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Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the presence of T. gondii, Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts, and G. duodenalis cysts, in three leafy greens (coriander, lettuce, and parsley) commonly consumed raw. Despite the recognition of the association between the parasitic illnesses and the consumption of contaminated food, there is still a lack of studies investigating the occurrence of parasitic contamination in food matrices. Methods A total of 152 leafy green samples were collected in Marrakech from April 2018 to October 2019. Parasites were eluted and concentrated before detection of their DNA by real-time qPCR. Results The analysis revealed an overall rate of contamination of 32.2% (49/152), with 29.6% (45/152) positive for T. gondii and 2.6% (4/152) for G. duodenalis, while none was positive for Cryptosporidium spp. Conclusion The results showed that humans can be exposed to protozoan parasites through vegetables consumption. Further investigations can be performed to acquire new epidemiological data to assess the public health impact of these protozoan diseases in Morocco.

The musk deer possesses an exceptional value for producing high-quality musk, which warrants the development of appropriate veterinary strategies for its captive breeding. The main profile of musk deer health monitoring is assessed: the presence of infectious and protozoan diseases, helminthiases and gastrointestinal disorders. We present a strategy for non-invasive health monitoring and criteria for phytotherapeutic and drug prophylaxis and treatment in open-cage captivity of musk deer for further research into their impact on musk quality.

Background Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common protozoan diseases in both developing and developed countries. Human infection occurred by incidental ingestion of oocyst-contaminated food, water, soil or tissue of raw meat. Studies of infection in Iranian children are infrequent. In this study, we investigated seroprevalence, and risk factors of toxoplasmosis among children under 15 years old in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Southeastern Iran. Materials and methods 869 sera samples were investigated for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies by ELISA. Moreover, the participant's data were collected to study their association with infection. Data analysis for this study was performed using the SPSS software version 20. Results T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected in 16.2% (141/869) of children in this study. Regarding the sociodemographic variables, age, male gender, contact with animal pets and white blood cells (WBC) count were significantly associated with toxoplasmosis (P Conclusion Our study showed relatively high seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among children in Sistan and Baluchistan province. Our data considered a vital tool for healthcare authorities. Further investigations are needed in different part of Iran especially among high-risk groups of toxoplasmosis.

Membrane-bound pyrophosphatases (mPPases) regulate energy homeostasis in pathogenic protozoan parasites and lack human homologues, which makes them promising targets in e.g. malaria. Yet only few nonphosphorus inhibitors have been reported so far. Here, we explore an isoxazole fragment hit, leading to the discovery of small mPPase inhibitors with 6-10 mu M IC50 values in the Thermotoga maritima test system. Promisingly, the compounds retained activity against Plasmodium falciparum mPPase in membranes and inhibited parasite growth.

In Spain, PCR is the tool of choice for the diagnosis of congenital Chagas disease (CD) and serology for diagnosing chronic CD. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification test for Trypanosoma cruzi DNA detection showed good analytical performance and ease of use., In Spain, PCR is the tool of choice for the diagnosis of congenital Chagas disease (CD) and serology for diagnosing chronic CD. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification test for Trypanosoma cruzi DNA detection showed good analytical performance and ease of use. We aimed to evaluate the performance of the Loopamp Trypanosoma cruzi detection kit (Eiken Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan) (Tcruzi-LAMP) for congenital and chronic CD diagnosis using well-characterized samples. We included samples from 39 congenital and 174 chronic CD cases and from 48 uninfected children born to infected mothers and 34 nonchagasic individuals. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of Tcruzi-LAMP were estimated using standard case definitions for congenital CD (positive result by parasitological or PCR tests or serology after 9 months of age) and chronic CD (positive serology by at least two tests). The Tcruzi-LAMP results were read by visual examination and a real-time fluorimeter. For congenital CD, Tcruzi-LAMP sensitivity was 97% for both types of reading; specificity was 92% by visual examination and 94% by fluorimeter. For chronic CD, sensitivity was 47% and specificity 100%. The accuracy in congenital CD was >94% versus 56% in chronic CD. The agreement of Tcruzi-LAMP with PCR tests was better in congenital CD (kappa, 0.86 to 0.91) than in chronic CD (kappa, 0.67 to 0.83). The Loopamp Trypanosoma cruzi detection kit showed good performance for the diagnosis of congenital CD. Tcruzi-LAMP, like PCR, can be useful for the screening and early diagnosis of congenital infection.

Protozoan parasitic infections are health, social and economic issues impacting both humans and animals, with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Protozoan parasites have complicated life cycles with both intracellular and extracellular forms. As a consequence, protozoan adapt to changing environments in part through a dynamic enzyme-catalyzed process leading to reversible posttranslational modifications (PTMs). The characterization by proteomics approaches reveals the critical role of the PTMs of the proteins involved in host-pathogen interaction. The complexity of PTMs characterization is increased by the high diversity, stoichiometry, dynamic and also co-existence of several PTMs in the same moieties which crosstalk between them. Here, we review how to understand the complexity and the essential role of PTMs crosstalk in order to provide a new hallmark for vaccines developments, immunotherapies and personalized medicine. In addition, the importance of these motifs in the biology and biological cycle of kinetoplastid parasites is highlighted with key examples showing the potential to act as targets against protozoan diseases., We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII) for the grants: FIS PI17/01930 and CB16/12/00400. Fundación Solórzano FS/38-2017. The Proteomics Unit belongs to ProteoRed, PRB3-ISCIII, supported by grant PT17/0019/0023, of the PE I + D + I 2017-2020, funded by ISCIII and FEDER.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis belong to a group of infectious diseases known as neglected tropical diseases and are induced by infection with protozoan parasites named trypanosomatids. Drugs in current use have several limitations, and therefore new candidate drugs are required. The majority of current therapeutic trypanosomatid targets are enzymes or cell-surface receptors. Among these, eukaryotic protein kinases are a major group of protein targets whose modulation may be beneficial for the treatment of neglected tropical protozoan diseases. This review summarizes the finding of new hit compounds for neglected tropical protozoan diseases, by repurposing known human kinase inhibitors on trypanosomatids. Kinase inhibitors are grouped by human kinase family and discussed according to the screening (target-based or phenotypic) reported for these compounds on trypanosomatids. This collection aims to provide insight into repurposed human kinase inhibitors and their importance in the development of new chemical entities with potential beneficial effects on the diseases caused by trypanosomatids.

Protozoan pathogens are major contributors to illness and death globally. Much of their impact can be controlled by a few drugs that are available. The resistance of these organisms to the existing drugs has threatened the treatment options. Therefore, many efforts are taken worldwide to develop drugs targeting novel pathways of protozoans. In the recent past, carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC4.2.1.1) of the pathogenic protozoans have emerged as novel targets for developing antiprotozoal agents. Several inhibitors belonging to sulfonamide, thiol, and hydroxamate groups have been found to inhibit protozoan CAs in vitro effectively. Some of the inhibitors have also shown good efficacy in inactivating the growth of protozoan parasites in vivo. Because of the limited treatment options that are available for protozoan diseases, novel drugs are urgently needed. Inhibitors against protozoan CAs present a novel strategy to effectively treat these diseases.

Sexual development is integral to the transmission of Plasmodium parasites between vertebrates and mosquitos. Recent years have seen great advances in understanding the gene expression that underlies commitment of asexual parasites to differentiate into sexual gametocyte stages, then how they mature and form gametes once inside a mosquito. Less well understood is how parasites differentially control development to become males or females. Plasmodium parasites are haploid at the time of sexual differentiation, but a clonal haploid line can produce both male and female gametocytes, so they presumably lack the sex‐determining alleles present in some other eukaryotes. Though the molecular switch to initiate male or female development remains hidden, recent studies reveal regulatory proteins needed for the sex‐specific maturation of male and female gametocytes. In this issue, Yuda and collaborators report the characterization of a transcription factor necessary for female gametocyte maturation. With renewed attention on malaria elimination, sex has been an increasing focus because transmission‐blocking strategies are likely to be an important component of elimination efforts.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) encompasses the resources of the Mekong River in six areas: the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Yunnan Province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Union of Myanmar, Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The lower Mekong River Basin is now one of the world’s fastest growing economies. A number of factors in the lower GMS affect the epidemiology and outcomes of human parasite control initiatives, including the environment, the economy, and politics. In this chapter, we review the important protozoa diseases that affect the public health of people in the lower GMS, including malaria, leishmaniasis amoebiasis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, and toxoplasmosis.

Leishmaniasis is a clinical manifestation caused by the parasites of the genus Leishmania. Plants are reservoirs of bioactive compounds, which are known to be chemically balanced, effective and least injurious as compared with synthetic medicines. The current resistance and the toxic effects of the available drugs have brought the trend to assess the antileishmanial effect of various plant extracts and their purified compound/s, which are summarized in this review. Moreover, it also highlights various traditional remedies used by local healers against leishmaniasis. A systematic cross-sectional study for antileishmanial activity of natural products was carried out using multiple literature databases. The records retrieved since 2000 till year 2016 were analysed and summarized in the form of comprehensive tables and graphs. Natural products are potential source of new and selective agents that can significantly contribute to primary healthcare and probably are promising substitutes of chemicals for the treatment of protozoan diseases like leishmaniasis. Where the researchers prefer to use alcoholic solvents for the extraction of antileishmanial agents from plants, most of the studies are limited to in vitro conditions majorly on using promastigote forms of Leishmania. Thus, there is a need to carry out such activities in vivo and in host macrophages. Further, there is a need of mechanistic studies that can help taking few of the promising pure compounds to clinical level. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Neglected tropical diseases represent a major sanitary problem and a huge economic burden to endemic countries, and are currently expanding to non-endemic countries owing to migration currents. Though long abandoned in the past, recent research on novel therapeutics has already started to show results. Drug repositioning is one of the prominent, more successful strategies to approach the development of new treatments for these diseases. Here we present an overview on the limitations of the current available medications to treat African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis, along with a review on drug candidates presently undergoing clinical trials and drug candidates identified through drug repositioning initiatives.

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protozoan "free-living" widely distributed in nature and is a potential pathogen for Man. It is responsible for pathologies inherent in the CNS, the cornea , the skin, especially in immunocompromised subjects. An adult subject of 70 years old, suffering from acute pharyngitis, was subjected to a cytological sampling of the pharyngeal mucosa by means of the modified Ayre spatula type A from Armone Caruso, to perform either a coloring method according to the May-Grunwald - Giemsa, and observed under the microscope optical with oil immersion at 100 x of fifty fields, that a preparation for observation under the SEM.( Scanning Electron Microscope,). In both observations it was highlighted in the form of trophozoite some rare Acanthamoeba. The subject was observed without that have appeared due to protozoan diseases: in practice it was a casual observation. The clinical case, described occasionally, it shows how the distribution in the environment of these amoebae is very extensive and mainly related to water and become of interest about the health, for the human use of the latter for purposes such as hygiene care, bathing, medical and health applications. The objective of this paper is to provide a starting point to discuss the potential pathogenicity associated with the presence of Acanthamoeba in the water ecosystems. This is for raise the awareness the scientific community and promote environmental control initiatives of this pathogen in both outdoor and indoor environments.

Coconut, a perennial palm with a life span of many decades, suffers from a number of biotic and abiotic stresses during various stages of its growth. Microbial pathogens including fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids and phytoplasmas are known to be the causative organisms of these diseases. Among the 173 fungal species reported on coconut, only a few are lethal, while others cause economic losses of varying degrees. The causal agents of various diseases, formerly regarded as diseases of unknown etiology, have now been determined. While curative measures are available for some maladies like stem bleeding, prophylaxis is the best option for some of the lethal diseases like bud rot. Some of the debilitating non-lethal diseases have been found to respond favourably to nutritional management measures. Hence, adopting an integrated approach involving tolerant varieties, cultural, nutritional, prophylactic and phytosanitary measures is the best option for managing the diseases of coconut at present. In view of difficulties due to the tall stature of the palm, modern technologies like computer-aided, remote-controlled drones should be developed for plant protection operations. Remote-sensing methods using advanced technologies can help in regular surveillance for disease incidence, intensity and spread. Molecular techniques can also help in early diagnosis and in resistance breeding. Region-specific integrated disease management strategies for specific maladies have to be developed for attaining maximum efficacy in disease control. The distribution, symptoms, etiology, epidemiology and possible control measures of fungal, bacterial, virus, viroid and protozoan diseases affecting coconut are detailed in this chapter.

286Natural-product-based drug discovery has imparted a renaissance, particularly, to the field of marine natural-product-based drug discovery in the past few decades. A large number of structurally diverse chemical compounds discovered from marine sources have beneficial health effects and reduce the risk of a number of life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Inspirational drug discovery processes by semisynthetic modification of natural leads have provided an additional factor of force to drive marine natural product pharmacognosy ahead. A number of marine natural products and synthetic analogs as well are being evaluated for indications of different diseases including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, infectious disease, inflammation and protozoan diseases. Prosperous biodiversity of marine environment is the major source of new biologically active molecules. This chapter presents an account of 198 compounds of marine origin and 206 references directed toward the discovery of new anticancer, anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulating and antidiabetic agents from marine sources particularly emphasizing tremendous opportunities involved in developing new pharmaceuticals from the sea, along with compounds that are in the market and in clinical trial.

Background Visceral leishmaniasis is potentially fatal protozoan diseases caused by Leishmania donovani . Nepal is an endemic region in which visceral leishmaniasis causes a major public health problem in the lowland areas that border the endemic areas of Bihar state in India. Accurate diagnosis to inform treatment is a first step in achieving the goal of visceral leishmaniasis elimination from South East Asian regions by 2020. Objective The objective of the present study was to compare between the Microcopy and polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. Methods In the present study, 236 bone marrow aspirations were collected from suspected visceral leishmaniasis patients in Janakpur Zonal Hospital, Dhanusa district, Terai region of Nepal in between 2003-2007. We evaluated bone marrow samples by microscopic examination with subsequent testing of the same sample by polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis. Results Giemsa’s solution stained bone marrow slides stored for over five years were used for polymerase chain reaction amplification. The result showed that 71% were polymerase chain reaction positive and 56% were microscopic positive. Out of 104 microscopic negative bone marrow samples, 15% of samples were positive by polymerase chain reaction. Conclusion Polymerase chain reaction could make a very good option for diagnosis by using less or non-invasive material from visceral leishmaniasis patients in endemic areas of Nepal. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v11i1.11016 Kathmandu University Medical Journal Vol.11(1) 2013: 14-17

Background and objectives: Sleeping sickness and malaria alike are insect-borne protozoan diseases that share overlapping endemic areas in sub-Saharan Africa. The causative agent for malaria has developed resistance against all currently deployed anti-malarial agents. In the case of sleeping sickness, the currently deployed therapeutic options are limited in efficacy and activity spectra, and there are very few drug candidates in the development pipeline. Thus, there is a need to search for new drug molecules with a novel mode of actions. Materials and Methods: In the current study, an in vitro screening of a library of tetralone derivatives and related benzocycloalkanones was effected against T. b. brucei and P. falciparum. Results: Several hits with low micromolar activity (0.4−8 µM) against T. b. brucei were identified. Conclusions: The identified hits have a low molecular weight (

Ethnopharmacological relevance Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (Oleaceae) is a mythological plant; has high medicinal values in Ayurveda. The popular medicinal use of this plant are anti-helminthic and anti-pyretic besides its use as a laxative, in rheumatism, skin ailments and as a sedative. Vitally, the natives plant it in their home gardens to pass on its medicinal usage to oncoming generations. Aim of the review The present review encompasses an ethnopharmacological evaluation focusing on information on the chemical constituents, pharmacological actions and toxicology in order to reveal the therapeutic potential and gaps requiring research involvement. Materials and methods The present review is based on searches in Scifinder®, Pubmed (National Library of Medicine) and books published on the subject during the period 1933 to 2012. Results Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is most important in local and traditional medicines especially in India for treating intermittent fevers, arthritis and obstinate sciatica. Crude extracts and isolated compounds from the plant were shown to be pharmacologically active against inflammation, malaria, viral infection, leishmanisis and as an immunostimulant. The major class of biologically active compounds are the iridoid glucosides incl., Arbortristoside A, B and C from the seeds active as anticancer, anti-leishmania, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, immunomodulatory and antiviral. Other molecules; calceolarioside A, 4-hydroxyhexahydrobenzofuran-7one and β-sitosterol from leaves have been reported to be active as anti-leishmanial, anticancer and anti-inflammatory, respectively. The crude extracts have been found to be safe with an LD50 of 16 gm/kg, while the LD50 of arbortristoside-A isolated from the seeds was found to be 0.5 g/kg. Conclusion Mostly in-vitro or in some cases in-vivo models provide some evidence especially in the treatment of inflammatory conditions like arthritis, fevers related to malaria and protozoan diseases especially leishmaniasis. The only clinical study found, is for treating malaria, but with crude extract only. Further, more detailed safety data pertaining to the acute and sub-acute toxicity, cardio and immunotoxicity also needs to be generated for crude extracts or pure compounds.

Different types of shed vesicles as, for example, exosomes, plasma-membrane-derived vesicles or microparticles, are the focus of intense research in view of their potential role in cell–cell communication and under the perspective that they might be good tools for immunotherapy, vaccination or diagnostic purposes. This review discusses ways employed by pathogenic trypanosomatids to interact with the host by shedding vesicles that contain molecules important for the establishment of infection, as opposed to previous beliefs considering them as a waste of cellular metabolism. Trypanosomatids are compared with Apicomplexa, which circulate parasite antigens bound to vesicles shed by host cells. The knowledge of the origin and chemical composition of these different vesicles might lead to the understanding of the mechanisms that determine their biological function.

The search for new drugs that could treat tropical protozoan diseases, such as malaria or neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), motivates many medicinal chemists. New classes of antiprotozoal drugs that act through a novel mechanism of action must be developed. This review presents our efforts toward finding new candidate treatments for malaria, American trypanosomiasis, human African trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis based on π-delocalized lipophilic cations (DLCs). DLCs, such as rhodacyanines, azarhodacyanines, β-carbolinium salts, and phenoxazinium salts, displayed strong antiprotozoal activities with highly selective indices. Several DLCs displayed moderate to excellent in vivo efficacies against Plasmodium berghei when administered intraperitoneally or orally. This review also discusses chemical biology approaches to understanding the mechanism of action underlying the antimalarial rhodacyanines.

Background: Parasitic intestinal infections are still among socioeconomic problems in the world, especially in developing countries like Iran. Food-handlers that directly deal with production and distribution of foods between societies are one of the most important sources to transmit parasitic infections to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among food-handlers in Shiraz, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1021 feces samples were randomly collected from food-handlers in Shiraz, central Iran from August to September 2013. Two different methods, routine direct fecal examination and Formalin –Ethyl acetate concentration as a complementary technique, were done to detect parasites. Results: The prevalence of parasitic organisms was 10.4% in the food-handlers. The most species of the protozoan parasites were G. lamblia, E. coli and B. hominis; meanwhile, only one infection by H. nana (0.1%) was detected in this group. Mixed infections were observed in 13.2% (n=14/106) of positive cases. The majority of participants were male (57%); however, data analysis showed significant statistical difference in the rate of infection between females 11.9% (n=53/444) and males 9% (n=52/577) (P=0. 024). There was no significant statistical difference in the rate of infection among different educational and occupation groups. Conclusion: Although decreasing of helminthic infections is distinct, but infecting with protozoan parasites is still important in food-handlers. Concentration technique is more useful than direct smear technique, especially for detection parasites in low number. High level of education in our study showed that training courses in this group could be effective in the implementation of control and prevention programs.

Malaria is one of the most common protozoan diseases, especially in tropical countries. The clinical manifestation of malaria, especially falciparum malaria varies from mild acute febrile illness to life threatening severe systemic complications involving one or more organ systems. We would like to report a case of complicated falciparum malaria involving cerebral, renal, hepatic system along with acute pancreatitis. The patient was successfully treated with anti malarial and other supportive treatment. To the best of our knowledge there are very few reports of acute pancreatitis due to malaria. Falciparum malaria therefore should be added to the list of infectious agents causing acute pancreatitis especially in areas where malaria is endemic.

Introduction: For nearly 20 years, privileged structures have offered an optimal source of core scaffolds and capping fragments for the design of combinatorial libraries directed at a broad spectrum of targets. From describing structures promiscuous within a given target family, the concept has evolved to include frameworks that can modulate proteins lacking a strict target class relation. Areas covered: Based on a literature search from 2000 to 2010, we discuss how two privileged motifs, quinolines and acridines, are particularly recurrent in compounds active against two quite different pathologies, neurodegenerative and protozoan diseases. Expert opinion: As privileged structures, quinolines and acridines could improve the productivity of drug discovery projects in the field of neurodegenerative and protozoan diseases. They could be particularly relevant for protozoan diseases because of the importance of cost-effective strategies and less stringent intellectual property concerns. Furthermore, because of their inherent affinity for various targets, privileged structures could offer a viable starting point in the search for novel multi-target ligands. Finally, from a broader perspective, they can serve as effective probes for investigating unknown but interrelated mechanisms of action.

Many regions of the world, including Saudi Arabia, are medically vulnerable by the spread of leishmaniasis. Although the effectiveness, the current available drugs suffer from the appearance of resistant strains in epidemic areas and their toxic side-effects. We report the use of the iron chelator deferoxamine (DFRX) that can be used as antileishmanial agents. Our experimental procedure was to follow up the growth of Leishmania major stages (extracellular promastigotes, exinic extracellular amastigotes and intracellular amastigotes) in presence of the tested compound in the culture media in different concentrations (10 μg/ml, 25 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml and no treatment) and comparing it to the untreated control. The compound showed antileishmanial activities as it showed great activity against the growth of the three Leishmania stages in a time and dose dependent manner. Finally, this compound shows a promising potential activity to be a possible antileishmanial compound alternatively or in combination with the currently used drugs.

1 National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan 2 Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan 3 National Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC, NMFS, NOAA 7600 Sand Point Way, NE, Building 4, Seattle, WA 98115, USA 4 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan 5 Graduate school of Fisheries Sciences, Division of Marine Environment and resources, Hokkaido University, Hakodate 041-8611, Japan 6 Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan

Investigation on health conditions of Thai koi (Anabas testudineus) were carried out through clinical and histopathological observations from different farms of Mymensingh district for seven months during August 2006 to February 2007. Fish sampling and water quality parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH) were monitored on a monthly basis. Clinical examination of fishes was also carried out for any kind of abnormalities at monthly intervals. Samples of skin, muscle, gill, liver and kidney were observed by histological technique. Among the water quality parameters the values of water temperature, dissolved oxygen were found to be at unfavorable level for fish during the colder months in the farms. Clinically it was observed that fishes were more affected from December to January and almost normal in appearance during August to September and February. Different clinical symptoms like scale loss, dermal lesion, ulcer and loss of caudal fin were noticed in December and January. In histopathological study, structures of fish organs were normal from August to September. In the months of October and November, minor pathologies were found to be started. Marked pathological changes like necrosis, pyknosis, inflammation, hemorrhage, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, missing of primary and secondary gill lamellae were observed in the months of December and January. Whereas, in the month of February the pathological condition of fish gradually reduced. Again when considered individual fish farm, fishes of Reliance Aqua Farm were more affected than Sotota Matshya Hatchery. The study showed that severity of clinical and pathological changes were increased in December and January. During the period EUS and protozoan diseases were noticed in A. testudineus of the investigated farms.

Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of human African sleeping sickness and the cattle disease nagana. T. brucei is dependent on glycoproteins for its survival and infectivity throughout its life cycle. Here we report the functional characterization of TbGT3, a glycosyltransferase expressed in the bloodstream and procyclic-form of the parasite. Bloodstream and procyclic-form TbGT3 conditional null mutants were created and both exhibited normal growth under permissive and non-permissive conditions. Under non-permissive conditions, the normal glycosylation of the major glycoprotein of bloodstream form T. brucei, the variant surface glycoprotein, and the absence of major alterations in lectin binding to other glycoproteins suggested that the major function of TbGT3 occurs in the procyclic form of the parasite. Consistent with this, the major surface glycoprotein of the procyclic form, procyclin, exhibited a marked reduction in molecular weight due to changes in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor side-chains. Structural analysis of the mutant procyclin GPI anchors indicated that TbGT3 encodes a UDP-Gal: beta-GlcNAc-GPI beta1-3 Gal transferase. Despite the alterations in GPI anchor side chains, TbGT3 conditional null mutants remained infectious to tsetse flies under non-permissive conditions.

Acriflavine, a fluorescent acridine dye, is one of the most universal dyes used in fisheries to treat external bacterial and protozoan diseases of fish. However, there is only limited information on the influence of physicochemical water parameters on acriflavine toxicity. Therefore, we conducted laboratory experiments to test the combined effects of water hardness (calcium ion content or Ca2+) and humic substances (HS) on acriflavine toxicity to embryos and larvae of zebrafish Danio rerio, also known as zebra danio, as a test model. Developing fish embryos (prehatch) were exposed to different concentrations of acriflavine (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, and 3.2 mg acriflavine/L) in test media containing various combinations of Ca2+ and HS for a period of 144 h. The test media were high (↑) Ca2+ (2 mmol/L) without (−) HS, ↑Ca2+ with (+) HS (5 mg C/L), low (↓) Ca2+ (0.2 mmol/L) −HS, and ↓Ca2+ +HS. Mortality was observed every 24 h up to 144 h. The increasing toxicity ranking of acriflavine based on LC50 v...

There is an urgent need for new drugs in the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas' disease and leishmaniasis. This article provides an overview of current drugs, formulations and their deficiencies. Targets for the design of new drugs and the rational provided for targeting enzymes of the trypanothione cycle are described. Biochemical aspects of the cycle and the currently investigated target trypanothione reductase are discussed as are the several classes of inhibitors and their in vitro potencies. Evidence is provided for considering the tryparedoxins as a new target for antiprotozoal chemotherapy and a summary of glutathione-based inhibitors with significant in vitro activity is reported.

The diseases caused by protozoan parasite are responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity, affecting more than 500 million of people in the world. The epidemiological control of protozoan is unsatisfactory due to difficulties of vector and reservoir control; while the progress in the development of vaccine tends to be slow and arduous. Currently, the chemotherapy remains essential component of both clinical management and disease control programmer in endemic areas. The drugs in use as anti-protozoan agents were discovered over 50 years and a number of factors limit their utility such as: high cost, poor compliance, drug resistance, low efficacy and poor safety. In the recent years, the searches about the development of new drugs against protozoa parasite have been increased. This special issue of The Open Medicinal Chemistry Journal will present some of developments in this field with the aim to shown the significant advances in the discovery of new anti-protozoan drugs.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is the combination of light-absorbing chemicals, light and oxygen leading to the production of reactive oxygen species resulting in the destruction or catastrophic damage to adjacent cells. Antimicrobial PDT (aPDT) is the use of PDT to eradicate pathogenic bacteria, fungus, virus or protozoa. aPDT can be deployed for water purification, air purification and human antimicrobial applications. Antimicrobial PDT has been demonstrated in multiple human case series to be a promising clinical treatment of various bacterial, fungal, viral and protozoan diseases. Although there are to date relatively few regulatory approvals for aPDT treatment of human diseases, a number of controlled multi-institutional clinical trials are underway to assess the effectiveness of aPDT as compared to standard of care therapies of various bacterial biofilm related diseases.

The first synthesis of diospyrin [2,6′-bis(5-hydroxy-7-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone), 1] was achieved by employing Suzuki coupling between 5 and 14 as the key reaction to connect the two 7-methyljuglone units.

Se ha aplicado la topología molecular a la búsqueda de nuevos derivados del benzimidazol con actividad antiprotozoaria frente a Trichomonas vaginalis y Giardia intestinalis. A partir de los resultados del análisis lineal discriminante, dos modelos basados en cuatro descriptores (en el caso de T. vaginalis) y cinco descriptores (en el caso de G. intestinalis) demostraron ser capaces de predecir correctamente la actividad de cada compuesto analizado. Después de un cribado virtual aplicando ambos modelos, se proponen nuevas estructuras químicas potencialmente activas frente a T. vaginalis y G. intestinalis. Molecular topology has been applied to search for new benzimidazole derivatives with antiprotozoal activity against Trichomonas vaginalis and Giardia intestinalis. From linear discriminant analysis results, two models based on 4 descriptors (in the case of T. vaginalis) and 5 descriptors (in the case of G. intestinalis), demonstrated to be capable to predict correctly the activity of each compound tested. After a virtual screening using both models, new chemical structures potentially active against T. vaginalis and G. intestinalis are proposed. Ciencias Experimentales

Summary: Bivalve mollusc culture is a well-developed marine aquaculture activity in many countries around the world, notably in the northern hemisphere. During the development of this activity, numerous countries have been confronted with infectious diseases of varying severity and duration. Research has been conducted to determine the aetiology, epidemiology and control measures for these epizootics. Major epizootics in bivalve molluscs have been caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoan parasites. Moreover, important commercial relations exist in marine mollusc culture between different geographical areas. This must be taken into account in explaining the appearance and the spread of some infectious diseases in several countries around the world. The author concentrates on some viral and protozoan diseases ofbivalve ulOlluscs reported in the northern hemisphere, in view of their economic impact and their spread related to movements of molluscs through trade.

Microscopy still remains the gold standard procedure for the diagnosis of many protozoan infections in animals, but the specific identification requires skilled and experienced personnel. Immunoassays, detecting antibodies or specific protozoan antigens, have been developed but often lack sensitivity and specificity due to close relationship between many protozoa. Recent research has focussed almost exclusively on molecular based techniques for the identification and quantification of parasite DNA in samples. Opinion differ on most appropriate targets to use and there are very few diagnostic kits available making comparison between laboratories difficult. Future research needs to focus on robust, cheap field diagnostic assays.

M.Sc. In this research project, a variety of sites and ecosystems were studied. These ranged from tropical coral reefs (north-eastern Coast of Australia), to warm temperate intertidal pools (South Coast of South Africa, SA) and sub-tropical estuaries (East Coast of SA). The overall aims of the thesis were to examine the haematophagous gnathiid ectoparasites and blood protozoans of some host teleosts found in these systems, and to some extent to investigate the role gnathiids might play as vectors of the protozoans. Gnathiid research in Australia on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) focuses mainly on gnathiid ecology and not taxonomy. This is not the case in SA, where gnathiid taxonomy is researched more regularly and gnathiid ecology has received little attention. In this thesis, two new gnathiid species, Gnathia aureamaculosa and Gnathia sp. B, were described from a number of teleost fishes of the GBR and several morphological features, including live colouration patterns, were highlighted as useful in future gnathiid identification and discrimination. The feeding ecology of Gnathia africana from SA was also examined and this feeding study was based on similar work done on coral reef gnathiids in Australia. Gnathiids of the GBR are mainly nocturnal due to cleaner fish predation during the day, whereas G. africana was found to have a preference for dawn/early morning/midday feeding on an intertidal teleost, Clinus superciliosus. Gnathia africana‟s behaviour/feeding patterns, especially of its different juvenile stages, are therefore determined by time of day, and likely by locality and predation by other organisms, such as fishes, though probably not by cleaner fish. Gnathiid feeding behaviours/patterns are thus, it seems, determined by environmental and biological factors, and these vary according to the type of ecosystem studied. Several gnathiids and fish blood protozoan species are known from the South Coast of SA, but the East Coast has remained largely unexplored. Sampling along the East Coast yielded the first records of haemogregarines from the blood of fishes in this region, in particular new hosts and locality records probably for both probable Haemogregarina bigemina and a Haemogregarina quadrigemina – like haemogregarine. However, both haemogregarines displayed unusual features compared with the original species descriptions, in size, development patterns, or effect on host cells. Limited data suggested that juveniles of Gnathia pilosus were possible haematophagous vectors of these haemogregarines, but further studies are required to confirm this.

Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran was a French army physician. His 1880 discovery of the malaria parasite and other contributions to medical parasitology merited the 1907 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He also worked on sleeping sickness, Leishmaniasis and other parasitic human and animal diseases. Key Concepts: The parasite of malaria was discovered in 1880. Malaria was an important disease in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. Keywords: malaria; sleeping sickness; Institut Pasteur; parasitology; protozoan diseases

Ticks are one of the best known groups of parasites. They have accompanied humans and their domestic animals throughout recorded history (Hoogstraal 1970 and subsequent volumes) and have become a major focus of medical and veterinary research, not only because of their direct pathogenic influence on hosts, such as blood loss and tick-induced paralysis (Gothe 1999; Pfaffle et al. 2009), but more importantly because of their role as vectors of a very wide range of viral, bacterial and protozoan diseases (Nicholson et al. 2009). Indeed, ticks are of considerable economic importance as a constraint to animal production in most of the countries where they occur (Jongejan and Uilenberg 2004). Despite this sinister background, ticks are a fascinating, highly successful group, manifesting a wide variety of adaptations to their hosts and the environments in which they live.

Aims: To review the literature on infectious diseases and meteorological and climate change risk factors in the New Zealand context and to describe a tentative research agenda for future work. Methods: We performed literature searches in May 2010 using Medline and Google Scholar. We also searched five health-related government agencies in New Zealand for documentation on climate change and health. Results: The effect of climate variability and change on vector-borne disease has been considered in more detail than any other infectious disease topic (n=20+ journal articles and reports relating to New Zealand). Generally, concern has arisen around the risk of new mosquito incursions and increased risks of dengue and Ross River fevers in the long term. For enteric diseases, the picture from five New Zealand publications is somewhat mixed, although the data indicate that salmonellosis notifications increase with higher monthly temperatures. One interpretation of the New Zealand data is that communities without reticulated water supplies could be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change-mediated increases in protozoan diseases. This information informed a tentative research agenda to address research gaps. Priorities include the need for further work on a more integrated surveillance framework, vector-borne diseases, enteric diseases, skin infections, and then work on topics for which we found no published New Zealand work (such as influenza and leptospirosis). Finally, we found that health-related government agencies in New Zealand have relatively little ‘climate change and health’ information on their websites. Conclusions: Although some informative work has been done to date, much scope remains for additional research and planning to facilitate prevention, mitigation, and adaptation responses in the New Zealand setting around climate change and infectious disease risks. The tentative research agenda produced could benefit from a wider critique, and government agencies in New Zealand could contribute to informed discussions by better documenting the current state of knowledge on their websites. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The varied geographic areas in which American troops are stationed or operating in the present war are such as to expose them to a variety of diseases, some of which, though not rarities in the respective locales where infections may occur, are exotic if considered in the light of daily medical practice in the United States. Some of the diseases are of more serious consequence in the chronic stages than in the more acute periods and, unfortunately, more difficult to diagnose then. Many of the tropical protozoan diseases are of this character. It is a matter of no small consequence, therefore, that all physicians in the United States should have a wider knowledge of these and other tropical diseases than a mere acquaintance with their names. Clinical reports of the observations made by medical officers serving with American forces in the various theaters of operations will do much to acquaint