Giardia News and Research

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Tips for staying safe in water during summer

Beaches, lakes, and pools are great ways to beat the summer heat but there are precautions to take before reaching for that swimsuit, report physicians with The University of Texas Health Science at Houston.

24 May 2019

Unrecognized childhood infections far greater threat than previously realized

Children around the world are suffering from unnoticed infections that are stunting their growth and mental development, new research from an international coalition of scientists reveals.

10 Oct 2018

UEA researchers unravel secret behind success of giardia parasites

Giardia parasites - responsible for one of the world's most common gastric diseases - are able to mimic human cell functions to break apart cells in the gut and feed off them, new research has shown.

29 Jan 2018

Researchers release open-source dataset offering instructions to build smartphone microscope

Add one more thing to the list of tasks your smartphone can perform. University of Houston researchers have released an open-source dataset offering instructions to people interested in building their own smartphone microscope.

30 Nov 2017

Anti-parasite drug acts like tailored medicine against colon, prostate cancer

Medicine against parasites like Tapeworms and Giardia, contains a substance that kills Prostate- and colon cancer.

14 Nov 2017

Researchers awarded NIH grant to develop, test new drugs for treating Giardia infections

The microscopic parasite Giardia can be found within Idaho, every region of the U.S. and around the world. While Giardia is not considered fatal, anyone who has suffered from the diarrheal disease knows how uncomfortable it can be.

3 Oct 2017

New analysis finds link between cloudy drinking water and gastrointestinal illness

Cloudy drinking water, even if it's within the limits allowed by some cities, was linked to increased cases of gastrointestinal illness, according to new Drexel University analysis.

17 Aug 2017

Compounds produced by creosote bush exhibit anti-parasitic activity against pathogenic protozoa

Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that compounds produced by the creosote bush, a desert plant common to the Southwestern United States, exhibit potent anti-parasitic activity against the protozoa responsible for giardia infections and an amoeba that causes an often-lethal form of encephalitis.

16 Aug 2017

Researchers detect protozoa in drinking water that cause diarrheal outbreaks

Researchers from the University of Zaragoza have analyzed drinking water and detected oocysts of Cryptosporidium and cysts of Giardia, two protozoa that cause outbreaks of diarrhea in humans.

28 Jun 2017

Study examines how ApoE gene may function differently in infectious environment

You've likely heard about being in the right place at the wrong time, but what about having the right genes in the wrong environment? In other words, could a genetic mutation (or allele) that puts populations at risk for illnesses in one environmental setting manifest itself in positive ways in a different setting?

30 Dec 2016

Lab-established diagnosis necessary for treatment of patients with persistent diarrhea

Persistent diarrhea, which is diarrhea that lasts at least 14 days, is an illness typically caused by parasites or bacteria and requires accurate diagnosis in order to determine what treatment to give, according to Herbert L. DuPont, M.D., director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.

29 Jun 2016

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

BD Life Sciences, a segment of global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced the availability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel for use on the BD MAX System.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 24 Sep 2015

Antech Diagnostics agrees to acquire assets of AVRL for $21 million from Abaxis

Abaxis, Inc., a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, and VCA Inc., a leading animal healthcare company in the United States and Canada, today jointly announced Antech Diagnostics, Inc., VCA's laboratory division, has agreed to acquire the assets of AVRL (Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratory) from Abaxis for $21 million in cash.

19 Mar 2015

Penn, UGA scientists awarded new contract to develop genome database for microbial pathogens

At the turn of the millennium, the cost to sequence a single human genome exceeded $50 million, and the process took a decade to complete. Microbes have genomes, too, and the first reference genome for a malaria parasite was completed in 2002 at a cost of roughly $15 million. But today researchers can sequence a genome in a single afternoon for just a few thousand dollars. Related technologies make it possible to capture information about all genes in the genome, in all tissues, from multiple individuals.

18 Dec 2014

Abaxis completes acquisition of QCR & Trio Diagnostics

Abaxis, Inc., a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care instruments and consumables for the medical, research, and veterinary markets worldwide and providing reference lab services to the veterinary and research markets in the United States, announced today the completion of a stock purchase agreement to acquire 100% of QCR & Trio Diagnostics Limited, a United Kingdom based distribution organization.

21 Nov 2014

FDA-cleared BD MAX Enteric Bacterial Panel now available to detect bacterial pathogens

BD Diagnostics, a segment of leading global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), announced today the availability of the FDA-cleared BD MAX Enteric Bacterial Panel for use on the BD MAX System.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 7 May 2014

Studies indicate that harvested rainwater frequently harbors pathogens

South Africa has been financing domestic rainwater harvesting tanks in informal low-income settlements and rural areas in five of that nation's nine provinces. But pathogens inhabit such harvested rainwater, potentially posing a public health hazard, especially for children and immunocompromised individuals, according to a team from the University of Stellenbosch.

27 Feb 2014

Rice, UTMB develop diagnostic test for cryptosporidiosis

Bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have developed a simple, highly sensitive and efficient test for the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis that could have great impact on global health.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers observe mating for the first time in microbes responsible for African sleeping sickness

Caught in the act! Researchers from the University of Bristol have observed mating for the first time in the microbes responsible for African sleeping sickness. This tropical disease is caused by trypanosomes, single-celled parasites that are found in the blood of those afflicted.

5 Jan 2014

Pregnant women, infants should avoid unpasteurized milk products, urge pediatricians

Pregnant women, infants and young children should avoid raw or unpasteurized milk and milk products and only consume pasteurized products, according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

16 Dec 2013