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Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Dec 2023Human pulmonary paragonimiasis, an emerging concern in North East India, frequently masquerades as pulmonary tuberculosis due to clinical and radiological similarities,...
Human pulmonary paragonimiasis, an emerging concern in North East India, frequently masquerades as pulmonary tuberculosis due to clinical and radiological similarities, leading to diagnostic challenges. This research aimed to harness the immunoblotting technique to discern immunodiagnostic protein antigens from both adult worm and excretory-secretory (ES) extracts of the prevalent type 1 in Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. We studied the time kinetics of immunoreactive patterns in relation to the duration of infection in rodent models. Immunoblot analyses were also conducted using sera from ELISA-positive patients confirmed with paragonimiasis, facilitating the selection of antigenic extracts with diagnostic potential. Further, ES protein antigens were subjected to 2D immunoblot analysis and immunoreactive protein spots identified using MALDI-TOF MS. The immunoreactivity patterns of ES antigens with sera of paragonimiasis-positive patients were detailed, and specific immunoreactive protein antigens were pinpointed using peptide mass fingerprinting (MALDI-TOF). This work underscores the enhanced diagnostic accuracy when combining ELISA with immunoblotting for pulmonary paragonimiasis in regions like North East India, marked by co-existing helminth infections.
PubMed: 38251203
DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed9010006 -
Parasites, Hosts and Diseases Nov 2023Paleoparasitology is a discipline that applies existing conventional and molecular techniques to study parasites found in ancient ruins. This review focuses on the... (Review)
Review
Paleoparasitology is a discipline that applies existing conventional and molecular techniques to study parasites found in ancient ruins. This review focuses on the history of the discovery of parasites (mostly helminth eggs and larvae) in archaeological soil samples and mummies in Korea from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Joseon Dynasty (100 BCE-1910 CE). We also briefly review important milestones in global paleoparasitology. The helminth species reported so far in Korea included Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis (larva), Trichostrongylus sp. (larva), Paracapillaria philippinensis (syn. Capillaria philippinensis), Enterobius vermicularis, Fasciola hepatica, dicrocoeliids, Paragonimus westermani, Clonorchis sinensis, Metagonimus yokogawai, Pygidiopsis summa, Gymnophalloides seoi, Isthmiophora hortensis, Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis (syn. Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense), and Taenia spp. tapeworms. The findings obtained by Korean paleoparasitologists/archaeologists have brought about deep insight into the status of helminthic infections in Korea's past populations. Continued paleoparasitological research is essential for further understanding of ancient parasites and parasitic diseases in Korea.
Topics: Animals; Larva; Republic of Korea; Parasitic Diseases; Helminthiasis; Trematoda; Parasites; Heterophyidae
PubMed: 38043533
DOI: 10.3347/PHD.23085 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Nov 2023
Topics: Humans; Animals; Paragonimiasis; Pleural Effusion; Paragonimus
PubMed: 37549895
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0301 -
The American Journal of Tropical... Jul 2023Paragonimiasis is an important but neglected foodborne trematodiasis caused by Paragonimus mexicanus in Costa Rica. Immunological techniques for diagnosing this...
Paragonimiasis is an important but neglected foodborne trematodiasis caused by Paragonimus mexicanus in Costa Rica. Immunological techniques for diagnosing this parasitosis in humans do not exist in Central America. The objective of the present study was to use recombinant Paragonimus westermani cysteine protease 7 to standardize an ELISA for the detection of antibodies against Paragonimus spp. Human sera positive for P. westermani, P. mexicanus, or Paragonimus spp., human sera infected with other helminths, as well as sera of healthy humans without parasitic infections, were analyzed. The sensitivity of the ELISA was 92.9%, and the specificity was 91.9%. This report is the first to describe the development of an ELISA for the diagnosis of Paragonimus spp. in Costa Rica and Central America. Using this ELISA in the health system of Costa Rica is recommended to detect infections.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Cysteine Proteases; Paragonimus; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Costa Rica
PubMed: 37253437
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0452 -
International Journal of Infectious... Aug 2023
Topics: Animals; Humans; Paragonimus westermani; Mediastinal Cyst; Paragonimiasis
PubMed: 37150353
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.05.001