Toxoplasmosis News and Research

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Toxoplasmosis is considered to be the third leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. More than 60 million men, women, and children in the U.S. carry the Toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, women newly infected with Toxoplasma during pregnancy and anyone with a compromised immune system should be aware that toxoplasmosis can have severe consequences for them.

Discovery could have important implications for brain infections, neurodegenerative diseases

More than 30 million Americans are infected with a brain parasite spread by cats and contaminated meat, but most will never show symptoms.

31 Jul 2020

Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection not harmful in first trimester pregnancies

A new Danish study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 shows that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in early pregnancy does not carry an increased risk of fetal harm.

10 Jun 2020

A lead compound can significantly reduce or eliminate toxoplasmosis and malaria

Toxoplasma gondii infection is one of the most frequent parasitic infections of humans. This parasite is present in the brain of an estimated two billion people--about 40 percent of all humans on earth. It is endemic throughout the world, causing water and food-borne epidemics that result in toxoplasmosis.

10 Jun 2020

Three FDA-approved drugs can block the replication of COVID-19 virus

Three drugs that are already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other international agencies can block the production of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in human cells, according to computational and pharmaceutical studies performed by UT Southwestern scientists.

19 May 2020

Brain parasite makes rodents unafraid of cats, other predators

Cats have the power to control the minds of rodents, through a brain parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. The pathogen exerts a strange mind control on rodents that make them lose their fear of cats and become easier to catch.

15 Jan 2020

Being around dogs from early age may lessen chance of developing schizophrenia as adult

Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being. Now, a study from Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that being around "man's best friend" from an early age may have a health benefit as well -- lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an adult.

18 Dec 2019

NIH awards new contract to integrate pathogen and vector genomics database

A team led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Georgia provides thousands of researchers around the world with access to the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genomics Database (EuPathDB.org), a collection of resources for analyzing large-scale datasets associated with microbial pathogens.

16 Oct 2019

Prompt treatment can lead to improved outcomes for babies with hydrocephalus caused by toxoplasmosis

Babies born with toxoplasmosis, which is caused by a congenital parasitic infection, can develop hydrocephalus, a condition where excess fluid creates damaging pressure in the brain.

4 Oct 2019

Researchers shed new light on how Toxoplasma parasite damages the human eye

One third of the world population is infected with the parasite -Toxoplasma- which causes a common eye infection called ocular toxoplasmosis. Researchers have shed new light on how an infection with the parasite causes a distinctive lesion in the retina.

30 Sep 2019

New review on the epidemiology of various parasitic diseases in Malaysia

Malaysia is facing many challenges caused by various parasitic pathogens. The lack of awareness among disadvantaged populations such as the Orang Asli community and the dependency on foreign workers has led to an influx of immigrants to Malaysia from countries endemic with various parasitic diseases.

29 Jun 2019

Dangerous brain parasite invades host cell, maintains steady nutrient supply

A team of researchers has found that a dangerous type of parasite that affects the brain, maintains a stable supply of essential nutrients as it replicates in the host cell. In an unexpected turn of events, the body itself delivers food to the harmful predator.

20 Jun 2019

Gruesome cat and dog experiments by the USDA exposed

A shocking new report from a nonprofit organization called The White Coat Waste Project published this week found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been conducting some abhorrent and bizarre experiments with cats and dogs.

21 Mar 2019

Novel finger-prick test can help prevent toxoplasmosis

A recent study, performed in Chicago and Rabat, Morocco, found that a novel finger-prick test for infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy -; and many other potential applications -; is 100 percent sensitive and 100 percent specific for detecting the presence of this life-damaging microorganism.

17 Aug 2018

Discovery of strange parasitic link to entrepreneurialism

Good news for cat lovers! A latest study has found that a parasite infestation found in cat feces could make a person an entrepreneur. Cat feces commonly contain parasite Toxoplasma gondii and its infection can often go unnoticed in most individuals. A new study has found that people who have had T. gondii infection are around 1.4 times more likely to major in business studies compared to those who were not infected.

25 Jul 2018

For shame: ‘Pharma bro’ Shkreli is in prison, but Daraprim’s price is still high

It was 2015 when Martin Shkreli, then CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and the notorious "pharma bro," jacked up the cost of the lifesaving drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent. Overnight, its price tag skyrocketed from $13.50 a pill to $750.

4 May 2018

SUTD-NCL team completes phenotypic screening of MMV Malaria Box against pathogenic parasites

A Singapore-India collaborative research project between the Singapore University of Technology & Design and CSIR-National Chemical Laboratories completed phenotypic screening of a large collection of potent chemical inhibitors (known as MMV Malaria Box), against pathogenic parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum, causative agents of human toxoplasmosis and malaria.

27 Jan 2018

Sleeping sickness actually caused by acceleration of biological clocks

Sleeping sickness could use a more encompassing moniker. An international study from the O'Donnell Brain Institute shows one of Africa's most lethal diseases is actually a circadian rhythm disorder caused by the acceleration of biological clocks controlling a range of vital functions besides sleep.

4 Jan 2018

New category of immunotherapy appears safe to use in patients with both cancer and HIV

A new category of immunotherapies called checkpoint inhibitors that has been highly effective against many different cancers appears safe to use in patients with both advanced malignancies and HIV, a population excluded from earlier trials of such therapies, according to an early-phase trial.

7 Nov 2017

Researchers identify connections between toxoplasmosis and several brain disorders

More than 2 billion people – nearly one out of every three humans on earth, including about 60 million people in the United States – have a lifelong infection with the brain-dwelling parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

14 Sep 2017

Binding Site launches new antigens and antibodies for infectious/contagious diseases

The Immunologicals Group of The Binding Site is pleased to announce the launch of a number of new monoclonal antibodies and recombinant antigens focused on a variety of infectious/contagious disease states – including Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Hepatitis, HIV, Rubella, Syphilis, and Toxoplasmosis.

From Binding Site 29 Jul 2017