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Frontiers in Public Health 2023This study sought to investigate the parasitic diseases of neglected tropical diseases defined by the World Health Organization based on the Global Burden of Disease...
OBJECTIVE
This study sought to investigate the parasitic diseases of neglected tropical diseases defined by the World Health Organization based on the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) database. Importantly, we analyzed the prevalence and burden of these diseases in China from 1990 to 2019 to provide valuable information to formulate more effective measures for their management and prevention.
METHODS
Data on the prevalence and burden of neglected parasitic diseases in China from 1990 to 2019 were extracted from the global health data exchange (GHDx) database, including the absolute number of prevalence, age-standardized prevalence rate, disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and age-standardized DALY rate. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the prevalence and burden changes, sex and age distribution of various parasitic diseases from 1990 to 2019. A time series model [Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA)] was used to predict the DALYs of neglected parasitic diseases in China from 2020 to 2030.
RESULTS
In 2019, the number of neglected parasitic diseases in China was 152518062, the age-standardized prevalence was 11614.1 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 8758.5-15244.5), the DALYs were 955722, and the age-standardized DALY rate was 54.9 (95% UI 26.0-101.8). Among these, the age-standardized prevalence of soil-derived helminthiasis was the highest (9370.2/100,000), followed by food-borne trematodiases (1502.3/100,000) and schistosomiasis (707.1/100,000). The highest age-standardized DALY rate was for food-borne trematodiases (36.0/100,000), followed by cysticercosis (7.9/100,000) and soil-derived helminthiasis (5.6/100,000). Higher prevalence and disease burden were observed in men and the upper age group. From 1990 to 2019, the number of neglected parasitic diseases in China decreased by 30.4%, resulting in a decline in DALYs of 27.3%. The age-standardized DALY rates of most diseases were decreased, especially for soil-derived helminthiasis, schistosomiasis and food-borne trematodiases. The ARIMA prediction model showed that the disease burden of echinococcosis and cysticercosis exhibited an increasing trend, highlighting the need for further prevention and control.
CONCLUSION
Although the prevalence and disease burden of neglected parasitic diseases in China have decreased, many issues remain to be addressed. More efforts should be undertaken to improve the prevention and control strategies for different parasitic diseases. The government should prioritize multisectoral integrated control and surveillance measures to prioritize the prevention and control of diseases with a high burden of disease. In addition, the older adult population and men need to pay more attention.
Topics: Male; Humans; Aged; Global Burden of Disease; Prevalence; Quality-Adjusted Life Years; Parasitic Diseases; Helminthiasis; Cysticercosis
PubMed: 37293619
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1077723 -
Revue Scientifique Et Technique... Nov 2016Valid human and livestock health surveys, including longitudinal follow-up, are feasible among mobile pastoralists and provide fundamental information to agencies for... (Review)
Review
Valid human and livestock health surveys, including longitudinal follow-up, are feasible among mobile pastoralists and provide fundamental information to agencies for interventions that are responsive to realities and effective in addressing the needs of pastoralists. However, pastoralists are often excluded from studies, surveillance systems and health programmes. The occurrence of preventable and treatable diseases such as perinatal tetanus, measles and tuberculosis are indicative of limited access to health providers and information. It is difficult for health services to include effective outreach with their available financial and human resources. One consequence is that maternal mortality rates among pastoralists are unacceptably high. Environmental determinants such as the quality of water and the pasture ecosystems further influence the morbidity of pastoralists. In the Sahel, the nutritional status of pastoralist children is seasonally better than that of settled children; but pastoralist women tend to have higher acute malnutrition rates. Pastoralist women are more vulnerable than men to exclusion from health services for different context-specific reasons. Evidence-based control measures can be assessed in cluster surveys with simultaneous assessments of health among people and livestock, where data on costs of disease and interventions are also collected. These provide important arguments for governmental and non-governmental agencies for intervention development. New, integrated One Health surveillance systems making use of mobile technology and taking into account local concepts and the experiences and priorities of pastoralist communities, combined with sound field data, are essential to develop and provide adapted human and animal health services that are inclusive for mobile pastoralist communities and allow them to maintain their mobile way of life.
Topics: Animal Diseases; Animal Husbandry; Animals; Bacterial Infections; Health Services Accessibility; Health Surveys; Humans; Livestock; Parasitic Diseases; Tuberculosis; Women's Health; Zoonoses
PubMed: 27917962
DOI: 10.20506/rst.35.2.2547 -
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal Jun 2019Human stool contains a myriad of microorganisms, of which the vast majority are nonpathogenic and represent an important component of the healthy microbiome. The... (Review)
Review
Human stool contains a myriad of microorganisms, of which the vast majority are nonpathogenic and represent an important component of the healthy microbiome. The increasing use of molecular techniques has allowed the rapid identification of bacteria, viruses and parasites in human stool. This review focuses on the 3 main classes of parasite responsible for human disease, helminths, protozoa and ectoparasites, and highlights the importance of differentiating between pathogenic and nonpathogenic parasites.
Topics: Animals; Child; Ectoparasitic Infestations; Feces; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Helminthiasis; Humans; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases; Protozoan Infections
PubMed: 31205245
DOI: 10.1097/INF.0000000000002323 -
Trends in Parasitology Apr 2017Substantial heterogeneity exists in the dispersal, distribution and transmission of parasitic species. Understanding and predicting how such features are governed by the... (Review)
Review
Substantial heterogeneity exists in the dispersal, distribution and transmission of parasitic species. Understanding and predicting how such features are governed by the ecological variation of landscape they inhabit is the central goal of spatial epidemiology. Genetic data can further inform functional connectivity among parasite, host and vector populations in a landscape. Gene flow correlates with the spread of epidemiologically relevant phenotypes among parasite and vector populations (e.g., virulence, drug and pesticide resistance), as well as invasion and re-invasion risk where parasite transmission is absent due to current or past intervention measures. However, the formal integration of spatial and genetic data ('landscape genetics') is scarcely ever applied to parasites. Here, we discuss the specific challenges and practical prospects for the use of landscape genetics and genomics to understand the biology and control of parasitic disease and present a practical framework for doing so.
Topics: Animals; Genomics; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Parasitic Diseases; Phenotype
PubMed: 27863902
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2016.10.008 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2019Parasitic diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality in the developing and underdeveloped countries. No efficacious vaccines are available against most parasitic... (Review)
Review
Parasitic diseases cause significant morbidity and mortality in the developing and underdeveloped countries. No efficacious vaccines are available against most parasitic diseases and there is a critical need for developing novel vaccine strategies for care. IL-21 is a pleiotropic cytokine whose functions in protection and immunopathology during parasitic diseases have been explored in limited ways. IL-21 and its cognate receptor, IL-21R, are highly expressed in parasitized organs of infected humans as well in murine models of the human parasitic diseases. Prior studies have indicated the ability of the IL-21/IL-21R signaling axis to regulate the effector functions (e.g., cytokine production) of T cell subsets by enhancing the expression of T-bet and STAT4 in human T cells, resulting in an augmented production of IFN-γ. Mice deficient for either IL-21 () or IL-21R () showed significantly reduced inflammatory responses following parasitic infections as compared with their WT counterparts. Targeting the IL-21/IL-21R signaling axis may provide a novel approach for the development of new therapeutic agents for the prevention of parasite-induced immunopathology and tissue destruction.
Topics: Animals; Disease Susceptibility; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Immunity; Inflammation; Interleukin-21 Receptor alpha Subunit; Interleukins; Parasitic Diseases; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 31867283
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00401 -
Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Nov 2016Parasites are a group of eukaryotic organisms that may be free-living or form a symbiotic or parasitic relationship with the hosts. Consisting of over 800,000 recognized... (Review)
Review
Parasites are a group of eukaryotic organisms that may be free-living or form a symbiotic or parasitic relationship with the hosts. Consisting of over 800,000 recognized species, parasites may be unicellular (Protozoa) or multicellular (helminths and arthropods). The association of parasites with human population started long before the emergence of civilization. Parasitic zoonotic diseases are prevalent worldwide including India. Appropriate epidemiological data are lacking on existing zoonotic parasitic diseases, and newer diseases are emerging in our scenario. Systemic diseases such as cysticercosis, paragonimiasis, hydatidosis, and toxoplasmosis are fairly common. Acquired Toxoplasma infections are rising in immune-deficient individuals. Amongst the ocular parasitic diseases, various protozoas such as Cystoidea, trematodes, tissue flagellates, sporozoas etc. affect humans in general and eyes in particular, in different parts of the world. These zoonoses seem to be a real health related problem globally. Recent intensification of research throughout the world has led to specialization in biological fields, creating a conducive situation for researchers interested in this subject. The basics of parasitology lie in morphology, pathology, and with recent updates in molecular parasitology, the scope has extended further. The current review is to address the recent update in ophthalmic parasites with special reference to pathology and give a glimpse of further research in this field.
Topics: Animals; Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; Eye; Eye Infections, Parasitic; Humans; India; Parasites; Prevalence
PubMed: 27958200
DOI: 10.4103/0301-4738.195590 -
Future Microbiology 2015Travel and migration contribute to the emergence of certain parasites which may be imported into nonendemic areas. Noncontrolled importation of food products and animals... (Review)
Review
Travel and migration contribute to the emergence of certain parasites which may be imported into nonendemic areas. Noncontrolled importation of food products and animals may also contribute to the diagnosis of infections caused by helminths in nonendemic countries. Some helminth infections such as strongyloidiasis may be life-threatening, especially in immunocompromised patients, and outcome depends on correct diagnosis and treatment. Other helminth infections are neglected tropical diseases associated with chronic disease and/or disability. Major challenges concern the development of improved diagnostic techniques, safer and more effective drug therapies and identification of markers of response to treatment. The study of these imported infections in travelers and immigrants may provide opportunities for research which may not be readily available in resource-poor endemic countries. Updated reviews and guidelines are necessary as new data become available. The second part of this review focuses on infections in travelers and immigrants caused by helminths and ectoparasites.
Topics: Animals; Ectoparasitic Infestations; Emigrants and Immigrants; Female; Helminthiasis; Humans; Immunocompromised Host; Male; Travel
PubMed: 25598339
DOI: 10.2217/fmb.14.106 -
Comparative Immunology, Microbiology... Dec 2016The pathogenesis of infectious agents with human tropism can only be properly studied in an in vivo model featuring human cells or tissue. Humanized mice represent a... (Review)
Review
The pathogenesis of infectious agents with human tropism can only be properly studied in an in vivo model featuring human cells or tissue. Humanized mice represent a small animal model featuring human cells or tissue that can be infected by human-specific viruses, bacteria, and parasites and also providing a functional human immune system. This makes the analysis of a human immune response to infection possible and allows for preclinical testing of new vaccines and therapeutic agents. Results of various studies using humanized mice to investigate pathogens with human tropism are presented in this review. In addition, the limitations of humanized mice and methods to improve this valuable animal model are discussed.
Topics: Animals; Bacterial Infections; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Mice; Parasitic Diseases; Parasitic Diseases, Animal; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 27865261
DOI: 10.1016/j.cimid.2016.08.006 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2020Malaria is the most deadly parasitic disease, affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Malaria parasites have been associated with their hosts for millions of... (Review)
Review
Malaria is the most deadly parasitic disease, affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Malaria parasites have been associated with their hosts for millions of years. During the long history of host-parasite co-evolution, both parasites and hosts have applied pressure on each other through complex host-parasite molecular interactions. Whereas the hosts activate various immune mechanisms to remove parasites during an infection, the parasites attempt to evade host immunity by diversifying their genome and switching expression of targets of the host immune system. Human intervention to control the disease such as antimalarial drugs and vaccination can greatly alter parasite population dynamics and evolution, particularly the massive applications of antimalarial drugs in recent human history. Vaccination is likely the best method to prevent the disease; however, a partially protective vaccine may have unwanted consequences that require further investigation. Studies of host-parasite interactions and co-evolution will provide important information for designing safe and effective vaccines and for preventing drug resistance. In this essay, we will discuss some interesting molecules involved in host-parasite interactions, including important parasite antigens. We also discuss subjects relevant to drug and vaccine development and some approaches for studying host-parasite interactions.
Topics: Animals; Antimalarials; Host-Parasite Interactions; Humans; Malaria; Parasites; Parasitic Diseases
PubMed: 33194831
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.587933 -
Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology 2020There are a number of parasitic infections that can affect the liver and biliary tree. These infections can be primarily related to the liver or can include secondary... (Review)
Review
There are a number of parasitic infections that can affect the liver and biliary tree. These infections can be primarily related to the liver or can include secondary hepatic involvement. Imaging can narrow down the differential diagnosis in the appropriate clinical setting, and can even clinch the diagnosis with some pathognomonic findings. The various imaging modalities can also identify disease extent, help guide management, and demonstrate response to treatment. This pictorial essay will give an overview of parasitic liver infections, and will discuss the best imaging strategies and the key imaging features to help make a timely accurate diagnosis.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Liver Diseases; Parasitic Diseases
PubMed: 31466878
DOI: 10.1067/j.cpradiol.2019.08.002