Jesca Nakayima is a PhD graduate from Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan (2014). She is specialized in Molecular Epidemiology. She holds a Master of Wildlife Health & Management (MWHM) and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) from Makerere University, in 2006 and 2002 respectively. She joined National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)/National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in June 2006, where she is working till date. She has worked under the Biotechnology section then later Livestock health Program. She has participated in the surveillance and control of Trypanosomiasis. She has also worked on the molecular epidemiology of zoonoses, protozoan parasites, helminthes, wildlife diseases, tick-borne diseases, viruses, among others.

The poultry sub-sector is crucially important in the context of agricultural growth and improvement of diets of the people in Uganda. The sub-sector is particularly important; in that it is a significant source for the supply of protein and nutrition in households’ nutritional intake. It is an attractive economic activity as well, especially to women and poor population. However, the poultry industry faces several challenges among which are diseases. I intend to survey both free ranging and commercial chicken for infectious bronchitis, a production disease, blood parasites and zoonotic pathogens. I intend to evaluate Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification LAMP for the diagnosis of some of the zoonotic pathogens. I will also undertake a comparative evaluation of pathogens of Guinea fowl which is a wildlife avian species but is semi domesticated in northern Uganda; these could be a reservoir of pathogens to domestic poultry. Gastrointestinal parasites of the birds will also be analyzed.

Manana Lordkipanidze has completed her PhD from Ilia State University, Institute of Zoology. She is the main Investigator of entomopathogens. She has more than 70 papers published in reputed journals.

This paper presents the results of using entomopathogenic nematodes for biological control of house fly Musca domestica L (Insecta: Diptera: Muscidae) in field conditions. The house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus, is a well known cosmopolitan pest of both farm and home. This species is always found in association with humans or the activities of humans. The biological agents’ entomopathogenic nematodes of the Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae families are pathogenic for a range of pests. These nematodes are symbiotically associated with entomopathogenic bacteria Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus. For the experiment we used pupae and larvae of fly (50-50) colonized 2 kg cattle dung. For infestation of insects the nematode suspension with certain concentration 10000 nematodes/ml was prepared. Three test samples were taken, to each dung sample was added 70, 50, 25 ml from the mentioned suspension. Appropriately, in test sample-I the number of nematodes was 350 per 1 g dung, in test sample-II: 250 and in test sample-III: 125. As the result showed in sample-I pupae and larvae mortality achieved 88.2-78%, in sample-II, mortality was 43.5-40% and in test sample-III, was approximately 32.3-28.3%. The insects died mostly in the pupa stage. The analysis of the experiments conducted by us provide evidence that the most efficient dose of the nematode suspension applied against pupae and larvae of fly colonized on cattle dung is 350 IJs/g. Both species of entomopathogenic namatodes produced mortality of experimental insects, although the S. feltiae was more significant than H. bacteriophira.

Asmaa M I Abuzeid has completed her MSVSc from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University. She is an Assistant Lecturer of Parasitology in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University.

In a study on trematodes of stray dogs in Ismailia Province, Egypt, 50 stray dogs of different sexes and ages were humanely euthanized, necropsied and examined for trematodes. The total prevalence of trematodes was 36%. Fourteen trematode species were recorded as the following; Prohemistomum vivax (4%), Mesostephanus appendiculatus (16%), Mesostephanus melvi (6%), Mesostephanus sp. (2%), Echinochasmus liliputans (16%), Heterophyes dispar (14%), Pygidiopsis genata (20%), Pygidiopsis summa (4%), Ascocotyle rara (4%), Phagicola longus (6%), Phagicolla longicollis (4%), Metagonimus yokogawai (4%), Haplorchis pumilio (6%) and Apophallus donicus (4%). Pygidiopsis summa and Ascocotyle rara were recorded for the first time in Ismailia Province and this may be the first time to be recorded among the Egyptian dogs. Mesostephanus spp., had the highest intensity 95.5 (18-170) followed by Pygidiopsis spp. 26.7 (10-40), Echinochasmus liliputans 19 (10-36), Heterophyes dispar 13 (5-20), Phagicola longus 5.7 (2-10), Prohemistomum vivax 3 (1-5), Ascocotyle rara and Haplorchis pumilio 3 (2-4) each, Metagonimus yokogawai 2.5 (2-3), Phagicola longicollis and Apophallus donicus 2 (1-3) each. There was a highly significant difference (p<0.01) in the prevalence of trematodes between different ages (60% in adult and 0% in young dogs), while there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the prevalence of the detected trematodes in relation to the sex of dogs. From this study, it could be concluded that stray dogs in Ismailia City carry a multitude trematode parasites, thus posing a risk for the human population and companion dogs.

Isaia Sotiriadou has completed her PhD at the University of Cologne. She was an Associate Researcher on several FP7 projects funded by the EU and she is currently appointed as a Supervisor in the Interdisciplinary Laboratory at the Polyclinic of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology. She has authored and co-authored several papers in reputed journals.

There is an ongoing demand for the development of different molecular tools with the aim of realizing an efficient method that is simple, fast and economic for the effective detection of life threatening microorganisms in water. In principle, the loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has been advocated as a unique, easy and low cost genetic analysis tool for resource-poor settings with increased sensitivity and specificity for the accurate detection of human pathogenic waterborne protozoan in the field or at the point of care by clinicians. LAMP has been successfully applied for several taxa including Cryptosporidium spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Giardia duodenalis, Entamoeba histolytica and matrices like stool, blood, tissues and environmental samples. Here, we demonstrate the most significant waterborne parasites that are detectable using LAMP. A unified strategy showing the investigation procedure comprises of sample collection, purification, segmentation and molecular analysis will be presented, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of LAMP assay in comparison to PCR assay. The synergy of using this innovative and rapid assay indicates the important impact in the event of outbreaks caused by life threatening pathogens and for tracking the source of contamination. The combination of the LAMP together with the already existing PCR, and the sequencing and genotyping of the end product, provides valuable information to scientists and physicians for prevention, safety and the health of the population. LAMP assay is valuable for medical outcomes (diagnoses), for tracking the source of infections and for monitoring purposes. Its economic importance is also significant for the detection of parasites at the earliest possible stage in the field.

Galina A Yakovleva has completed her PhD from Petrosavadsk State of University. She is the Research Associate of Institute of Biology of Karelian Research Centre of RAS. She has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals.

The study focused on the quantitative assessment of the trematode Apophallus muehlingi (Jagerskiold, 1899) infection in gull species living on Lake Ladoga shores (61°12′N; 32°54′E). A. muehlingi is actively dispersing northwestwards and metacercariae of this species can cause epizootic events in fish. Gulls (81 specimens) were surveyed in spring and autumn in the period between 2010 and 2015. The sample set included 7 species: Larus argentatus, L. canus, L. fuscus, L. minutus, L. ridibundus, Sterna hirundo, S. paradisaea. Mature trematodes A. muehlingi were detected only in L. canus and L. minutes in spring, instantly after their return from wintering grounds. The highest infection rates were found in Common Gull, which yielded 12% prevalence and mean intensity 5.1, whereas the rates in Little Gull were 6% and 0.7, respectively. The birds examined in autumn were free of the trematode infection, suggesting that A. muehlingi cannot yet complete its life cycle along Ladoga shores because local waters lack the snail Lithoglyphus naticoides (the first intermediate host of parasite). Over the past 50 years this snail from the Black Sea has spread from the downstream Volga up to Rybinskoye impoundment reservoir. If L. naticoides continues dispersing at the current rate, the mollusk may soon reach the waters in the Onego and Ladoga catchments. This intervention would generate the conditions required for A. muehlingi to complete life cycle and thus results in epizooty of local fish species with trematode metacercariae.

Julia A Loos is graduated in Biological Science (National University of Mar del Plata, 2011) and she is pursuing her PhD under the direction of Prof. Dr. Andrea Cumino. She has been serving as assistant teacher for subjects such as Histology, General Microbiology and Farmacology, that are part of the Biology and Biochemistry courses of study. She participates in several research projects on Parasitology and has published original articles. Currently, her research is focused on the study of intermediary metabolism and energy control in the larval stage of Echinococcus spp.

Metformin (Met) is an antihyperglycemic and a potential anticancer agent which may exert its anti-proliferative effects, both indirectly through the systemic reduction of insulin levels and directly, via the induction of energetic stress, involving the inhibition of ATP production, the activation of AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the inhibition of the target of rapamycin complex (TORC1). The drug shows good oral bioavailability (50-60%), is stable and not metabolized and its pharmacokinetics is regulated by transporters of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS). The aim of this study was to test the in vitro effect of Met alone or in combination with low concentrations of albendazole (ABZ) on Echinococcus granulosus larval stage and to report on their effects in vivo employing murine cyst echinococcosis infection model. Viable protoscoleces (PTS, N=3000) and metacestodes (MTC, N=20) were cultured in vitro in 199 medium and mortality was calculated daily. To determine the in vivo clinical and chemoprophylactic efficacies, mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with viable PTS and then treated once daily by intragastric administration for 60 days with the Met (50 mg kg-1 day-1) and ABZ (5 mg kg-1 day-1), separately and in combination (both Met at 50 mg kg-1 day-1 and ABZ at 50 mg kg-1 day-1). Next, the hydatid cysts collected from the peritoneal cavity of the animals were weighed and analyzed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, determining also the Met intracyst concentration. Administration of Met to cultured PTS and MTC showed significant dose and time dependent killing effects and the combination of Met and ABZ-SO, (the main active metabolite of ABZ), had an synergistic effect from day 12 or 4 in PTS and MTC, respectively. RT-PCR analysis indicated expression of the five genes encoding for Echinococcus organic cation transporters in PTS and MTC. In Met treated MTC an overexpression of all studied genes was observed, except for Eg-slcD; while that in PTS no changes in the transcriptional expression level of these genes was detected, except for Eg-slcE. In the clinical efficacy study, the weight of hydatid cysts was significantly decreased upon treatment with each drug (P<0.01), but the decrease was more prominent in the group receiving the combined treatments than that with either drug alone (p<0.05). In the chemoprophylactic study statistical differences (p<0.01) were registered in the weight of the cysts obtained from untreated mice compared with mice treated with Met. In addition, Met concentration was estimated in cysts obtained from Met or Met plus ABZ treated mice. Drug concentration was 43% higher in samples from animals treated with both drugs (60±5 μg/cyst g) compared to those receiving Met alone (35±7 μg/cyst g). Our results indicate that Met has anti-echinococcal effects and its combination with ABZ has significant additive effects, therefore both drugs may improve the anti-parasitic therapy.

Ranjit Sah is a Resident at Institute of Medicine of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Nepal. He has been undergoing researches regarding various clinical cases during his study period. He has done research on differentiation of Taenia species by simple ZN stain and the article was published in JIOM with title “Identification of Taenia in a 6 year old child”. He has identified for the first time cases in Nepal like Acanthamoeba in corneal scraping of a patient with keratitis and Toxoxoplasma parasite (tachyzoite and bradyzoites) demonstrated in vitreous fluid etc.

Introduction: Fascioliasis is an infection caused by Fasciola hepatica, the sheep or common liver fluke. Fascioliasis includes biliary colic, with vomiting, persistent diarrhea, jaundice and a tender hepatomegaly with peripheral eosinophilia (40-85%). Infection occurs following the ingestion of the encysted cercariae (metacercaria) of the fluke commonly found in water-cress. This is a common mode of infestation of the definitive host (sheep, goat and cattle) of the parasite. Humans also get infected in the same manner; intermediate host is Snails of genus Lymnaea.
\r\n\r\n Case Report-1: We have detected first case of Fasciola hepatica in Nepal. Adult worm was found in the biliary tract of the patient during ERCP and their eggs (ova) were found during stool examination. For treatment, we used Nitazoxanide which was not found in Nepal and was brought from India. After 7 days of medication, patient’s condition improved and follow up of 3 stool-examinations showed no eggs of Fasciola hepatica. Prior to the visit to our hospital (TUTH Kathmandu Nepal), she had already visited to different hospitals of Nepal and also India and was admitted with different provisional diagnosis like hepatocellular carcinoma, obstructive jaundice, cirrhosis of liver. She belongs to a poor family (daily labor) but has done all the required investigations for her provisional diagnosis with expenditure of Rs. 3-5 lakhs, yet her diagnosis was not confirmed. She has history of consumption of water cresses from river bank of her village which supported our diagnosis.
\r\n\r\n Case Report-2: Few weeks later, we found second case of Fasciola hepatica. Adult worm was found in the antrum of stomach (unusual site) on endoscopy. Endoscopy was done for melaena. On stool examination, we found ova of Fasciola hepatica along with the larva of Strongyloides stercolis co-infection. Again we brought Nitazoxanide (500 mg BD 7 days) from India for Fasciola hepatica and abendazole 400 mg BD 3 days for Strongyloides. On follow up of stool examination, no eggs of Fasciola hepatica seen but larva of Strongyloides stercoralis were numerous. We the treated the patient with Ivermectine and on further follow up examination there were no eggs of Fasciola hepatica and larva of Strongyloides stercoralis. This case also gives the history of consumption of water cresses from Local River.
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Eva Wong has obtained her MBChB degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014. She is currently a Resident trainee at the Department of Ophthalmology, Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong.

Diagnosis and treatment of parasitic eye infections remains to be a diagnostic challenge in developed countries due to its rarity and often atypical clinical presentation. We describe two cases of pathologically confirmed parasitic eyelid infection initially presented as pre-septal cellulitis of the orbit in two Chinese adult patients in 2015. No signs of intra-ocular infection were demonstrated. Therapeutic trials of oral antibiotics showed suboptimal clinical improvement which prompted further investigations regarding the nature of peri-orbital swelling. Both patients underwent extensive systemic workup, including serological tests, radiological imaging and excisional biopsy of the eyelid mass for diagnostic purposes and treatment. Parasitic infestation with granulomatous inflammatory reactions was confirmed upon histopathology report. Both patients had no signs of systemic microfilaraemia and anti-helminthic agents were not required. Satisfactory post-operative outcomes were achieved with no recurrences reported.

Olga S Koutsoni has obtained her BSc in Biological Sciences and completed her PhD in the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is working in the field of development of novel vaccines at the Laboratory of Cellular Immunology in Hellenic Pasteur Institute. She has published 6 papers in international scientific journals and counts 17 participations in world and national conferences.

One important goal in a successful vaccine formulation is to identify adjuvants that promote the appropriate immune responses and are safe for use in humans. The majority of adjuvants elicit humoral responses instead of the desired strong cellular responses, while the most potent possess high toxicity. Consequently, the development of novel adjuvants remains an urgent need. The Leishmania eukaryotic initiation factor (LeIF) antigen is considered as a natural Th1-type adjuvant that has the ability to induce cytokine secretion by immune cells of healthy individuals. In this study, we evaluated the adjuvant properties of the recombinant Leishmania infantum eIF (rLieIF) by co-administering it along with OVA antigen in the peritoneal cavity of BALB/c mice. The positive control group received alum (a widely used adjuvant in humans) plus OVA. At 6 and 24 hours post-immunization, the peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) were harvested and the phenotype of recruited immune cells was determined. Moreover, we evaluated their capacity to produce NO upon in vitro stimulation with rLieIF and/or IFN-γ and/or LPS, as wells as their uric acid levels. Moreover, at 2 hours post-immunization, we identified the relative gene expression of the IL-1β that is associated in alum\'s mechanism of action. Mice that received OVA-rLieIF exhibited significant recruitment of neutrophils and monocytes in the peritoneal cavity at 24 hours post-immunization. Furthermore, PEC derived from OVA-rLieIF-immunized mice produced significant amounts of NO when stimulated with rLieIF or rLieIF-IFN-γ. Moreover, rLieIF induced a 50-fold augmentation of IL-1β gene expression, while it did not affect the levels of uric acid. In conclusion, this study brings additional knowledge on the adjuvant activity of LieIF that involves the IL-1β gene expression and suggests that LieIF may play a dual role in vaccination strategies.

Agata Carolina Cevey has completed her Bachelor of Science from University of Buenos Aires, School of Exact and Nature Sciences. Currently she is performing PhD studies in School of Medicine from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has published one paper as first author and two as co-author in reputed journals.

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is the main cause of dilated cardiomyopathy in the Americas. Antiparasitic treatment mostly relies on benznidazole (Bzl) due to Nifurtimox shortage or unavailability. Both induce adverse drug effects (ADE) of varied severity in many patients, leading to treatment discontinuation or abandonment. Since dosage may influence ADE, we aimed to assess Bzl efficacy in terms of parasiticidal and anti-inflammatory activity, using doses lower than those previously reported. BALB/c mice infected with the T. cruzi RA strain were treated with different doses of Bzl. Parasitaemia, mortality and weight change were assessed. Parasite load, tissue infiltrates and inflammatory mediators were studied in the heart. Serum creatine kinase (CK) activity was determined as a marker of heart damage. The infection-independent anti-inflammatory properties of Bzl were studied in an in vitro model of LPS-treated cardiomyocyte culture. Treatment with 25 mg/Kg/day Bzl turned negative the parasitological parameters induced a significant decrease in IL-1β, IL-6 and NOS2 in the heart and CK activity in serum, to normal levels. No mortality was observed in infected treated mice. Primary cultured cardiomyocytes treated with Bzl showed that inflammatory mediators were reduced via inhibition of the NF-κB pathway. A Bzl dose lower than that previously reported for treatment of experimental Chagas disease exerts adequate antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory effects leading to parasite clearance and tissue healing. This may be relevant to reassess the dose currently used for the treatment of human Chagas disease, aiming to minimize ADE.

Raul N Ondarza-Vidaurreta is a Professor of Biochemistry at Faculty of Medicine, UNAM and Medical Researcher at National Institute of Public Health, currently teaching Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and directing research theses in both Master’s and Doctor’s degree in the Faculties of Sciences and Medicine of the UNAM. He has published more than 50 scientific papers. He has completed his Postgraduate in Biochemistry, Glasgow University, Scotland, Great Britain and Doctor in Biology (Biochemistry) Faculty of Sciences, UNAM, Mexico and he was a Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Dr. Honoris Causa, Republique Francaise, Académie de Créteil, Universitè Paris XIII. He was a Visiting Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego at La Jolla, California.

In our laboratory we have been working for several years searching and identifying thiol compounds such as Trypanothione in human pathogenic amoebas like E. histolytica, A. polyphaga and N. fowleri as well as on the inhibition of their enzyme NADPH-dependent Trypanothione reductase as a drug target, by neuroleptics, anti-mycotics, antibiotics and other drugs with antiproliferative effects. It is worth to be mentioned that E. histolytica, at least in 60 hours cultures, contains as much as four times more reduced cysteine than T(SH)2. Contrariwise, T. cruzi and Crithidia luciliae do not contain appreciable amounts of reduced cysteine. T. cruzi however, contains a much higher amount of T(SH)2 (559 nmol/g) than E. histolytica (29 nmol/g) when expressed by wet weight of the pellet, but the opposite is true when the amount is calculated in relation to the number of cells (T. cruzi=0.202 nmol/L×106 epimastigotes and E. histolytica=0.961 nmol/L×106 trophozoites). There is no doubt that the thiol compound trypanothione, which was previously thought to occur only in Kinetoplastida, is also present in these human pathogens, as well as in the non-pathogenic euglenozoan E. gracilis. The presence of the trypanothione/trypanothione reductase system in these amoebas creates the possibility of using this enzyme as a new \"drug target\" for rationally designed drugs to eliminate the parasite without affecting the human host.

Laura Modini is currently pursuing her PhD at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina. She is the Director of Water Section Laboratory at Faculty of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences at the same university. She has published papers in refereed journal and she is a Professor and Researcher at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral.

Cryptosporidium has been associated with waterborne outbreaks in many countries. The capacity of this microorganism to produce oocysts extremely resistant to environmental factors and conventional drinking water disinfection has facilitated its ability to spread and cause illness. Worldwide, Cryptosporidium oocysts have been found in groundwater, lakes, rivers, estuaries and ocean water. The survival of oocysts in freshwater (collected from the Laguna Setubal, Santa Fe, Argentina) and artificial seawater (salinity: 35 ppt) was investigated in the laboratory. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp., obtained from calves were cleaned of fecal debris using the sucrose flotation method. Suspensions of oocysts (106 oocysts per mL of distilled water) were inoculated in tubes with (I) freshwater at 6, 15, 20 and 32 °C and (II) saltwater at 15 and 20 °C in the dark. Then 3 tubes were removed from water at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks later. Oocyst viability was assessed by in vitro excystation. The viability of the initial oocyst suspension was assessed for comparison. The oocyst survival decreased with increasing temperature (p=0.003). Although there was a significant increase in the percentage of dead oocysts (p<0.001), a large proportion survived in the test waters for 16 weeks (30.7%±4.1% in freshwater at 32 °C and 28.6±9.79% in seawater at 20 °C). However, no difference was found between the viability of oocysts in fresh and sea water at the same temperature. Oocysts demonstrated longevity in all water types investigated. Temperature appears to be the main factor affecting the viability of oocysts in fresh and marine environmental waters.

Parik Kakani has completed her Master’s degree from School of Biotechnology, Devi Ahilya University. She is currently pursuing PhD from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India under the supervision of Dr. Sanjeev Kumar. The broader area of her research is exploring the Anopheles immunity against blood-borne antigens to arrest Plasmodium development. She has authored four papers which have been published in reputed journals.

The presence of bacteria in mosquito gut is mainly involved in the food digestion. After blood meal they proliferate and are protected from immune attacks by the formation of gut barriers. Simultaneously, it is also required that the gut microbial population should not over proliferate to cause any deleterious effect on the host and thus there is the need of maintaining gut microbiota homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate that A. stephensi dual oxidase (AsDUOX) is not only protecting the gut bacteria through barrier formation but it is also responsible for balancing their population after the blood meal. The transcriptional analysis revealed that AsDUOX is highly induced in the blood fed midgut and its silencing significantly increased the gut bacteria in these midguts. However, the AsDUOX silencing has non-significant effect on the mortality of mosquito. This is due to the induction of an array of anti-bacterial immune genes in silenced midguts. These findings reveal that the multiple levels of immune responses are functional to control the bacterial population in the blood fed midgut. We hypothesized that manipulating the microbial homeostasis will introduce new frontiers in blocking the malaria transmission as the gut bacteria have been reported as suppressors of the Plasmodium development.