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Water-Borne, Food-Borne and Vector-Borne Parasitic Diseases

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 10320

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Panagiotis Karanis

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Guest Editor

Department of Basic and Clinical Sciences, University of Nicosia Medical School, Nicosia 2408, Cyprus
Interests: water-borne pathogens; waste and drinking water treatment; outbreaks; disinfection; public health; climate changes and infectious diseases; diagnostic techniques and detection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water- and food-borne parasitic diseases occur worldwide, and outbreaks caused by the contamination of community water systems and/or food material have the potential to cause disease in large numbers of humans and animals. The role of water and food in the epidemiology of water and foodborne parasitic diseases is now well recognized.

Ticks are blood-feeding ectoparasites found on mammals, birds, and reptiles worldwide. Ticks are known as carriers for a wide range of pathogens, including protozoa and helminths. Tick-borne diseases are recognized as serious and growing public health epidemics worldwide, and are the cause of major losses in livestock production worldwide.

Knowledge of past and current situations of food-borne diseases (FBDs), tick-borne diseases (TBDs), and water-borne diseases (WBDs), as well as the awareness of factors affecting future developments, will help to find approaches to integrated diseases management as part of the “One Health” concept.

Prof. Dr. Panagiotis Karanis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

food
water
ticks
parasites
climate changes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface Waters and Urban Brown Rats as Potential Sources of Human-Infective Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Vienna, Austria

by Silvia Cervero-Aragó, Amélie Desvars-Larrive, Gerhard Lindner, Regina Sommer, Iveta Häfeli and Julia Walochnik

Microorganisms 2021, 9(8), 1596; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9081596 - 27 Jul 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2730

Abstract

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are waterborne protozoa that cause intestinal infections in a wide range of warm-blooded animals. Human infections vary from asymptomatic to life-threatening in immunocompromised people, and can cause growth retardation in children. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence and diversity of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in urban surface water and in brown rats trapped in the center of Vienna, Austria, using molecular methods, and to subsequently identify their source and potential transmission pathways. Out of 15 water samples taken from a side arm of the River Danube, Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts were detected in 60% and 73% of them, with concentrations ranging between 0.3–4 oocysts/L and 0.6–96 cysts/L, respectively. Cryptosporidium and Giardia were identified in 13 and 16 out of 50 rats, respectively. Eimeria, a parasite of high veterinary importance, was also identified in seven rats. Parasite co-ocurrence was detected in nine rats. Rat-associated genotypes did not match those found in water, but matched Giardia previously isolated from patients with diarrhea in Austria, bringing up a potential role of rats as sources or reservoirs of zoonotic pathogenic Giardia. Following a One Health approach, molecular typing across potential animal and environmental reservoirs and human cases gives an insight into environmental transmission pathways and therefore helps design efficient surveillance strategies and relevant outbreak responses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Borne, Food-Borne and Vector-Borne Parasitic Diseases)

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12 pages, 2171 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exosomal microRNA let-7-5p from Taenia pisiformis Cysticercus Prompted Macrophage to M2 Polarization through Inhibiting the Expression of C/EBP δ

by Liqun Wang, Tingli Liu, Guoliang Chen, Yanping Li, Shaohua Zhang, Li Mao, Panhong Liang, Majid Fasihi Harandi, Taoshan Li and Xuenong Luo

Microorganisms 2021, 9(7), 1403; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9071403 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2137

Abstract

Cysticercus pisiformis, the larval stage of Taenia pisiformis, causes serious illness in rabbits that severely impacts the rabbit breeding industry. An inhibitive Th2 immune response can be induced by let-7-enriched exosomes derived from T. pisiformis cysticercus. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. Here, we report that exosomal miR-let-7-5p released by T. pisiformis cysticercus played a critical role in the activation of M2 macrophages. We found that overexpression of let-7-5p in M1 macrophages decreased M1 phenotype expression while promoting polarization to the M2 phenotype, which is consistent with experimental data in exosome-treated macrophages alone. In contrast, knockdown of let-7-5p in exosome-like vesicles promoted M1 polarization and decreased M2 phenotype expression. Furthermore, down-regulation of transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)-δ resulted in the decrease of M1 phenotype markers and increase of M2 phenotype markers. These results suggested that let-7 enriched in exosome-like vesicles from T. pisiformis metacestodes can induce M2 macrophage polarization via targeting C/EBP δ, which may be involved in macrophage polarization induced by T. pisiformis metacestodes. The finding helps to expand our knowledge of the molecular mechanism of immunosuppression and Th2 immune response induced by metacestodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Borne, Food-Borne and Vector-Borne Parasitic Diseases)

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Review

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40 pages, 1186 KiB

Open AccessReview

Tick-Borne Pathogens and Diseases in Greece

by Artemis Efstratiou, Gabriele Karanis and Panagiotis Karanis

Microorganisms 2021, 9(8), 1732; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9081732 - 14 Aug 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4234

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are recognized as a serious and growing public health epidemic in Europe, and are a cause of major losses in livestock production worldwide. This review is an attempt to present a summary of results from studies conducted over the last century until the end of the year 2020 regarding ticks, tick-borne pathogens, and tick-borne diseases in Greece. We provide an overview of the tick species found in Greece, as well as the most important tick-borne pathogens (viruses, bacteria, protozoa) and corresponding diseases in circulation. We also consider prevalence data, as well as geographic and climatic conditions. Knowledge of past and current situations of TBDs, as well as an awareness of (risk) factors affecting future developments will help to find approaches to integrated tick management as part of the ‘One Health Concept’; it will assist in avoiding the possibility of hotspot disease emergencies and intra- and intercontinental transmission. Increased surveillance in Greece is required to ensure clear and effective policies for TBD control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water-Borne, Food-Borne and Vector-Borne Parasitic Diseases)

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