Happy to contribute to the Parasite of the Month series in @cp-trendsparasitol.bsky.social with our article on the neurotropic schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti! 🧠🔬
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m5yH5Eb1x...

Where would the Arabs have reached if not for the plague that decimated the Byzantine Empire? And how did malaria influence the fight for American independence? 🤔 A light yet fascinating read about the germs that shaped our past — a perfect blend of infection and history. 📖🦠

Finally, infected mice showed a mixed Th1/Th2/Treg response and cross-reactivity with other schistosome species. 👉Continuous exposure = allergy develops, regardless of which avian schistosome species is present.

Next, we followed parasite migration in the skin and lungs, the most likely affected organs. 🤚🏻 Skin: hyperkeratotic crusts + strong leukocyte infiltration. 🫁Lungs: transient hemorrhages. Clear signs of pathology caused by the infection.

First, we analyzed the genetic variability of our T. franki samples. Although the parasite is known to have several haplotypes across Europe, all Czech samples were identical – even though they came from four sites >100 km apart.

New study out! 🚨 For the first time, we tracked Trichobilharzia franki, a major cause of swimmer’s itch in Europe, in the lab. 🪱🔬 From genetics to pathology & immunity, our findings shed new light on this tricky parasite and its role in outbreaks.
doi.org/10.1016/j.fa...

Second stop of our @4euplusalliance.bsky.social project: Denmark! 🇩🇰🐌🦆 We sampled in various sites – even right in the heart of Copenhagen! 🌊🏙️ Great teamwork, hands-on training, and more data for our #eDNA detection of swimmer’s itch. 🧬 @zikmund.bsky.social

🔗 natur.cuni.cz/en/biology/d...

Thelazia callipaeda is an emerging zoonotic nematode responsible for eye infections. A new human case is reported from Rome, Italy. 👁️🪱🍕 @crpvbd.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.cr...

Possibly a new species of Leucochloridium from Japan... I really love these creatures! 😍 doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...

First stop of our @4euplusalliance.bsky.social project: Poland! 🐌🦆
We met with @ankarn.bsky.social (thank you! 🙏🏻) to exchange knowledge on bird schistosomes and swimmer's itch and, mainly, share our experience with water filtration and #eDNA detection. 🧬

📢 A major study on alveolar echinococcosis 🦊🫐🪱 in Europe reveals over 4,200 human cases, with hotspots in the Alps and Baltics. @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

We were curious about claims linking dog roundworms (causing human larval toxocarosis ☝🏻) to Alzheimer’s disease 🧠🐶. However, no AD-like pathology was found in the mouse model. Sometimes, negative results are welcome! 😅 👉 @parasitejournal.bsky.social

🔗 www.parasite-journal.org/articles/par...

Octopus males use a high-precision bite that targets the female’s aorta to inject deadly neurotoxin at the start of copulation! 😮🐙 @currentbiology.bsky.social

🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
📷: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0

Can neurotropic dog roundworms contribute to Alzheimer’s disease? 🐶🧠 Our mouse study provides new insights into this long-debated question! 🤔 #parasitology #neurology #Alzheimers

New tools for environmental detection of swimmer's itch presented by Honzik from our lab! 🏞🧬 #eDNA #LAMP

@lukykony.bsky.social sharing nice data on enignatic VAL proteins in schistosomes. 🤩 Happy to add some pieces to the project!

Happy to be at the parasitology joint meeting in Würzburg! Thanks to all organizers! 🇩🇪🇬🇧🇨🇭 @bspparasitology.bsky.social

Uploading memories, September 2020.
They said 'yes'... #viva #passed 👨🏻‍🎓