rate of intestinal parasite infection was 17.4% with the prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, whipworm, pinworm, small fluke worm and co-infection with A. lumbricoides - whipworm, hookworm-whipworm were 0.1%; 8.0%; 5.8%; 0.6%; 0.3%; 1.2% and 3.0% respectively. Six months later the rate of intestinal parasite infection was decreased in 12.6% even though not statistical significantly. However, there were no case of small fluke worm and co-infection with hookworm-whipworm. Receiving health education, their knowledge of parasitic infectious prevention was higher significantly but their risk behaviors were not changed so much. Conclusion: Health education can change the rate of parasite infection with higher knowledge of parasitic infectious prevention but it was necessary continuous study to change the risk behaviors. Key words: intestinal parasite, health education


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-287
Author(s):  
S. Viesy ◽  
J. Abdi ◽  
Z. Rezaei

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are the one of the most common health problems in developing countries. Objective: A number of patients die annually due to complications caused by these parasites.Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the rate and type of parasitic infections, determine the factors affecting them in Ilam city and also provide strategies to prevent them.In this descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in one of the Ilam labs in 2016, 417 stool specimens were randomly collected. All specimens were examined using direct and ethanol formaldehyde.Suspect specimens were examined using Trichrom staining. Demographic information was also recorded in a questionnaire, and finally the results were analyzed using statistical software SPSS 20.The data were then compared with Chi-square test. Results: Out of the 417 patients examined, 59 (14.1%) were infected with intestinal parasites. The type of parasitic infection in 9.4% was Blastocystis hominis, 3.6% Entamoeba coli, 0.5% Entamoeba histolytica, 0.5% Giardia and 0.2% Trichomonas hominis. Conclusion: Despite the improvement of public health, parasitic infections are still considered as one of the health problems in the city of Ilam. Therefore, proper planning, public health education, raising the level of health in the area and the provision of safe drinking water are some of the ways to reduce parasitic infections in the region.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 343
Author(s):  
Veronica Folliero ◽  
Carla Zannella ◽  
Annalisa Chianese ◽  
Debora Stelitano ◽  
Annalisa Ambrosino ◽  
...  

Despite advances in medical knowledge, parasitic diseases remain a significant global health burden and their pharmacological treatment is often hampered by drug toxicity. Therefore, drug delivery systems may provide useful advantages when used in combination with conventional therapeutic compounds. Dendrimers are three-dimensional polymeric structures, characterized by a central core, branches and terminal functional groups. These nanostructures are known for their defined structure, great water solubility, biocompatibility and high encapsulation ability against a wide range of molecules. Furthermore, the high ratio between terminal groups and molecular volume render them a hopeful vector for drug delivery. These nanostructures offer several advantages compared to conventional drugs for the treatment of parasitic infection. Dendrimers deliver drugs to target sites with reduced dosage, solving side effects that occur with accepted marketed drugs. In recent years, extensive progress has been made towards the use of dendrimers for therapeutic, prophylactic and diagnostic purposes for the management of parasitic infections. The present review highlights the potential of several dendrimers in the management of parasitic diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azan A. Nyundo ◽  
David Z. Munisi ◽  
Ainory P. Gesase

Background. Neglected tropical diseases continue to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the developing world. Psychiatric patients are among groups at risk for parasitic infection although control and monitoring programs largely overlook this population. This study aimed at determining prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection among patients admitted to a psychiatric facility.Method. The study followed cross-sectional design; all the residing patients that met the inclusion criteria were included in the survey. Stool samples were collected and examined by direct wet preparation and formol-ether concentration. Data were analyzed with STATA version 12.1; Chi-square test was computed to determine the level of significance atpvalue < 0.05.Results.Of all 233 patients who returned the stool samples, 29 (12.45%) screened were positive for an intestinal parasite. There was no significant association between parasite carriage and age, sex, or duration of hospital stay.Conclusion. The study shows that intestinal parasitic infection is common among patients in a psychiatric facility and highlights that parasitic infections that enter through skin penetration may be a more common mode of transmission than the oral route. Furthermore, the study underscores the need for surveillance and intervention programs to control and manage these infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
John A. Gittings ◽  
Dionysios. E. Raitsos ◽  
Robert J. W. Brewin ◽  
Ibrahim Hoteit

Phytoplankton phenology and size structure are key ecological indicators that influence the survival and recruitment of higher trophic levels, marine food web structure, and biogeochemical cycling. For example, the presence of larger phytoplankton cells supports food chains that ultimately contribute to fisheries resources. Monitoring these indicators can thus provide important information to help understand the response of marine ecosystems to environmental change. In this study, we apply the phytoplankton size model of Gittings et al. (2019b) to 20-years of satellite-derived ocean colour observations in the northern and central Red Sea, and investigate interannual variability in phenology metrics for large phytoplankton (>2 µm in cell diameter). Large phytoplankton consistently bloom in the winter. However, the timing of bloom initiation and termination (in autumn and spring, respectively) varies between years. In the autumn/winter of 2002/2003, we detected a phytoplankton bloom, which initiated ~8 weeks earlier and lasted ~11 weeks longer than average. The event was linked with an eddy dipole in the central Red Sea, which increased nutrient availability and enhanced the growth of large phytoplankton. The earlier timing of food availability directly impacted the recruitment success of higher trophic levels, as represented by the maximum catch of two commercially important fisheries (Sardinella spp. and Teuthida) in the following year. The results of our analysis are essential for understanding trophic linkages between phytoplankton and fisheries and for marine management strategies in the Red Sea.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e2015039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Miller ◽  
Barbara Bain

The laboratory haematologist has a role in the diagnosis of parasitic infections. Peripheral blood examination is critical in the diagnosis of malaria, babesiosis, filariasis and trypanosomiasis. Bone marrow examination is important in the diagnosis of leishmaniasis and occasionally leads to the diagnosis of other parasitic infections. The detection of eosinophilia or iron deficiency anaemia can alert the laboratory haematologist or physician to the possibility of parasitic infection. In addition to morphological skills, an adequate clinical history is important for speedy and accurate diagnosis, particularly in non-endemic areas.


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