Krisztian Magori reminds us of the fun and messiness of science through the challenges and unexpected discoveries his students made in his Disease Ecology Senior Capstone class this Spring. Enjoy and share your similar stories in the comments below!
Vector-Borne Diseases (VBDs) such as malaria, yellow fever, Lyme disease, plague, dengue, and leishmaniasis kill 700,000 people globally each year. Currently, the burden of VBDs is mostly found under tropical and warm climates that allow transmission all year long. This may change as our planet warms. Florence Fouque and her colleagues examine the impact of climate change on vector-borne diseases.
Do schistosomes manipulate snails? A recent study looks at the altered phototropic behaviour of infected snails and how this may be a deliberate strategy from the schistosomes themselves.
In a recent article published in Parasites & Vectors, researchers modeled and predicted the distribution of the cat fleas in Australia, based on climate change models and public bioclimatic data from all over the continent. As future temperatures exceed the critical threshold, distribution of flea variants may shift, and determine different developmental rates and vector capabilities.
There is an urgent need to adopt the mermithid nematode, Romanomermis iyengari, for vector control in malaria endemic Africa. Mass rearing facilities based in Benin have recently been described.
For a bit of fun we have put together a small cryptic crossword puzzle where the answers relate to parasite and vectors. Hope you enjoy it.