Parasitic Diseases Lectures #37: Juvenile Tapeworm Infections 🪱 Dickson and Daniel discuss juvenile tapeworm infections, including those caused by Taenia solium (cysticercosis), Echinococcus, Mesocestoides, Spirometra, and Taenia multiceps. 📺 bit.ly/4Bi9kFr

What are Neglected Tropical Diseases or NTDs and why are they neglected? 🌍 NTDs are a group of 21 conditions that affect more than one billion people globally. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and toxins. They're classified as neglected because they have historically been almost absent from the global health agenda. They disproportionally affect those who lack safe water, sanitation, adequate housing, education, and information, as well as excessively affecting women, girls, and underserved and mobile communities. While the largest number of people requiring NTD interventions live in Asia, the largest share of the burden of disease in terms of mortality and morbidity is found in Africa. The 21 NTDs are: • Buruli ulcer • Chagas disease • dengue and chikungunya • dracunculiasis • echinococcosis • foodborne trematodiases • human African trypanosomiasis • leishmaniasis • leprosy • lymphatic filariasis • mycetoma, chromoblastomycosis, and other deep mycoses • noma • onchocerciasis • rabies • scabies and other ectoparasitoses • schistosomiasis • soil-transmitted helminthiases • snakebite envenoming • taeniasis/cysticercosis • trachoma • yaws

The Big Red Book made its way to Hungary 📕 Ferenc Balázs Farkas, M.D., an Infectious Diseases Resident and student at the Pediatric Center at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, requested a textbook to help him in his training as well as his humanitarian trips to Africa (past deployments include Uganda, Kenya, and Chad). “The textbook will accompany me into the field to help guide real-time clinical decisions where resources are scarce,” Ferenc told us about his time in Africa. “It will also help me here at home. Resources dedicated to tropical medicine and parasitology are pretty rare in our region. Having a physical copy would be an invaluable asset for our department, helping us be better doctors, as well as teachers, in recognizing conditions we rarely see in daily Central European practice.”

Onchocerca volvulus is a parasitic filarial nematode that causes onchocerciasis (commonly known as river blindness). O. volvulus distribution follows that of the dipteran vectors. Black flies breed in fast-running water of mountainous streams in regions of Africa and South and Central America and have a fairly long flight range. Thus, onchocerciasis can be found several miles from the nearest endemic breeding site. Because much of the world’s coffee is grown on mountainous hillsides, the prevalence of onchocerciasis among workers on coffee plantations is high. Page 285 📕 Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition Download a copy for free! parasiteswithoutborders.com/…

Guinea Worm 🪱 The first descriptions of Dracunculus medinensis infection can be found on papyrus dating back to 1500 BCE. D. medinensis worms have been found in Egyptian mummies. One of the most recognizable features of D. medinensis is the treatment for this infection, which involves the removal of the adult female by slowly wrapping it around a stick to extract the worm. Page 298 📕 Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition Download a copy for free! parasiteswithoutborders.com/… 📸 The Carter Center/CDC

Taenia saginata occurs wherever cattle husbandry is prevalent and where human feces is not disposed of properly. It is commonly called the “beef tapeworm” because the juvenile stage of the parasite is found only in cattle, the intermediate host. Page 331 📕 Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition Download a copy for free! parasiteswithoutborders.com/… 📸 Adult T. saginata. Note the position of the scolex (arrow). Courtesy of U. Martin.

Planning for the future of PWB. 🌎 This past week, our President, Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, and Directors, Charles “Chuck” Knirsch, MD, MPH and Vincent Racaniello, PhD, got together at Hayden Backcountry Lodge in Colorado to strategize and plan for the next 10 years of Parasites Without Borders. The lodge is located in the Richmond Basin above Ouray, Colorado and it proved the perfect recess from the hustle and bustle of New York City. We can’t wait to share with you all what we’ve been working on!