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Special Issue "Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Human Parasitic Infections"

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A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitic Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 February 2024 | Viewed by 3543

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marcia Aparecida Speranca

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, Center for Natural and Human Sciences of Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: chagas’s disease; leishmaniasis; molecular biology

Dr. Aline Diniz Cabral

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, Veterinary, Discipline of Parasitology, São Caetano University, São Caetano do Sul, Brazil
Interests: toxoplasmosis; trypanosomíases; epidemiology of parasitic diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Anthropogenic movements result in modifications of the wild natural habitat, such as the destruction of forest areas, the introduction of domestic animals and the alteration of sanitation conditions. Global-warming-related changes can lead to the uncontrolled proliferation and dispersion of arthropod vectors of parasitic infectious diseases, such as malaria, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. Others parasitic diseases associated with poor sanitation conditions include giardiasis, toxoplasmosis and diseases caused by helminths and flatworms. Considering the diversity of biomes, investigation into the eco-epidemiological and evolutionary relationships among parasites is critical for the detection, prevention and clinical management of parasitic infectious diseases.

Dr. Marcia Aparecida Speranca
Dr. Aline Diniz Cabral
Guest Editors

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Keywords

parasitic infectious diseases
eco-epidemiology
diagnosis
treatment
clinical management
prevention

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 731 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Performance of the Novodiag^® Stool Parasites Assay for the Detection of Intestinal Protozoa and Microsporidia

and

Pathogens 2023, 12(7), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12070889 - 29 Jun 2023

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Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to assess the performance of the Novodiag^® Stool Parasites (NSP) assay in the diagnosis of the most common intestinal protozoan and microsporidia infections. Methods: A panel of 167 selected stool samples was retrospectively analysed with the NSP assay and compared to routine microscopy and qPCR methods for the detection of pathogenic protozoa and microsporidia. Results: Whereas specificity was high for all protozoa and microsporidia, NSP sensitivity was strongly dependent on the comparative method used as reference. When compared to microscopic methods, NSP sensitivity was high (96.7 to 100%) for Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba histolytica and Cyclospora cayetanensis but was lower for Giardia intestinalis (85.2%) and ≤50% for Cystoisospora belli and Dientamoeba fragilis. In comparison to conventional qPCR, the NSP assay demonstrated lower sensitivity characteristics dependent on parasite loads, reaching 60 to 70% for G. intestinalis, D. fragilis, Cryptosporidium spp. and E. histolytica. Sensitivity was 100% for Enterocytozoon bieneusi, but none of the five samples containing Encephalitozoon spp. were detected. Conclusions: The overall performance of the NSP assay in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal protozoa and microsporidia seems to be better than or equivalent to that observed with microscopic methods but inferior to that obtainable with classical targeted qPCR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Human Parasitic Infections)

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14 pages, 1802 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Low Variability of Tc24 in Trypanosoma cruzi TcI as an Advantage for Chagas Disease Prophylaxis and Diagnosis in Mexico

Pathogens 2023, 12(3), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12030368 - 23 Feb 2023

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Abstract

(1) Background: Chagas disease is the main neglected tropical disease in America. It is estimated that around 6 million people are currently infected with the parasite in Latin America, and 25 million live in endemic areas with active transmission. The disease causes an estimated economic loss of USD 24 billion dollars annually, with a loss of 75,200 working years per year of life; it is responsible for around ~12,000 deaths annually. Although Mexico is an endemic country that recorded 10,186 new cases of Chagas disease during the period of 1990–2017, few studies have evaluated the genetic diversity of genes that could be involved in the prophylaxis and/or diagnosis of the parasite. One of the possible candidates proposed as a vaccine target is the 24 kDa trypomastigote excretory–secretory protein, Tc24, whose protection is linked to the stimulation of T. cruzi-specific CD8⁺ immune responses. (2) Methods: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the fine-scale genetic diversity and structure of Tc24 in T. cruzi isolates from Mexico, and to compare them with other populations reported in the Americas with the aim to reconsider the potential role of Tc24 as a key candidate for the prophylaxis and improvement of the diagnosis of Chagas disease in Mexico. (3) Results: Of the 25 Mexican isolates analysed, 48% (12) were recovered from humans and 24% (6) recovered from Triatoma barberi and Triatoma dimidiata. Phylogenetic inferences revealed a polytomy in the T. cruzi clade with two defined subgroups, one formed by all sequences of the DTU I and the other formed by DTU II–VI; both subgroups had high branch support. Genetic population analysis detected a single (monomorphic) haplotype of TcI throughout the entire distribution across both Mexico and South America. This information was supported by Nei’s pairwise distances, where the sequences of TcI showed no genetic differences. (4) Conclusions: Given that both previous studies and the findings of the present work confirmed that TcI is the only genotype detected from human isolates obtained from various states of Mexico, and that there is no significant genetic variability in any of them, it is possible to propose the development of in silico strategies for the production of antigens that optimise the diagnosis of Chagas disease, such as quantitative ELISA methods that use this region of Tc24. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Human Parasitic Infections)

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8 pages, 478 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Chagas VirClia^® and Chagas TESA VirClia^® for the Diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi Infection

Isabel García-Bermejo

David Molina Arana

Gloria Zaragoza Vargas

Blanca Carrasco Fernández

Emilia García

Javier Nieto

and

Maria Delmans Flores-Chávez

Pathogens 2023, 12(1), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12010050 - 28 Dec 2022

Viewed by 980

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is an important problem of public health even in regions where it is not endemic. Spain ranks second worldwide in terms of imported cases of T. cruzi infection in the chronic phase. The diagnosis in this stage is made via the detection of antibodies against T. cruzi. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of two fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassays, Chagas VirClia^® (CHR), which uses a mixture of recombinant antigens, and Chagas TESA VirClia^® (TESA), the first chemiluminescence assay based on excretion-secretion antigens of trypomastigotes, both designed in monotest format. A retrospective case–control study was performed using 105 well-characterized samples: 49 from patients with CD, 22 from uninfected individuals, and 32 from patients with other pathologies. Sensitivity was 98% for CHR and 92% for TESA. In contrast, the specificity in both was 100%. Cross-reactivity was observed in leishmaniasis (2/10). CHR meets the criteria to become a tool for serological screening, while TESA has the potential for confirmation and cross-reaction discrimination. The monotest format allows its application in laboratories with a small number of samples. The high specificity of both assays is useful in areas where leishmaniasis is endemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Clinical Management of Human Parasitic Infections)

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