Infection Control Today Magazine

Parasitic Infections

Drug Found for Parasite That is a Major Cause of Death Worldwide

Research by a collaborative group of scientists from UC San Diego School of Medicine, UC San Francisco and Wake Forest School of Medicine has led to identification of an existing drug that is effective against Entamoeba histolytica. This parasite causes amebic dysentery and ...More
3 days ago
Posted in News
One Step Closer to Blocking the Transmission of Malaria

Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and partners have completed the first-ever comparative analysis of all currently available and in-development antimalarials in terms of the steps they target in the parasite’s lifecycle. This information provides the missing pieces of the ...More
February 22, 2012
Posted in News
Can Alcohol Consumption Protect Against Infectious Disease, Bloodborne Parasites?

Fruit flies infected with a bloodborne parasite consume alcohol to self-medicate, a behavior that greatly increases their survival rate, an Emory University study finds. "We believe our results are the first to show that alcohol consumption can have a protective effect ...More
February 16, 2012
Posted in News
Researchers Report Fundamental Malaria Discovery

A team of researchers led by Kasturi Haldar and Souvik Bhattacharjee of the University of Notre Dame's Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases has made a fundamental discovery in understanding how malaria parasites cause deadly disease. The researchers show how parasites ...More
January 23, 2012
Posted in News
Study Confirms New Strategy in Fight Against Infectious Diseases

New research shows that infectious disease-fighting drugs could be designed to block a pathogen’s entry into cells rather than to kill the bug itself. Historically, medications for infectious diseases have been designed to kill the offending pathogen. This new strategy is ...More
January 9, 2012
Posted in News
Researchers Discover a Potential Target for Schistosomiasis Vaccine

In the complicated life cycle of ancient flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, Case Western Reserve University researchers have identified a gene activator crucial to development of the parasites within humans – a potential target for a vaccine. A description of the ...More
January 5, 2012
Posted in News
As One Type of Malaria Declines, New Map Reveals Another Strain Holding Steady

With signs of declining malaria deaths in Africa raising hopes of eradicating the disease worldwide, researchers unveiled today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) a new malaria map that is the first to identify on a global ...More
December 5, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
FDA Approves First Supplemental Test for Chagas Disease

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first test for use as an additional, more specific test on human serum or plasma specimens found to be positive for antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). T. cruzi causes Chagas disease, a serious and potentially fatal ...More
November 22, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
Infectious Parasite Directly Alters Brain Chemistry

A research group from the University of Leeds has shown that infection by the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, found in 10 percent to 20 percent of the UK's population, directly affects the production of dopamine, a key chemical messenger in the brain. Their findings are ...More
November 4, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens
U.S. Blood Supply Vulnerable to Parasitic Infection Spread by Ticks

Babesia, a tickborne parasite of red blood cells, is being transmitted through blood transfusions, according to results of a collaborative study, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of data from the past three decades. Transfusion-associated cases of ...More
September 5, 2011
Posted in News, Infections & Pathogens