BugBitten 2019 June

Unexpected surprises in disease ecology

28/06/2019 Krisztian Magori

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!

Biology Health

Impact of climate and climate change on vector-borne diseases

25/06/2019 Florence Fouque

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.

Uncategorised

Do schistosomes practice the art of host-manipulation?

21/06/2019 Anouk Gouvras

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.

Biology Health

Fleas are ready for a climate change

18/06/2019 Jan Slapeta

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.

Biology Developing World Health

Mermithid nematodes to control malaria transmission

14/06/2019 Thiery Alavo

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.

Biology Developing World Health