Parasitic Diseases

Drug discovery offers new hope to halt the spread of malaria - Medical Xpress Drug discovery offers new hope to halt the spread of malaria - Medical Xpress Posted: 30 Aug 2019 05:50 AM PDT Credit: CC0 Public Domain Breakthrough research has revealed a new drug that may prevent the spread of malaria, and also treat people suffering with the deadly parasitic disease. The findings, which were delivered by an international team of scientists led by the University of Glasgow and published today in Science , offer fresh hope in the global fight against malaria. Malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease, currently affects over 200 million people, and kills nearly half a million people—mostly children—every year. Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which infects humans through the bite of a mosquito. The parasite then grows in the liver and in red blood cells in our blood . Parasites can also change in the blood to take o...

Bronze Age Britons lived with 1m-long worms in their kidneys, scientists reveal - The Independent Bronze Age Britons lived with 1m-long worms in their kidneys, scientists reveal - The Independent Posted: 16 Aug 2019 12:00 AM PDT Bronze Age Britons were infected with a number of parasites including giant kidney worms that could reach up to one metre in length, analysis of 3,000-year-old faeces has revealed. Prehistoric people living in a settlement perched on freshwater marshes in eastern England were infected by intestinal worms caught from foraging for food in lakes and waterways, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge. The 900BC Bronze Age settlement at Must Farm –  located near what is now the fenland city of Peterborough –  was made of wooden houses built on stilts above the water. A wooden causeway connected islands on the marsh and inhabitants used dugout canoes to travel along the channels. We'll t...

Is it really a 'kissing' bug? | Around Indiana - Greensburg Daily News Is it really a 'kissing' bug? | Around Indiana - Greensburg Daily News Posted: 30 Aug 2019 08:35 AM PDT WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a warning regarding the Triatoma sanguisuga insect, more commonly known as the kissing bug. The statement said the bug could now be found in 12 states, including Indiana. Triatoma sanguisuga is best known for transmitting a parasitic disease known as Chagas, which can initially cause flu-like symptoms, but if left untreated can become chronic and even fatal. The kissing bug is native to Central and South America, where the CDC estimates roughly 8 million people are infected. The presence of a new vector-borne illness is always cause for alarm, but do Hoosiers need to be seriously concerned about the risks caused by kissing bugs? Catherine Hill, pro...

How animal parasites find a home in humans - The Conversation CA How animal parasites find a home in humans - The Conversation CA Posted: 20 Mar 2018 12:00 AM PDT There has been a lot of buzz recently about a video shared by Oregon woman Abby Beckley, who describes removing worms from her eye . Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a case report documenting Beckley's infection as the first human case of the cattle eyeworm Thelazia gulosa . We certainly feel for Beckley having to go through this ordeal, and without a doubt, felt our skin crawl just thinking about it. But aside from the "creep" factor of this case, it does makes us wonder how a cow parasite ever ended up in a human eye. And it begs the more fundamental question: How are animal parasites able to infect humans? To answer this question, we need to understand more about parasites and their ecology. As a veterinarian and disease eco...

Is it really a 'kissing' bug? | Around Indiana - Greensburg Daily News Is it really a 'kissing' bug? | Around Indiana - Greensburg Daily News Parasitic Diseases Therapeutic Market: Technological Advancement & Growth Analys - News By ReportsGO Drug could prevent the spread of malaria after ‘breakthrough’ research - iNews Pathogens in food – why foodborne parasites are relevant too - New Food Is it really a 'kissing' bug? | Around Indiana - Greensburg Daily News Posted: 30 Aug 2019 08:35 AM PDT WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a warning regarding the Triatoma sanguisuga insect, more commonly known as the kissing bug. The statement said the bug could now be found in 12 states, including Indiana. Triatoma sanguisuga is best known for transmitting a parasitic disease known as Chagas, which can...