#leishmaniasis

[chilloutatbaraddur]

💔 Help Fenrir Fight Leishmaniasis

Fenrir is a young Belgian Shepherd with a heart full of love and life. Sadly, he’s battling advanced leishmaniasis, a serious parasitic disease. While incurable, it can be controlled — but the treatments are expensive.

Each relapse requires a special medication called Milteforan, and just one round costs nearly €500. On top of that, there are blood tests and vet visits.

We’re doing everything we can to care for him, but we can’t do it alone. If you can donate, we would be beyond grateful. If not, just sharing this link means the world to us. 💖🐾

Thank you so much for reading, sharing, and supporting. Fenrir sends you a big, slobbery kiss of gratitude. 🐶

[destielmemenews]

"The infection is most common in parts of Africa, Brazil and the eastern Mediterranean region, like Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the World Health Organization. "

"All leishmaniasis infections are caused by Leishmania parasites but can have varying clinical presentations. The most common form – called cutaneous leishmaniasis – can cause ulcers and permanent scars. Some more severe variations of the disease can be fatal, according to the CDC."

source

[mindblowingscience]

Back in 2014, dermatologist Bridget McIlwee saw a 3-year-old patient in central Texas with unusual bumps on his ear. "They looked a little bit like almost kind of a benign mole that you would see in a child, except that you wouldn't expect something like that to come up quickly and then multiply," she says. McIlwee sent off a sample for laboratory testing, and the results came back pointing to a surprising culprit: The boy had tested positive for cutaneous leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease. The World Health Organization says between 600,000 and 1 million new infections happen worldwide every year, mostly in tropical regions of the Americas, the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East and Central Asia — not in Texas. These illnesses can be disfiguring, even if they are rarely fatal. "I was shocked, because in medical school, we're taught that this is a tropical disease, something that you see in immigrants, military returning from deployment, people who went on vacation to South America or Asia or Africa," McIlwee says.

Continue Reading.

[a-dog-like-that]

Xivu has very thin fur in a lot of places, mostly because of the Leishmaniasis (and maybe because of another parasite she got diagnosed with recently (Acanthocheilonema reconditum) but that one is treatable).

She gets cold pretty easily, as in a few weeks ago we had some slightly colder weather (like 20°C during the day and at most 10°C at night) and she was cold enough to need a sweater at night.

I've bought some warm costs for the winter, but I do hope she'll grow some of the fur back.

I'm most worried about her ears, the tips are completely bald and at risk for frostbite once it gets cold.

Her back is basically the only place she has decent fur, everywhere else is super thin.

Could you tell that a spot was shaved 2 weeks ago?

And her belly is still completely bald from getting spayed 6+ months ago

(Bonus her very strangely placed teats)

[onlyhurtforaminute]

LEISHMANIASIS-KILL THE PIG

[whats-in-a-sentence]

They are zoonotic pathogens, such as viruses that survive permanently in species of birds, bats, or rodents and only sporadically transmit to humans. Some are helminths, macroparasites that only exist in the New World. Many are vector-borne, spread by the mosquitos, sand flies, and black flies native to the hemisphere.²⁶

26. I am not aware of a comprehensive catalog of the various minor diseases unique to the New World, but the GIDEON database provides an extensive number of such pathogens – for example, Junin virus, Lechiguana virus, Machupo mammarenavirus, Bermejo virus, Sabia virus, Anajatuba virus, various leishmaniases, Bussuquara virus, Ilheus virus, Candiru phlebovirus, Inermicapsifer cubensis, Paragonimus mexicanus, Gnathostoma binucleatum, various rickettsial diseases, Paragonimus kellicotti, various orthobunyaviruses, Colorado tick coltivirus, various hantaviruses, Monongahela virus, New York-1 virus, Heartland bandavirus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, helminths in the genus Echinococcus, various vesiculoviruses, Cardiovirus A, Rocio virus, various Borrelia bacteria, Monnsonella ozzardi, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, eastern equine encephalitis virus, Group C viral fever viruses, Mayaro virus, and western equine encephalitis virus.

"Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History" - Kyle Harper

[thelovebudllc]

Exploring the role of immune checkpoints IDO1 and PDL1 in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL)

Dr. Nidhi Dey from the University of York was recently interviewed on her exciting new work on the spatial analysis of IDO1 and PDL1 checkpoints in cutaneous leishmaniasis. What are IDO1 and PDL1, and what is their relevance to the study of cutaneous leishmaniasis? IDO1 and PDL1 are immune checkpoints with key roles in immune system regulation. Their relevance stems from their ability to suppress…

[cheriemariii]

ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

[travellingwiththedead]

Leishmaniasis of the skin

[jyunism]

ml is so

cringe

[noticlick]

Villa Montes inicia campaña de prevención de Leishmaniasis Visceral.

Luego que se declarara a Villa Montes municipio endémico, las autoridades de salud de la región chaqueña comenzaron con una campaña de prevención y control de Leishmaniasis Visceral desde el 13 hasta el 25 de noviembre. El plan de acción contará con la participación de 70 miembros entre la universidad, el servicio departamental de salud, Red de Salud, Gobierno Regional de Villa Montes, UAJMS, y…

[nuadox]

Test detects co-infection by novel species of parasite in severe cases of visceral leishmaniasis

- By Julia Moióli , Agência FAPESP -

In recent years, physicians and scientists in parts of Brazil where visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is endemic have seen rising numbers of cases of co-infection by Leishmania infantum and Crithidia, also a protozoan but hitherto believed to be a mosquito parasite that cannot infect humans or other mammals.

Accurate diagnosis is hindered by a lack of simple specific tests (more at: https://agencia.fapesp.br/42072 and https://agencia.fapesp.br/31581). 

To accelerate and facilitate detection of the pathogens involved, supporting appropriate decisions regarding treatment, researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) have developed a PCR test which analyzes the genetic material in the sample and produces a result in less than two hours. An article on the study was published in the journal Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease and is considered a global public health problem. Brazil reports more than 3,500 cases per year, according to the Health Ministry, or 93% of all cases in Latin America. The disease caused 165 deaths in Brazil in 2020.

VL is the most severe form of the disease, affecting the spleen, liver, bone marrow and lymph nodes, and can be lethal if it is not correctly treated or is misdiagnosed. The main agent of VL is L. infantum. 

The study was funded by FAPESP via nine projects (16/18527-3, 16/20258-0, 17/16328-6, 18/26799-9, 19/19789-0, 20/14011-8, 20/15771-6, 21/10358-6 and 21/12464-8).

The novel method is an advance on the usual diagnostic technique. In the study, it was highly accurate in identifying and quantifying L. infantum and Crithidia in samples obtained in vitro or collected from human hosts as well as dogs, cats and insects by means of skin biopsies or bone marrow aspiration.

“Although there are other molecular methods for identifying species, they require DNA sequencing of the sample, which is laborious, slow and expensive. Our test analyzes the parasite’s genetic material directly from vectors and human or animal tissue,” said Sandra Regina Costa Maruyama, last author of the article and a professor of evolutionary genetics and molecular biology at UFSCar. 

Unlike the quick tests used by health clinics and pharmacies, which do not detect pathogens directly but identify the relevant antibodies, the researchers designed their dye-based quantitative PCR assay on the basis of targeted sequences from L. infantum and Crithidia in experimental and clinical samples. A test had to be performed first to detect the former parasite, followed by another to identify the latter.

“The targets resulted from our analysis of the two species’ genomes. Our most recent study showed specificity in different sample types. The test can now be optimized to show in a single reaction whether the infection was caused by L. infantum, Crithidia or both,” Maruyama said.

The test can be performed by any diagnostic laboratory capable of performing qPCR tests (now more widespread following the COVID-19 pandemic). It can also be used in epidemiological research, parasite load monitoring, and treatment follow-up.

Co-infection cases

The study involved analysis of 62 parasites isolated from VL patients’ tissues, with 51 testing positive for Crithidia. In addition, bone marrow co-infection by Crithidia and L. infantum was identified in two new cases of VL in Brazil. In May the group published an article on a case of severe VL in which both species were detected.

According to Maruyama, beyond the efficacy of the test, the results show that infection by Crithidia is more frequent than has hitherto been supposed, and that co-infection by both protozoans appears to occur above all in the most severe cases.

“We don’t yet understand the clinical implications of the presence of Crithidia in cases of VL, but we suspect that co-infection exacerbates the disease or prevents patients from responding to the recommended treatment for L. infantum,” she said. “Identifying the species of parasite correctly ensures that appropriate measures can be taken quickly to prevent progression of the patient’s clinical condition, potentially reducing mortality. It also points to the possible development of more specific drugs and treatments in future.”

The article “Parasite detection in visceral leishmaniasis samples by dye-based qPCR using new gene targets of Leishmania infantum and Crithidia” is at: https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/8/405.

This text was originally published by FAPESP Agency according to Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-ND. Read the original here.

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Header image: The protozoan Leishmania infantum, which causes visceral leishmaniasis, can affect the spleen, liver, lymph nodes and bone marrow. Credit: Francis W. Chandler/CDC/Wikimedia Commons.

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[a-dog-like-that]

Introducing Xivu!

She's a Malinois, about 3.5 years old and was originally found roaming the streets in southern Spain.

She's been in a foster home in Germany since February and with us since yesterday.

She does unfortunately have leishmaniasis, but has been responding really well to medication, but for now it's left her with very sparse fur in some places.

Character wise, she's just a really lovely dog. Settles down easily, very cuddly, friendly with almost all humans (some tall men still scare her a bit) and dogs, likes to work and is easily motivated by food (and toys, but I need to improve my skills with those first).

She's watchful without being overly bark-y or being bothered by the construction noises currently happening in our house.

She settled in extremely fast, slept though the first night and for the most part has just been chilling and napping while I do online school.

She did however pee on my bed yesterday xD

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Ultimately, the burden of disease in the Pleistocene was disproportionately due to a special class of pathogens that solved the evolutionary challenge of transmitting between hosts by adopting a daring gambit: vector-borne transportation (see table 3.2).

"Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History" - Kyle Harper

[bogotter]

shirt that says IDIOPATHIC JUVENILE ARTHRITIS

honestly i need a tshirt that just says "BOTULISM" on it. there's no bit no inside joke that's it.

[hot-girls-love-jiho]

I finally feel ready to tell you guys about what happened on friday, because I think it's important that you guys know because it's something that will drag on for a long time.

On friday, we took my dog to the vet and he got diagnosed with leishmania/leishmaniasis, a chronic illness that will affect him forever. We have to figure out how to treat it, how much it's gonna cost, and prepare for things that may happen because of it.

Like today, my dog started having intense nosebleeds, I found him choking on his own blood, caused by the leishmania, and we had to rush him to the vet again. I'm telling you because when things like these happen, I might disappear for a while. I won't show the picture of the blood because it's very graphic and unpleasant to see.

I got so scared, I thought he was gonna die in my arms today. I don't wanna lose him so soon. Fortunately, we managed to stop the bleeding and he seems to be a little better right now, but it's so unpredictable and violent that we don't know when or what is gonna happen next.

Say hi to my baby.