Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) collectively infect one fourth of all human beings, and the majority of livestock in the developing world. These gastrointestinal nematodes are the most important parasites on earth with regard to their prevalence in humans and livestock. Current anthelmintic drugs are losing their efficacies due to increasing drug resistance, particularly in STHs of livestock and drug treatment is often followed by rapid reinfection due to failure of the immune system to develop a protective response. Vaccines against STHs offer what drugs cannot accomplish alone. Because such vaccines would have to be produced on such a large scale, and be cost effective, recombinant subunit vaccines that include a minimum number of proteins produced in relatively simple and inexpensive expression systems are required. Here, we summarize all of the previous studies pertaining to recombinant subunit vaccines for STHs of humans and livestock with the goal of both informing the public of just how critical these parasites are, and to help guide future developments. We also discuss several key areas of vaccine development, which we believe to be critical for developing more potent recombinant subunit vaccines with broad-spectrum protection.

Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora spp., Sarcocystis spp., Hammondia spp. and Besnoitia besnoiti are genetically related cyst-forming coccidia. Serology is frequently used for the identification of T. gondii, Neospora spp. and B. besnoiti-exposed individuals. Serologic cross-reactions occur in different tests among animals infected with T. gondii and H. hammondi, as well as among animals infected by T. gondii and N. caninum. Infections caused by N. caninum and N. hughesi are almost indistinguishable by serology. Neospora caninum, B. besnoiti and Sarcocystis spp. infections in cattle show some degree of serologic cross-reactivity. Antibody cross-reactivity between Neospora spp. and H. heydorni-infected animals is suspected, but not proven to occur. We review serologic cross-reactivity among animals and/or humans infected with T. gondii, Neospora spp., Sarcocystis spp., Hammondia spp. and B. besnoiti. Emphasis is laid upon antigens and serological methods for N. caninum diagnosis which were tested for cross-reactivity with related protozoa. Species-specific antigens, as well as stage-specific proteins have been identified in some of these parasites and have promising use for diagnosis and epidemiological surveys.

In an interconnected world, the international pet trade on wild animals is becoming increasingly important. As a consequence, non-native parasite species are introduced, which affect the health of wildlife and contribute to the loss of biodiversity. Because the investigation of parasite diversity within vulnerable host species implies the molecular identification of large samples of parasite eggs, the sequencing of DNA barcodes is time-consuming and costly. Thereby, the objectives of our study were to apply the high resolution melting (HRM) approach for species determination from pools of parasite eggs. Molecular assays were validated on flatworm parasites (polystomes) infecting the Mediterranean pond turtle Mauremys leprosa and the invasive red-eared slider Trachemys scripta elegans in French natural environments. HRM analysis results indicated that double or multiple parasitic infections could be detected from wild animal populations. They also showed that the cycle of parasite eggs production was not regular over time and may depend on several factors, among which the ecological niche and the target species. Thereby, monitoring parasites from wild endangered animals implies periodic parasitological surveys to avoid false negative diagnostics, based solely on eggs production.

During microbial infections, both innate and adaptive immunity are activated. Viruses and bacteria usually induce an acute inflammation in the first setting of infection, which helps the eliciting an effective immune response. In contrast, macroparasites such as helminths are a highly successful group of invaders known to be capable of maintaining a chronic infestation with the minimum instigation. Undoubtedly, generating such an immunoregulatory environment requires the exploitation of various immunosuppressive mechanisms to debilitate host immunity supporting their survival and replication. Several mechanisms have been recognized whereby helminths prolong their infections including an increase of immunoregulatory cells, inhibition of Th1 or Th2 responses, targeting pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and lowering the immune cells quantity via induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis is a programmed intracellular process involving a series of consecutive downstream signalling event evolved to cell death. It plays a pivotal role in several immunological reactions in particular deletion of autoreactive immune cells. Helminth-triggered apoptosis in immune cells exhausts host immunity, which paves the way for generating a permissive environment and chronic infection. This review provides a compilation of recent investigations discussing the apoptotic mechanisms exploited by different worms and the immunological consequences of immune cell death. Finally, the anti-cancer effects of some worm-derived molecules due to their apoptotic effects are discussed, highlighting as potentially druggable candidates to combat cancer.

Periodontal diseases (gingivitis and periodontitis), result from a disruption of the host–oral microbiome homoeostasis. Whereas the pathological role of some specific bacterial strains during periodontal diseases is well documented, the impact of parasites in periodontium pathophysiology is still under debate. This review aims to collect data about the prevalence and the potential role of Trichomonas tenax during periodontal diseases. Data from 47 studies revealed that T. tenax prevalence in diseased periodontium ranged from 0 to 94·1%. The prevalence of oral protozoan infections was found to be largely greater in patients with periodontal diseases than with healthy periodontium. The parasite detection was mainly performed by direct microscopy. Trichomonas tenax presence was clearly correlated with periodontal disease. The high heterogeneity of its periodontal prevalence may be correlated with the diversity of the population screened (age, sex, systemic diseases), and the methods used for diagnosis. This protozoan seems to have the capacity to be involved in the inflammatory process of gum disease. Animal experimentation, using relevant physiopathological models of periodontitis, needs to be performed to investigate the ability of T. tenax to cause and/or worsen the disease. Further investigations using standardized experimental designs of epidemiologic studies are also needed.

The synthesis and antiprotozoal activity of some simple dialkyl pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylates (compounds 2–6) and their sodium salts (pyrazolates) (compounds 7–9) against Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis are reported. In most cases the studied compounds showed, especially against the clinically significant amastigote forms, in vitro activities higher than those of the reference drugs (benznidazole for T. cruzi and glucantime for Leishmania spp.); furthermore, the low non-specific cytotoxicities against Vero cells and macrophages shown by these compounds led to good selectivity indexes, which are 8–72 times higher for T. cruzi amastigotes and 15–113 times higher for Leishmania spp. amastigotes than those of the respective reference drugs. The high efficiency of diethyl ester 3 and its sodium salt 8 against the mentioned protozoa was confirmed by further in vitro assays on infection rates and by an additional in vivo study in a murine model of acute and chronic Chagas disease. The inhibitory capacity of compounds 3 and 8 on the essential iron superoxide dismutase of the aforementioned parasites may be related to the observed anti-trypanosomatid activity. The low acute toxicity of compounds 3 and 8 in mice is also reported in this article.

Studies of topical treatments for leishmaniasis were systematically reviewed, to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy, safety and any adverse effects of these treatments. The papers identified in the databases PubMed and Web of Knowledge involved eight studies with a total of 1744 patients. The majority of trials was from Iran (4/8), covered a period of 8 years (2003–2011), and included patients 4–85 years of age. The most frequent Leishmania species in the studies were L. tropica (4/8) and L. major (2/8). The treatments administered were thermotherapy, paromomycin and combinations, CO2 laser, 5-aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride (10%) plus visible red light (633 nm) and cryotherapy. Six articles reported cure rates over 80·0%. Six studies reported on failure rates, three of them reporting rates lower than 10%. Four studies did not report relapses or recurrences, while the other studies reported low rates (1·8–6·3%). The most common adverse effects of the topical treatments were redness/erythema, pain, pruritus burning, oedema, vesicles and hyper- or hypopigmentation. The results provide strong evidence that the treatments topical evaluated showed high cure rates, safety and effectiveness, with low side-effects, relapse and recurrence rates, except for cryotherapy, which showed a moderate cure rate.

Chagas disease and sleeping sickness are neglected tropical diseases closely related to poverty, for which the development of plant-derived treatments has not been a promising prospect. Thus, we systematicaly review the preclinical in vivo evidence on the applicability of plant-based products in the treatment of Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei infections. Characteristics such as disease models, treatments, toxicological safety and methodological bias were analysed. We recovered 66 full text articles from 16 countries investigating 91 plant species. The disease models and treatments were highly variable. Most studies used native (n = 36, 54·54%) or exotic (n = 30, 45·46%) plants with ethnodirected indication (n = 45, 68·18%) for trypanosomiasis treatment. Complete phytochemical screening and toxicity assays were reported in only 15 (22·73%) and 32 (48·49%) studies, respectively. The currently available preclinical evidence is at high risk of bias. The absence of or incomplete characterization of animal models, treatment protocols, and phytochemical/toxicity analyses impaired the internal validity of the individual studies. Contradictory results of a same plant species compromise the external validity of the evidence, making it difficult determine the effectiveness, safety and biotechnological potential of plant-derived products in the development of new anti-infective agents to treat T. cruzi and T. brucei infections.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease, which needs improvements in drug development, mainly due to the toxicity, parasite resistance and low compliance of patients to treatment. Therefore, the development of new chemotherapeutic compounds is an urgent need. This opinion article will briefly highlight the feasible use of calpain inhibitors as leading compounds to search for new therapeutic options to treat leishmaniasis. The milestone of this approach is to take advantage on the myriad of inhibitors developed against calpains, some of which are in advanced clinical trials. The deregulated activity of these enzymes is associated with several pathologies, such as strokes, diabetes and Parkinson's disease, to name a few. In Leishmania, calpain upregulation has been associated to drug resistance and virulence. Whereas the difficulties in developing new drugs for neglected diseases are more economical than biotechnological, repurposing approach with compounds already approved for clinical use by the regulatory agencies can be an interesting shortcut to a successful chemotherapeutic treatment for leishmaniasis.

We evaluated the QX200 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR™, Bio-Rad) system and protocols for the detection of the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes scapularis nymphs and adults collected from North Truro, Massachusetts. Preliminary screening by nested PCR determined positive infection levels of 60% for B. burgdorferi in these ticks. To investigate the utility of ddPCR as a screening tool and to calculate the absolute number of bacterial genome copies in an infected tick, we adapted previously reported TaqMan®-based qPCR assays for ddPCR. ddPCR proved to be a reliable means for detection and absolute quantification of control bacterial DNA with precision as low as ten spirochetes in an individual sample. Application of this method revealed the average carriage level of B. burgdorferi in infected I. scapularis nymphs to be 2291 spirochetes per nymph (range: 230–5268 spirochetes) and 51 179 spirochetes on average in infected adults (range: 5647–115 797). No ticks naturally infected with B. miyamotoi were detected. The ddPCR protocols were at least as sensitive to conventional qPCR assays but required fewer overall reactions and are potentially less subject to inhibition. Moreover, the approach can provide insight on carriage levels of parasites within vectors.

The biological and genetic diversity of Neospora caninum is very limited because of availability of only a few viable isolates worldwide. This study describes the isolation and biological and molecular characterization of a new viable isolate of N. caninum (NC-SP1), from a cattle in Brazil. Approximately 400 g of brain from a naturally infected adult male cattle from an abattoir was fed to a 2-month-old dog. Neospora-like oocysts were observed on day 7 post-inoculation (PI) and the duration of oocyst shedding was 14 days. The DNA obtained from oocysts was characterized molecularly and the final sequence was 99% identical to homologous sequences of N. caninum available in GenBank®. For bioassay, gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were orally inoculated with 10 100 and 1000 oocysts; all gerbils remained clinically normal but developed N. caninum antibodies 14 days PI. Cell culture isolation was successful using the brain homogenate from one of the gerbils and tachyzoites were observed 24 days PI. Microsatellite genotyping revealed a unique genetic profile for this new reference isolate.

The period 1875–1925 was remarkable in the history of parasitology mainly for the elucidation of the life cycles of parasites causing important parasitic diseases and the incrimination of vectors in their transmission. These discoveries were made by a small number of scientists working in the tropics a number of whom were Scots. Sir Patrick Manson, the discoverer of the mosquito transmission of filarial worms, was instrumental in directly or indirectly encouraging other Scots including Douglas Argyll-Robertson, David Blacklock, David Bruce, David Cunningham, Robert Leiper, William Leishman, George Low, Muriel Robertson and Ronald Ross, who all made significant discoveries across a wide spectrum of tropical diseases. Among these, William Leishman, Robert Leiper and Muriel Robertson were all graduates of the University of Glasgow and their achievements in the fields of leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, dracunculiasis and African sleeping sickness, together with subsequent developments in these fields, are the subjects of the ten papers in this Special Issue of Parasitology.

The field of parasitism is broad, encompassing relationships between organisms where one benefits at the expense of another. Traditionally the discipline focuses on eukaryotes, with the study of bacteria and viruses complementary but distinct. Nonetheless, parasites vary in size and complexity from single celled protozoa, to enormous plants like those in the genus Rafflesia. Lifecycles range from obligate intracellular to extensive exoparasitism. Examples of parasites include high-profile medical and zoonotic pathogens such as Plasmodium, veterinary pathogens of wild and captive animals and many of the agents which cause neglected tropical diseases, stretching to parasites which infect plants and other parasites (e.g. Kikuchi et al. 2011; Hotez et al. 2014; Blake et al. 2015; Hemingway, 2015; Meekums et al. 2015; Sandlund et al. 2015). The breadth of parasitology has been matched by the variety of ways in which parasites are studied, drawing upon biological, chemical, molecular, epidemiological and other expertise. Despite such breadth bridging between disciplines has commonly been problematic, regardless of extensive encouragement from government agencies, peer audiences and funding bodies promoting multidisciplinary research. Now, progress in understanding and collaboration can benefit from establishment of the One Health concept (Zinsstag et al. 2012; Stark et al. 2015). One Health draws upon biological, environmental, medical, veterinary and social science disciplines in order to improve human, animal and environmental health, although it remains tantalizingly difficult to engage many relevant parties. For infectious diseases traditional divides have been exacerbated as the importance of wildlife reservoirs, climate change, food production systems and socio-economic diversity have been recognized but often not addressed in a multidisciplinary manner. In response the 2015 Autumn Symposium organized by the British Society for Parasitology (BSP; https://www.bsp.uk.net/home/) was focused on One Health, running under the title ‘One Health: parasites and beyond…’. The meeting, held at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in Camden, London from September 14th to 15th, drew upon a blend of specialist parasitology reinforced with additional complementary expertise. Scientists, advocates, policy makers and industry representatives were invited to present at the meeting, promoting and developing One Health understanding with relevance to parasitology. The decision to widen the scope of the meeting to non-parasitological, but informative topics, is reflected in the diversity of the articles included in this special issue. A key feature of the meeting was encouragement of early career scientists, with more than 35% of the delegates registered as students and 25 posters.

Cyclocoelidae Stossich, 1902 are medium-sized to large digenean bird parasites. Although these parasites bear few visible autapomorphic signs, and their diagnostic characters are unstable in response to the pressure applied during preparation, the numerous hitherto suggested re-classifications within the family have not been supported by any molecular analysis. We analyse here cyclocoelids found during the extensive examination of central European birds performed from 1962 to 2016, provide comparative measurements, host spectra, prevalence and intensity, and provide and analyse sequences of four DNA loci of five of the cyclocoelid species. Cyclocoleum Brandes, 1892 appears paraphyletic; thus we suggest the re-classification of Cyclocoleum obscurum (Leidy, 1887) as Harrahium obscurum (Leidy, 1887) Sitko and Heneberg comb. n. Molecular phylogenetics questioned also the validity of Cyclocoelinae Stossich, 1902 and Hyptiasminae Dollfus, 1948, which formed a single clade, whereas Allopyge Johnston, 1913, Prohyptiasmus Witenberg, 1923 and Morishitium Witenberg, 1928 formed another clade. Haematotrephinae Dollfus, 1948 are newly characterized as having a pretesticular or intertesticular ovary that forms a triangle with the testes. Analyses of non-European genera of the Cyclocoelidae and an examination of the position of families within Echinostomata La Rue, 1926 are needed.

Angiostrongylus vasorum is a cardiovascular nematode increasingly found in dogs and foxes in endemic foci throughout Europe. The present study evaluates ELISAs for detection of circulating antigens and specific antibodies against A. vasorum in foxes. Blood and worm burdens (WBs) from carcasses of 215 Swiss wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and from 75 farmed foxes of different age groups experimentally inoculated once or repeatedly with infective doses of 50, 100 or 200 third-stage larvae were obtained. Antigen detection in the naturally infected Swiss foxes had 91·2% sensitivity and 89·4% specificity, whereas the corresponding figures for antibody detection were 42·2 and 92·0%. The experimentally infected foxes became positive for circulating antigens 5–10 weeks post-inoculation (wpi) and remained highly positive up to 22 wpi, irrespectively of further challenge inoculation. The antibody responses in the same foxes were highly variable: high optical density (OD) values were reached 5–7 wpi in all animals, followed by a decrease in over half of the animals despite accumulating and consequently high WBs resulting in persistent infections. After each challenge, a slight increase of OD values was observed 7 weeks later. We hypothesize that infected foxes develop a variable and non-protective immunity. Such parasite tolerance allows long-term survival of A. vasorum in the animals, and may explain why the parasite appears to spread rapidly within a fox population, an epidemiological dynamic that is evident in many parts of Europe where A. vasorum has been found over the last decades.

Chagas disease is caused by infection with the insect-transmitted protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and is the most important parasitic infection in Latin America. The current drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox, are characterized by limited efficacy and toxic side-effects, and treatment failures are frequently observed. The urgent need for new therapeutic approaches is being met by a combined effort from the academic and commercial sectors, together with major input from not-for-profit drug development consortia. With the disappointing outcomes of recent clinical trials against chronic Chagas disease, it has become clear that an incomplete understanding of parasite biology and disease pathogenesis is impacting negatively on the development of more effective drugs. In addition, technical issues, including difficulties in establishing parasitological cure in both human patients and animal models, have greatly complicated the assessment of drug efficacy. Here, we outline the major questions that need to be addressed and discuss technical innovations that can be exploited to accelerate the drug development pipeline.

The period 1875–1925 was remarkable in the history of parasitology partly because of the number of significant discoveries made, especially the elucidation of important life cycles, and partly because of the achievements of the clinicians and scientists who made these discoveries. What is remarkable is that so many of these individuals were Scots. Preeminent in this pantheon was Patrick Manson, who not only discovered the mosquito transmission of filarial worms but was instrumental in directly encouraging others to make significant discoveries in the fields of malaria, Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis), onchocerciasis, loiasis and schistosomiasis and, indirectly, sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis. This chapter describes and discusses the contributions made by Douglas Argyll-Robertson, Donald Blacklock, David Bruce, David Cunningham, Robert Leiper, William Leishman, George Low, Patrick Manson, Muriel Robertson and Ronald Ross together with short biographical notes.

The complexity of helminth macroparasites is reflected in the intricate network of host cell types that participate in the Type 2 immune response needed to battle these organisms. In this context, adaptive T helper 2 cells and the Type 2 cytokines interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-9 and IL-13 have been the focus of research for years, but recent work has demonstrated that the innate immune system plays an essential role. Some innate immune cells that promote Type 2 immunity are relatively abundant, such as macrophages and eosinophils. However, we now appreciate that more rare cell types including group 2 innate lymphoid cells, basophils, mast cells and dendritic cells make significant contributions to these responses. These cells are found at low frequency but they are specialized to their roles – located at sites such as the skin, lung and gut, where the host combats helminth parasites. These cells respond rapidly and robustly to worm antigens and worm-induced damage to produce essential cytokines, chemokines, eicosanoids and histamine to activate damaged epithelium and to recruit other effectors. Thus, a greater understanding of how these cells operate is essential to understand how the host protects itself during helminth infection.

Strongyloides venezuelensis is a parasitic nematode of rodents that is frequently used to obtain heterologous antigens for immunological diagnosis of human strongyloidiasis. The aim of this study was to identify antigens from filariform larvae of S. venezuelensis for immunodiagnosis of human strongyloidiasis. Soluble and membrane fractions from filariform larvae of S. venezuelensis were obtained in phosphate saline (SS and SM) and in Tris–HCl buffer (TS and TM), and were analysed by Western blotting. Different antigenic components were recognized by IgG antibodies from the sera of strongyloidiasis patients. Highest recognition was observed for a 30–40 kDa mass range present in all antigenic fractions. The band encompassing this mass range was then excised and subjected to mass spectrometry for protein identification. Immunoreactive proteins identified in the soluble fractions corresponded to metabolic enzymes, whereas cytoskeletal proteins and galectins were more abundant in the membrane fractions. These results represent the first approach towards identification of S. venezuelensis antigens for use in immunodiagnostic assays for human strongyloidiasis.