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QJM : Monthly Journal of the... Jun 2019
Topics: Animals; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Female; Humans; Lung Diseases, Parasitic; Middle Aged; Ovum; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 30597083
DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/hcy301 -
GigaScience Jan 2019Foodborne infections caused by lung flukes of the genus Paragonimus are a significant and widespread public health problem in tropical areas. Approximately 50...
BACKGROUND
Foodborne infections caused by lung flukes of the genus Paragonimus are a significant and widespread public health problem in tropical areas. Approximately 50 Paragonimus species have been reported to infect animals and humans, but Paragonimus westermani is responsible for the bulk of human disease. Despite their medical and economic importance, no genome sequence for any Paragonimus species is available.
RESULTS
We sequenced and assembled the genome of P. westermani, which is among the largest of the known pathogen genomes with an estimated size of 1.1 Gb. A 922.8 Mb genome assembly was generated from Illumina and Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) sequence data, covering 84% of the estimated genome size. The genome has a high proportion (45%) of repeat-derived DNA, particularly of the long interspersed element and long terminal repeat subtypes, and the expansion of these elements may explain some of the large size. We predicted 12,852 protein coding genes, showing a high level of conservation with related trematode species. The majority of proteins (80%) had homologs in the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini, with an average sequence identity of 64.1%. Assembly of the P. westermani mitochondrial genome from long PacBio reads resulted in a single high-quality circularized 20.6 kb contig. The contig harbored a 6.9 kb region of non-coding repetitive DNA comprised of three distinct repeat units. Our results suggest that the region is highly polymorphic in P. westermani, possibly even within single worm isolates.
CONCLUSIONS
The generated assembly represents the first Paragonimus genome sequence and will facilitate future molecular studies of this important, but neglected, parasite group.
Topics: Animals; Genome Size; Genome, Helminth; Genome, Mitochondrial; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Molecular Sequence Annotation; Paragonimus westermani; Phylogeny; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Whole Genome Sequencing
PubMed: 30520948
DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giy146 -
Infectious Diseases of Poverty Oct 2018Paragonimiasis, caused by helminths of the genus Paragonimus spp., is a neglected tropical disease. Human suffering from paragonimiasis is often misunderstood and its... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Paragonimiasis, caused by helminths of the genus Paragonimus spp., is a neglected tropical disease. Human suffering from paragonimiasis is often misunderstood and its quantification by the disability weight of the disability-adjusted life years largely varies in different global burden of disease (GBD) estimates. This paper is to systematically review clinical paragonimiasis cases and requantify the disability weight of human paragonimiasis.
METHODS
A systematic analysis was conducted using articles from the following databases: PubMed, Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, the Chinese scientific journal databases Wanfang Data and CQVIP, Africa Journal Online, and the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe. Search terms were the combination of "paragonim*" with "clinical" or "infection". Only articles fulfilling the following conditions were recruited for this study: the occurrence of clinical signs and symptoms of paragonimiasis in human beings were reported; diagnosis was confirmed; no comorbidities were reported; the reviewed clinical cases or epidemiological findings were not already included in any other articles. The information and frequencies of paragonimiasis outcomes from included articles using predefined data fields were extracted two times by two separate individuals. Outcome disability weights were selected mainly from the GBD 2004 and GBD 2013 datasets. Frequencies and disability weights of paragonimiasis outcomes were modelled into a decision tree using the additive approach and multiplicative approach, respectively. Monte Carlo simulations were run 5000 times for an uncertainty analysis.
RESULTS
The disability weight estimates of paragonimiasis were simulated with 5302 clinical cases from 80 general articles. The overall disability weight was estimated at 0.1927 (median 0.1956) with a 95% uncertainty interval (UI) of 0.1632-0.2378 using the additive approach, and 0.1791 (median 0.1816) with a 95% UI of 0.1530-0.2182 using the multiplicative approach. The simulated disability weights of Paragonimus westermani cases were higher than that of P. skrjabini cases. Lung outcomes and headache were the top two contributors to disability weight for both species.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of paragonimiasis disability weight needs to be reconsidered with regard to availability of morbidity data and species variation. Calculating the disease burden of paragonimiasis requires further modification and thus has considerable implications for public health prioritization in research, monitoring, and control.
Topics: Animals; Cost of Illness; Decision Making; Decision Trees; Disabled Persons; Humans; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus; Patient Outcome Assessment
PubMed: 30342548
DOI: 10.1186/s40249-018-0485-5 -
American Journal of Respiratory and... Mar 2019
Topics: Adult; Animals; China; Humans; Lung; Male; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Praziquantel; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 30326730
DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201806-1149IM -
Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy :... Mar 2019We report a case of Paragonimus westermani infection simultaneously affecting two separate organs that presented as both a pulmonary cavity and adrenal mass in an...
We report a case of Paragonimus westermani infection simultaneously affecting two separate organs that presented as both a pulmonary cavity and adrenal mass in an immunocompromised host. A 65-year-old male with a previous kidney transplant visited our clinic because of hemoptysis. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a pulmonary cavity and right adrenal gland mass. The Aspergillus antigen titer in bronchial lavage fluid was elevated and showed positive conversion. It was necessary to differentiate lung cancer with adrenal gland metastasis from a fungal infection with an adrenal gland adenoma. Positron emission tomography CT suggested benign disease, and it was misdiagnosed as pulmonary aspergillosis based on the elevated Aspergillus antigen titer in the bronchial lavage fluid. Owing to the adverse effects of anti-fungal treatment, the patient underwent wedge resection of the lung and P. westermani was confirmed. A careful history revealed that the patient had eaten raw freshwater crabs 3 years earlier, and a test for serum antibodies to P. westermani was positive. Despite treatment with praziquantel, the adrenal mass persisted on 3-month follow-up CT. A right adrenalectomy was performed and a P. westermani infection was confirmed.
Topics: Adrenal Gland Diseases; Adrenal Glands; Aged; Animals; Diagnosis, Differential; Foodborne Diseases; Humans; Lung; Lung Diseases; Male; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Radiography, Thoracic; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 30213500
DOI: 10.1016/j.jiac.2018.08.005 -
Journal of Thoracic Imaging Sep 2018Lung cavitation may be due to infectious or noninfectious pathologic processes. The latter category includes nonmalignant conditions, such as granulomatosis with... (Review)
Review
Lung cavitation may be due to infectious or noninfectious pathologic processes. The latter category includes nonmalignant conditions, such as granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and malignant conditions, such as squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Infectious etiologies that produce lung cavitation usually cause chronic illness, although some, particularly pyogenic bacteria, may produce acute cavitary disease. Tuberculosis is the most common cause of chronic pulmonary infection with cavitation. The goal of this review was to highlight a selection of the better-known infectious agents, other than tuberculosis, that can cause chronic lung disease with cavitation. Emphasis is placed on the following organisms: nontuberculous mycobacteria, Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Coccidioides, Paracoccidioides, Aspergillus, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Paragonimus westermani, and Rhodococcus equi. These organisms generally produce clinical features and radiologic findings that overlap or mimic those of tuberculosis. In a companion article, we have further emphasized aspects of the same conditions that are more pertinent to radiologists.
Topics: Bacterial Infections; Chronic Disease; Humans; Lung; Lung Diseases; Lung Diseases, Fungal; Parasitic Diseases; Respiratory Tract Infections; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Tuberculosis
PubMed: 30036298
DOI: 10.1097/RTI.0000000000000345 -
Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular... Oct 2018Paragonimiasis is a food-borne parasitic disease caused by Paragonimus lung flukes, which are epidemic in Asia. Cerebral paragonimiasis accounts for <1% of symptomatic...
Paragonimiasis is a food-borne parasitic disease caused by Paragonimus lung flukes, which are epidemic in Asia. Cerebral paragonimiasis accounts for <1% of symptomatic paragonimiasis but is the most common extrapulmonary infection. Cerebral paragonimiasis often mimics stroke and sometimes causes severe neurological sequelae. A 61-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital for severe headache. A head computed tomography scan revealed intracerebral hemorrhage with subarachnoid hemorrhage. The patient also had lesions in the lungs. She frequently ate Japanese mitten crab. Peripheral blood examination results of increased eosinophilia and immunological testing results confirmed the diagnosis of Paragonimus westermani infection. The patient was successfully treated with praziquantel as the first-line agent. Cerebral paragonimiasis is currently rare in developed countries; however, it is an important disease to consider.
Topics: Animals; Anthelmintics; Central Nervous System Helminthiasis; Cerebral Hemorrhage; Developed Countries; Female; Humans; Japan; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Middle Aged; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Praziquantel; Stroke; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 30031686
DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2018.05.033 -
Mitochondrial DNA. Part B, Resources Jun 2018In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of human lung fluke, , was recovered through Illumina sequencing data. This complete mitochondrial genome of is...
In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of human lung fluke, , was recovered through Illumina sequencing data. This complete mitochondrial genome of is 13,927 bp in length and has a base composition of A (16.6%), T (41.8%), C (13.%), and G (28.4%), demonstrating an obvious bias of high AT content (58.4%). The mitochondrial genome contains a typically conserved structure, encoding 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), and a control region (D-loop region). All PCGs were located on the H-strand. ND4 gene and ND4L gene were overlapped by 39 bp. The nucleotide sequence of 12 PCGs of and other 10 parasite species were used for phylogenetic analysis. The result indicated a relative close relationship with species (AF219379.2).
PubMed: 33474294
DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2018.1483763 -
Integrative Zoology Sep 2018There have been few reports on the diversity and prevalence of parasitic fauna of the endangered Siberian tiger, which inhabits the territory of the Russian Far East....
There have been few reports on the diversity and prevalence of parasitic fauna of the endangered Siberian tiger, which inhabits the territory of the Russian Far East. The present review attempts to summarize the information about the parasitic fauna of wild Siberian tigers, which includes 15 helminths and 3 protozoan species. The most prevalent parasitic species was found to be Toxocara cati, followed by Toxascaris leonina. Another commonly recorded Platyhelminth species is Paragonimus westermani, which causes a lethal infection of the lung parenchyma in Siberian tigers. However, the information about infections by this fluke in the Siberian tigers is scarce, although P. westermani infections pose a serious health hazard to tiger populations. The nematodes Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Thominx aerophilus are found in Siberian tigers with an occurrence rate of 2.3% and 19%, respectively. The information on the parasitic infestations of captive populations of Siberian tigers is also presented along with the sources of infection and hazards for the wild tiger populations in their natural environment.
Topics: Animals; Helminthiasis, Animal; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Protozoan Infections, Animal; Siberia; Tigers
PubMed: 29851290
DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12342 -
Parasites & Vectors May 2018Members of the genus Paragonimus require at least three hosts in their life-cycles. The obligatory first intermediate hosts are freshwater snails. In Vietnam, although...
BACKGROUND
Members of the genus Paragonimus require at least three hosts in their life-cycles. The obligatory first intermediate hosts are freshwater snails. In Vietnam, although seven Paragonimus species have been recorded, the natural first intermediate hosts of almost all species have not been confirmed. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate snail hosts of Paragonimus species in Vietnam, and to identify Paragonimus species at intramolluscan stages.
METHODS
Freshwater snails were collected from streams in Yen Bai and Quang Tri Provinces, where high prevalences of Paragonimus metacercariae in crab hosts have been reported. Snails were morphologically identified and then examined individually for Paragonimus cercariae using shedding and crushing methods. Chaetomicrocercous cercariae, the morphological class to which Paragonimus cercariae belong, were collected for morphological description and molecular species identification by analyses of ITS2 sequences. The infected snail species were identified based on analyses of nucleotide sequences of the cox1 gene.
RESULTS
Three snail species were found to be infected with Paragonimus cercariae at low infection rates, ranging between 0.07-1.0%. The molecular analyses identified them as Sulcospira quangtriensis and 2 species of subfamily Triculinae. In a phylogenetic tree, these two triculine snails were related to the genera Gammatricula and Tricula with low posterior probabilities. Thus we named them as Triculinae sp. 1 and Triculinae sp. 2. Cercariae from the three snail species, Sulcospira quangtriensis, Triculinae sp. 1 and Triculinae sp. 2, were molecularly identified as Paragonimus westermani, P. heterotremus and P. proliferus, respectively. The cercariae of the three species are morphologically similar to each other, but their daughter rediae can be distinguished by the length of the intestine and the number of cercariae per redia. The rediae of P. westermani have a long intestine and each contain 6-8 cercariae. In contrast, those of P. heterotremus and P. proliferus have a short intestine and each redia contain 10-12 and 5-6 cercariae, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Three snail species, Sulcospira quangtriensis, Triculinae sp. 1 and Triculinae sp. 2, serve as the first intermediate hosts of P. westermani, P. heterotremus and P. proliferus, respectively, in Vietnam. The length of the intestine of rediae and the number of cercariae per redia are valuable characteristics for distinguishing between larvae of these Paragonimus species.
Topics: Animals; Brachyura; Geography; Host Specificity; Larva; Life Cycle Stages; Metacercariae; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus; Phylogeny; Snails; Vietnam
PubMed: 29848373
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-018-2897-2