Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a major health problem in many countries and its current treatment involves multiple parenteral injections with toxic drugs and requires intensive health services. Previously, the efficacy of a single subcutaneous injection with a slow-release formulation consisting of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microparticles loaded with an antileishmanial 3-nitro-2-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxychalcone (CH8) was demonstrated in mice model. In the search for more easily synthesized active chalcone derivatives, and improved microparticle loading, CH8 analogues were synthesized and tested for antileishmanial activity in vitro and in vivo. The 3-nitro-2′,4′,6′-trimethoxychalcone (NAT22) analogue was chosen for its higher selectivity against intracellular amastigotes (selectivity index = 1489, as compared with 317 for CH8) and more efficient synthesis (89% yield, as compared with 18% for CH8). NAT22 was loaded into PLGA / polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymeric blend microspheres (NAT22-PLGAk) with average diameter of 1.9 μm. Although NAT22-PLGAk showed similar activity to free NAT22 in killing intracellular parasites in vitro (IC50 ~ 0.2 μm), in vivo studies in Leishmania amazonensis – infected mice demonstrated the significant superior efficacy of NAT22-PLGAk to reduce the parasite load. A single intralesional injection with NAT22-PLGAk was more effective than eight injections with free NAT22. Together, these results show that NAT22-PLGAk is a promising alternative for single-dose localized treatment of CL.

Weather conditions can impact infectious disease transmission, causing mortalities in humans, wild and domestic animals. Although rainfall in dry tropical regions is highly variable over the year, rainfall is thought to play an important role in the transmission of tick-borne diseases. Whether variation in rainfall affects disease-induced mortalities, is, however, poorly understood. Here, we use long-term data on monthly rainfall and Boran cattle mortality (1998–2017) to investigate associations between within-year variation in rainfall and cattle mortalities due to East Coast fever (ECF), anaplasmosis and babesiosis in Laikipia, Kenya, using ARIMAX modelling. Results show a negative correlation between monthly rainfall and cattle mortality for ECF and anaplasmosis, with a lag effect of 2 and 6 months, respectively. There was no association between babesiosis-induced mortalities and monthly rainfall. The results of this study suggest that control of the tick-borne diseases ECF and anaplasmosis to reduce mortalities should be intensified during rainy periods after the respective estimated time lags following dry periods.

Chigger mites (Trombiculidae) are temporary habitat-specific ectoparasites that often occur on rodents. Little ecological data are available on chiggers associated with rodents in South Africa. The study aims were to (1) record the chigger species associated with rodents in the savanna, (2) assess if chigger species display parasitope preference on the rodent body and (3) compare the distribution of chigger species in natural, agricultural and urban habitats. Rodents (n = 314) belonging to eight genera were trapped in the savanna biome during 2014 and 2015. Twelve chigger species, of which five are recently described species, were recorded from 161 rodent hosts. The data include three new country locality records. Microtrombicula mastomyia was the most prevalent species across sampling seasons and habitat types. Significant parasitope preference was recorded for two species, with the ear, face and tail base some of the preferred attachment sites. Sampling season and habitat type had a significant effect on chigger communities with summer and agricultural habitats recording the highest species richness, while the highest species diversity was recorded in natural habitats. The study contributes to our current knowledge regarding rodent-associated chigger diversity and distribution in South Africa and further highlights the importance of environmental characteristics in shaping chigger communities.

Parabronema skrjabini is one of the most harmful nematodes to camels and is responsible for economic losses in animal husbandry industry. There is an urgent need for in-depth studies of potential vectors of the nematode due to its scant regarding information. As previous studies indicated that flies may be the vectors of P. skrjabini, we captured flies in the main camel-producing areas of Inner Mongolia. After autopsy of the specimens of two species of horn flies, we observed the morphology of the suspected nematode larvae found in them. Internal transcribed spacer ribosomal-DNA gene sequences were considered the best candidate to confirm the species of the larvae found. Our results showed that the homology compared with P. skrjabini was 99.5% in GenBank. Subsequently, we preliminarily identified two species of horn flies through morphological observation and then sequenced the mitochondrial-DNA-gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I obtained from two species of horn flies, with 100 and 99.2% similarity to sequences deposited in GenBank, respectively. Thus, we identified Haematobia titillans and Haematobia irritans and provided evidence for their potential role as vectors of parabronemosis. Our study provides reference for future research on the life history of the nematode and the vectors of parabronemosis.

The study of priority effects with respect to coinfections is still in its infancy. Moreover, existing coinfection studies typically focus on infection outcomes associated with exposure to distinct sets of parasite species, despite that functionally and morphologically similar parasite species commonly coexist in nature. Therefore, it is important to understand how interactions between similar parasites influence infection outcomes. Surveys at seven ponds in northwest Pennsylvania found that multiple species of echinostomes commonly co-occur. Using a larval anuran host (Rana pipiens) and the two most commonly identified echinostome species from our field surveys (Echinostoma trivolvis and Echinoparyphium lineage 3), we examined how species composition and timing of exposure affect patterns of infection. When tadpoles were exposed to both parasites simultaneously, infection loads were higher than when exposed to Echinoparyphium alone but similar to being exposed to Echinostoma alone. When tadpoles were sequentially exposed to the parasite species, tadpoles first exposed to Echinoparyphium had 23% lower infection loads than tadpoles first exposed to Echinostoma. These findings demonstrate that exposure timing and order, even with similar parasites, can influence coinfection outcomes, and emphasize the importance of using molecular methods to identify parasites for ecological studies.

Integrative taxonomy was used to evaluate two component populations of Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus in Brazil and the phylogeny Camallanidae. Parasite populations were collected in the characiform Anostomoides passionis from River Xingu (Amazon basin) and Megaleporinus elongatus from River Miranda (Paraguay basin). Morphology was analysed using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Genetic characterization was based on partial sequences of the 18S and 28S rDNA, and COI mtDNA. Phylogenies were based on 18S and COI due to data availability. Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC), Poisson Tree Process (PTP) and *BEAST were used for species delimitation and validation. SEM revealed for the first time the presence of minute denticles and pore-like structures surrounding the oral opening, phasmids in females and confirmed other important morphological aspects. Statistical comparison between the two-component populations indicated morphometric variations, especially among males. The different component population of P. (S.) inopinatus showed variable morphometry, but uniform morphology and were validated as conspecific by the GMYC, PTP and *BEAST. Some camallanid sequences in GenBank have incorrect taxonomic labelling. Host, environment and geographic aspects seem to be related to some lineages within Camallanidae; however, their real phylogenetic meanings are still unclear.

The metacestode of Echinococcus multilocularis is the etiological agent of alveolar echinococcosis. The metacestode stage used for research is maintained in rodents by serial passages. In order to determine whether cryopreservation of E. multilocularis metacestodes would be suitable for long-term maintenance and replace serial passages, isolates of different geographic origin were cryopreserved in 1984–1986. The aim of the current study was to test the viability of cryopreserved isolates following long-term cryopreservation (up to 35 years) and to determine the phylogenetic clades these isolates belonged to. Cryopreserved isolates were tested for viability in vitro and in vivo in gerbils. In vitro results of 5 isolates indicated protoscolex survival in 13 of 17 experiments (76%) and metacestode survival in 5 of 12 (42%) in vivo experiments. In vivo results showed ‘abortive lesions’ in 13 of the 36 animals, 15 were negative and 8 harboured proliferating metacestode tissue containing protoscoleces. Genetic analysis confirmed the isolates belonged to European, Asian and North-American clades. In conclusion, the results of the current study indicate that metacestodes of E. multilocularis are able to survive long-term cryopreservation. Therefore, cryopreservation is a suitable method for long-term storage of E. multilocularis metacestode isolates and reduces the number of experimental animals.

Monocytes and macrophages are involved in a wide range of biological processes and parasitic diseases. The characterization of the molecular mechanisms governing such processes usually requires precise control of the expression of genes of interest. We implemented a tetracycline-controlled gene expression system in the U937 cell line, one of the most used in vitro models for the research of human monocytes and macrophages. Here we characterized U937-derived cell lines in terms of phenotypic (morphology and marker expression) and functional (capacity for phagocytosis and for Leishmania parasite hosting) changes induced by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Finally, we provide evidence of tetracycline-inducible and reversible Lamin-A gene silencing of the PMA-differentiated U937-derived cells.

Larval stage of genus Echinococcus is the causing agent for the zoonotic infection which is life threatening known as Echinococcosis. The purpose of this study was the identification, molecular analysis and characterization of Echinococcus spp. in sheep and cattle. The sampling was done from slaughterhouse of Elazig, Turkey. A total of 85 isolates (sheep, n = 19 and cattle, n = 66) have been collected after slaughtering. Following the gDNA isolation and PCR products of mt-CO1 gene (446 bp) of all the samples were sequenced. Out of 85 isolates, 84 were recognized as Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto and one sheep isolate was found as Echinococcus canadensis (G6/G7 ) which is identified for the first time in Turkey. However, single nucleotide polymorphism has been observed not only in samples of different animals but also in samples collected from the same cattle. Six liver and three lung hydatid cysts have been detected in cattle. Although no nucleotide differences have been observed in the liver samples, there was single nucleotide polymorphism (C→T) in 40th nucleotide of two lung cysts. As a result of haplotype analysis, 16 haplotypes of E. granulosus s.s. were detected in 66 cattle isolates whereas 7 haplotypes of E. granulosus s.s. were identified in 19 sheep samples.