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7; 95% CI 1.17-6.37; p value = 0.03).The results declare that a protective role of Toxocara canis against the development of multiple sclerosis is unlikely. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2019.Paradiscogaster mannari n. sp. is described from the emperor angel fish Pomacanthus imperator collected from Gulf of Mannar and maintained in the marine aquarium at CMFRI, Mandapam, India. The new species differs from other species of the genus mainly in the shape of the body, the distribution of vitelline follicles entirely in the forebody on either side of cirrus sac and in the location of testes close to posterior end of body. The various species of Paradiscogaster so far recorded is listed together with information on the hosts and geographic distribution for each species. This constitutes the first report of a digenean from the emperor angel fish. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2019.Saraca asoca is an important plant species of India having variety of medicinal activity such as antiviral, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer etc. Indian Kala-azar (KA) or visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a protozoan parasitic disease caused by Leishmania sp and is endemic in Indian subcontinent. VL mainly targets the poorest people who have been suffering from deficiency in protein, nutrients and essential trace elements which ultimately leads to immunodeficiency. Essential trace element, Zinc (Zn) controls multiple aspects of innate and adaptive immunity while Iron (Fe) is required for various cellular activities. Bromine (Br) is important for assembly of collagen IV scaffolds in tissue development and helps in signalling and Copper (Cu) performs several functions related to immune system. Intra-cardiac blood was collected from the experimental BALB/c mice groups including (a) healthy control, (b) infected control, (c) Saraca asoca seed extract (Sa-SE) treated groups. The trace elements level in blood of mice was measured by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence technique. Interestingly, the decreased level of Zn, Fe and Br as well as increased level of Cu in diseased state came back to almost normal range upon treatment with Sa-SE. The trace elements imbalances thus were almost restored to normalcy by treating the experimental BALB/c mice with ethanolic seed extract of Saraca asoca. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2019.Puntius ticto is a freshwater barb with commercial importance in India. It is soft and wild fish, highly prone to parasitic infections. The present article describes, morphological and morphometric details of the new species of Myxidium identified as Myxidium tictoi n.sp. from the kidney of Puntius ticto. Plasmodia were histozoic and embedded in the kidney. The intensity of infection was high. Mature spores were elongated, typically fusiform in shape with blunt pointed ends measuring 11.53-14.21 (13.10 ± 0.53) × 4.13-5.37 (4.67 ± 0.27) μm in size. The present species was compared with species found from the same organ and other resembling species as M. rhodei, M. misgurni, M. pseudobagrusi, M. aristichthysi, M. sangei, M. cruzi. Up till now, there is no evidence of any Myxidium species reported from Puntius ticto worldwide. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2019.Malaria remains a public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prompt diagnosis and effective treatment are important in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with malaria especially among high-risk groups. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of one of the popular malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kit in Nigerian market which has not been investigated before in field-condition compared with microscopy as the gold standard. A total number of 250 children of 10 years and below were examined for malaria parasites using both microscopy and RDT in Uhogua community in Edo state and data were analysed using SPSS version 22. The prevalence of malaria by microscopy was 99.2% while only 55.2% were positive by RDT. Majority of the study populations were asymptomatic for malaria infection. RDT sensitivity and specificity compared to light microscopy was 69.08% and 66.67% respectively while the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 99.6% and 1.77% respectively. The RDT accuracy was less than 70%. RDT cannot be relied upon alone for malaria diagnosis. Microscopy remains the gold standard for malaria diagnosis. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2019.Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic food-borne disease with global distribution. The principal aim of this research was to detect the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in cattle, dogs and cats in dairy farms with high incidence of abortion, as well as to identify associated risk factors in Hamedan, Iran. A number of four large dairy farms with high history of abortion were selected and evaluated for risk factors associated to T. gondii infection. Blood samples were taken from 400 of pregnant cattle, 85 of dogs and 35 of cats (all of the dogs and cats population from interring and around of farms were sampled). The samples were examined for presence of antibodies to T. selleck chemicals llc gondii infection using ELISA technique. Seroprevalence of T. gondii infection were detected 13% in cattle, 47.1% in dogs and 40% in cats. With regard to cattle seropositivity and associated risk factors, significant differences were found regarding abortion history (P = 0.026), race (P = 0.035), rodents' presence in farm (P = 0.006) and age groups (P = 0.011). Also, there were no significant differences between seroprevalence rate and stage of gestation (P = 0.998), type of breeding service (P = 0.561), stillbirth history (P = 0.302), dog contact with herd (P = 0.302) as well as poultry presence in the farm (P = 0.302). In both dogs and cats, the seroprevalence rate for females was higher than males (P 0.05). This is the comprehensive evaluation of risk factors associated to toxoplasmosis in Iranian dairy farms at the first time. Our finding indicated that toxoplasmosis may partly be responsible for transmission to humans and also abortion and economic losses in dairy farms. Improve the sanitary strategies for reducing the risk factors in animals' husbandry and launching control programs are recommended. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2019.