Soil contamination with Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) eggs and infective larvae constitutes the most important risk factor for human parasitic infections. STHs remain a major public health concern in low-resource settings, particularly in areas with poor hygiene and inadequate environmental sanitation. This study assessed soil contamination rate with soil-transmitted helminths and associated hygiene and environmental sanitation conditions among model and non-model villages under the Health Extension Program in Jimma Zone, southwest Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among model and non-model villages. A total of 240 soil samples were collected from five sampling sites within six randomly selected model and six non-model rural villages during both dry and rainy seasons. The soil samples were examined using the Zinc sulfate flotation technique. A total of 120 households, consisting of 60 model and 60 non-model households, were selected for the household-level assessment. Household hygiene and environmental sanitation data were systematically collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and chi-square tests were applied to compare model and non-model villages. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. The overall soil contamination rate with soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) was 12.5
The globally-distributed brown dog tick (BDT) is adapted to human-associated environments, transmits pathogens of veterinary and public health significance, and is very difficult to control. This paper reviews information on BDT control from field-based intervention studies, observational studies, reviews, and book chapters. The 55 included manuscripts reported on tick collars, dog-focused spot-on, oral, injectable, repellent-based, and pour-on treatments, environmental treatments, and integrated approaches. There was considerable variability in study settings and analytical approaches, particularly for community-based approaches. Tick collars and injectable fluralaner generally showed sustained effectiveness, with effectiveness varying by active ingredient. While spot-on, pour-on, and oral treatments also showed generally high initial efficacy, they often required consistent reapplication to maintain effectiveness. Despite that some acaricides applied to individual pet dogs could eliminate detectable BDTs on that pet for months, long-term or community-level impacts were rarely evaluated. Studies of environmental-only treatments were limited to historical or experimental products. Integrated interventions combining some or all of dog treatment, environmental acaricide application, dog management, and education ranged in scale from three infested homes in suburban northern California to tribal communities in eastern Arizona and peri-urban areas near Hermosillo, Sonora. They described moderate to high effectiveness in reducing tick infestations, although typically without isolating the principal drivers of efficacy. Control failures can be attributed to acaricide-resistant ticks, resurgence after initial knock-down of a local tick population, and reinfestation from roaming dogs, adjacent infested areas, and longer-distance introduction of ticks, typically on dogs. High quality epidemiological studies to refine effective intervention remain critically necessary.
Against a backdrop of global demographic change, optimizing early-life health has emerged as an urgent public health priority. Maternal infection with the neurotropic parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a recognized cause of congenital disease, whereas evidence concerning paternal infection and offspring neurodevelopment remains preliminary. This review synthesizes clinical and experimental evidence on associations between parental T. gondii infection and offspring neuropsychiatric vulnerability. We emphasize maternal immune activation during pregnancy, which may disrupt fetal neurodevelopment through inflammatory and neuroendocrine pathways, and emerging paternal infection-associated molecular findings, for which sperm-mediated transmission and stable germline inheritance have not been established. By integrating epidemiological associations with mechanistic studies, we frame congenital toxoplasmosis and related parental exposures as multifactorial developmental concerns rather than evidence of a single confirmed transgenerational pathway. Causal effects on lifelong neurocognitive health remain uncertain, underscoring the need for improved risk assessment, prospective studies, and appropriately targeted follow-up.
Lizards are important hosts for immature stages of ticks, including Ixodes ricinus, which is a major vector of tick-borne diseases. Recently, three populations of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) were discovered in the Strzelin Hills, SW Poland, north of the continuous range of the species. However, their exact origin (introduction or relict) is contentious and data on their ecology remain scarce. For example, no information is available on their parasites. The aim of this study was to assess the infestation rate and bacterial infection level in ticks collected from P. muralis at the three quarry sites in Poland between April and October 2019. A total of 52 adult lizards were caught, of which 16 (30.8
Cryptosporidiosis is a common zoonotic intestinal illness of neonatal livestock and humans caused by protozoa of the genus Cryptosporidium, for which very limited control measures exist. Plants or their extracts (Phytocomplexes) rich in polyphenol constituents have been demonstrated to promote health and to possess parasite-mitigating properties in humans and animals. Herein, we explored 4 phytocomplexes, namely PC15 (a combination of green tea, cinnamon and pomegranate extracts), GG (an AAFCO-approved plant), MIXI (mixture of AAFCO-approved plants), and FE (fenugreek extracts containing 18
