Improving Molecular Epidemiological Surveillance of Strongyloidiasis Upon Differentiation of Strongyloides fuelleborni fuelleborni From Strongyloides stercoralis.

Molecular epidemiological surveillance for zoonotic strongyloidiasis is confounded by a genus-specific TaqMan probe assay that conflates Strongyloides fuelleborni fuelleborni with Strongyloides stercoralis. To improve surveillance, we developed and validated a novel duplex species-specific TaqMan probe assay, screening a representative collection of available clinical samples. Our assay was highly discriminatory, evidencing no cross-reactivity, and had a lowest DNA detection limit of 1 pg/µL.

A comparative study of traditional and molecular diagnostic methods for detection of gastrointestinal parasites in Nepalese migrants to the UK.

Background: We evaluated the results of examining a single faecal sample for gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) using a combination of traditional methods with multiplex qPCR for helminths and protozoa, compared to a reference standard of examining three faecal samples from each person using traditional diagnostic methods alone.

Methods: Three faecal samples were collected at weekly intervals from 596 healthy Nepalese men. Each sample underwent formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) concentration and light microscopy, and charcoal culture.

Gastrointestinal parasite infections in Nepalese Gurkha recruits arriving in the United Kingdom from 2012-2020.

Background: Gastrointestinal parasite (GIP) infections are a major cause of global morbidity, infecting hundreds of millions of people each year and potentially leading to lifelong infection and serious complications. Few data exist on screening for GIP infections in migrants entering the UK or on the current performance of different traditional diagnostic approaches. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of GIP infections in Nepalese Gurkha recruits screened on arrival in the UK.

Assessment of the Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis HScore in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

The clinical manifestation of moderate to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has parallels to secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) both clinically and based on molecular inflammatory response. We found no evidence to support the utility of risk-stratifying COVID-19 patients using risk scoring methodology designed for HLH.

Repeated secondary loss of adaptin complex genes in the Apicomplexa.

The Apicomplexa include parasites of devastating medical and economic consequence. While obviously essential for their parasitic mechanism, the molecular machinery underpinning membrane-trafficking in many apicomplexans is poorly understood. One potentially key set of players, the adaptins, selects cargo for incorporation into trafficking vesicles.