Efficacy of short-course treatment for prevention of congenital transmission of Chagas disease: A retrospective cohort study
by Guillermo Moscatelli, Samanta Moroni, Juan Carlos Ram írez, Belén Warszatska, Lascano Fernanda, Nicolás González, Andrés Rabinovich, Jaime Altcheh
BackgroundIn regions with controlled vector transmission ofT.cruzi, congenital transmission is the most frequent route of infection. Treatment with benznidazole (BZ) or nifurtimox (NF) for 60 days in girls and women of childbearing age showed to be effective in preventing mother to child transmission of this disease. Reports on short-course treatment ( ≤30 days) are scarce. MethodsRetrospective cohort study. Offspring of women with Chagas disease who received short-cou...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 22, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Guillermo Moscatelli Source Type: research
MicroRNA-194 regulates parasitic load and IL-1 β-dependent nitric oxide production in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of dogs with leishmaniasis
by Sidnei Ferro Costa, Matheus Fujimura Soares, Jaqueline Poleto Bragato, Marilene Oliveira dos Santos, Gabriela Torres Rebech, J éssica Henrique de Freitas, Valéria Marçal Felix de Lima
Domestic dogs are the primary urban reservoirs ofLeishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis. In Canine Leishmaniasis (CanL), modulation of the host ’s immune response may be associated with the expression of small non-coding RNAs called microRNA (miR). miR-194 expression increases in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of dogs with leishmaniasis with a positive correlation with the parasite load and in ...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 19, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Sidnei Ferro Costa Source Type: research
Chagas cardiomyopathy in Boston, Massachusetts: Identifying disease and improving management after community and hospital-based screening
ConclusionsThese data show high rates of cardiac complications in a cohort of migrants living with Chagas disease in a non-endemic setting. We demonstrate that Chagas disease diagnosis prompts cardiac evaluation which often identifies actionable cardiac disease and provides opportunities for prevention and treatment. (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 19, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Katherine A. Reifler Source Type: research
Association between arterial stiffness and < i > Loa loa < /i > microfilaremia in a rural area of the Republic of Congo: A population-based cross-sectional study (the MorLo project)
ConclusionA potential link between highL.loa microfilaremia and cardiovascular health deterioration is suggested. Further studies are required to confirm and explore this association. (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 19, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: J érémy T. Campillo Source Type: research
Development and validation of a minimum requirements checklist for snakebite envenoming treatment in the Brazilian Amazonia
ConclusionThis study joins an international set of evidence advocating for decentralization, adding value in its definition of essential care items; identification of training needs across the care continuum; and demonstration of the validity, reliability, and feasibility provided by engaging local experts. Specific to Brazil, further added value comes in the potential use of the checklist for health unit accreditation as well as its applications to logistics and resource distribution. Future research priorities should apply this checklist to health units in the Amazon region of Brazil to determine which community health c...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 19, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Thiago Serr ão-Pinto Source Type: research
Mpox: The alarm went off. Have we gone back to sleep?
by Piero Olliaro, Josephine Bourner, Yap Boum II, Emmanuel Nakoun é, Elise Pesonel, Amanda Rojek, Yazdan Yazdanpanah, François-Xavier Lescure, Alexandra Calmy, Beatriz Grinsztejn, Peter Horby, Laura Merson, Jake Dunning (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 18, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Piero Olliaro Source Type: research
Deletion of the lipid droplet protein kinase gene affects lipid droplets biogenesis, parasite infectivity, and resistance to trivalent antimony in < i > Leishmania infantum < /i >
by Juliana Martins Ribeiro, Paula Alves Silva, H éllida Marina Costa-Silva, Ana Maria Murta Santi, Silvane Maria Fonseca Murta
The Lipid Droplet Protein Kinase (LDK) facilitates lipid droplet (LD) biogenesis, organelles involved in various metabolic and signaling functions in trypanosomatids. As LDK ’s function has not been previously explored inLeishmania spp., we utilized CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generateLDK-knockout lines ofLeishmania infantum to investigate its role in this parasite. Our findings demonstrate thatLDK is not an essential gene forL.infantum, as its deletion did not impede parasite survival. Furthermo...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 18, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Juliana Martins Ribeiro Source Type: research
Seasonal prediction of the distribution of three major malaria vectors in China: Based on an ecological niche model
by Qi An, Yuepeng Li, Zhuo Sun, Xiang Gao, Hongbin Wang
Against the backdrop of a global malaria epidemic that remains severe, China has eradicated indigenous malaria but still has to be alert to the risk of external importation. Understanding the distribution of vectors can provide an adequate and reliable basis for the development and implementation of vector control strategies. However, with the decline of malaria prevalence in recent years, the capacity of vector monitoring and identification has been greatly weakened. Here we have used new sampling records, climatic data, and topographic data to establish ecological ...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 18, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Qi An Source Type: research
High prevalence of Zika virus infection in populations of < i > Aedes aegypti < /i > from South-western Ecuador
by Andrea L ópez-Rosero, Rachel Sippy, Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra, Sadie J. Ryan, Erin Mordecai, Froilán Heras, Efraín Beltrán, Jaime A. Costales, Marco Neira
We performed an arboviral survey in mosquitoes from four endemic Ecuadorian cities (Huaquillas, Machala, Portovelo and Zaruma) during the epidemic period 2016 –2018. Collections were performed during the pre-rainy season (2016), peak transmission season (2017) and post-rainy season (2018).Ae.aegypti mosquitoes were pooled by date, location and sex. Pools were screened by RT-PCR for the presence of ZIKV RNA, and infection rates (IRs) per 1,000 specimens were calcul...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 18, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Andrea L ópez-Rosero Source Type: research
The psychosocial burden of cutaneous leishmaniasis in rural Sri Lanka: A multi-method qualitative study
by Hasara Nuwangi, Lisa Dikomitis, Kosala Gayan Weerakoon, Suneth Buddhika Agampodi, Thilini Chanchala Agampodi
Leishmaniasis is a tropical infectious disease affecting some of the world ’s most economically disadvantaged and resource-poor regions. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common out of the three clinical types of Leishmaniasis. Since 1904 this disease has been endemic in Sri Lanka. CL is considered a disfiguring stigmatising disease with a higher psychosocial burd en. However, there needs to be a more in-depth, holistic understanding of the psychosocial burden of this disease, both locally and internati...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 18, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Hasara Nuwangi Source Type: research
An α-Gal antigenic surrogate as a biomarker of treatment evaluation in < i > Trypanosoma cruzi < /i > -infected children. A retrospective cohort study
by Manuel Abal, Virginia Balouz, Rosana Lopez, M. Eugenia Giorgi, Carla Marino, Cintia V. Cruz, Jaime Altcheh, Carlos A. Buscaglia
BackgroundProper evaluation of therapeutic responses in Chagas disease is hampered by the prolonged persistence of antibodies toTrypanosoma cruzi measured by conventional serological tests and by the lack of sensitivity of parasitological tests. Previous studies indicated that tGPI-mucins, an α-Gal (α-d-Galp(1 →3)-β-d-Galp(1 →4)-d-GlcNAc)-rich fraction obtained fromT.cruzi trypomastigotes surface coat, elicit a strong and protective antibody response in infected individuals, which disapp...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 18, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Manuel Abal Source Type: research
< i > Fasciola < /i > spp. in Southeast Asia: A systematic review
Conclusions/SignificanceOur study reconfirms thatFasciola spp. infections are widespread and highly prevalent in Southeast Asia, but it remains difficult to accurately assess the true occurrence ofFasciola spp. in absence of well-designed surveys covering all hosts. As next steps we propose to assess the occurrence of the infection across all actors involved in the transmission, to identify associated risk factors and to estimate the burden of the disease to support national and international decision makers. (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 17, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Vinh Hoang Quang Source Type: research
The lymphatic filariasis treatment study landscape: A systematic review of study characteristics and the case for an individual participant data platform
ConclusionsThe LF treatment study landscape is heterogeneous, but the abundance of studies and related IPD suggest that establishing a global data repository to facilitate IPD meta-analyses would be feasible and useful to address unresolved questions on variation in treatment outcomes across geographies, demographics and in underrepresented groups. New studies using more standardized approaches should be initiated to address the scarcity and inconsistency of data on morbidity management. (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 16, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Luzia T. Freitas Source Type: research
Enabling targeted mass drug administration for schistosomiasis in north-western Tanzania: Exploring the use of geostatistical modeling to inform planning at sub-district level
ConclusionsGeostatistical models can help to support NTD program efficiency and reduce disease transmission by facilitating WHO recommended targeted MDA treatment through provision of prevalence estimates where data is scarce. (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 16, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Jake D. Mathewson Source Type: research
Choclo virus (CHOV) recovered from deep metatranscriptomics of archived frozen tissues in natural history biorepositories
ConclusionsViruses occurring at extremely low abundances can be recovered from deep metatranscriptomics of archival tissues housed in research natural history museum biorepositories. Our efforts resulted in the second CHOV genome publicly available. This genomic data is important for future surveillance and diagnostic tools as well as understanding the evolution and pathogenicity of CHOV. (Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases)
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - January 12, 2024 Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Paris S. Salazar-Hamm Source Type: research
