Evaluation of the epidemiological situation of intestinal schistosomiasis using the POC-CCA parasite antigen test and the Kato-Katz egg count test in school-age children in endemic villages in western Côte d'Ivoire.

Schistosomiasis is an endemic disease in Côte d'Ivoire. We compared the conventional Kato Katz (KK) test and a more sensitive but rarely used method, the point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA), in order to contribute to the development of a more appropriate strategy for the control and elimination of intestinal schistosomiasis in western Côte d'Ivoire. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was conducted in eight elementary schools in the Guémon and Cavally regions from February to December 2020.

Transcriptome profiles of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in Malawi reveal focus specific gene expression profiles associated with pathology.

Background: Sleeping sickness caused by Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense is a fatal disease and endemic in Southern and Eastern Africa. There is an urgent need to develop novel diagnostic and control tools to achieve elimination of rhodesiense sleeping sickness which might be achieved through a better understanding of trypanosome gene expression and genetics using endemic isolates. Here, we describe transcriptome profiles and population structure of endemic T.

An easy to use tool for the analysis of subcellular mRNA transcript colocalisation in smFISH data.

Single molecule fluorescence in situ hybridisation (smFISH) has become a valuable tool to investigate the mRNA expression of single cells. However, it requires a considerable amount of programming expertise to use currently available open-source analytical software packages to extract and analyse quantitative data about transcript expression. Here, we present FISHtoFigure, a new software tool developed specifically for the analysis of mRNA abundance and co-expression in QuPath-quantified, multi-labelled smFISH data.

Impact of environmental factors on Biomphalaria pfeifferi vector capacity leading to human infection by Schistosoma mansoni in two regions of western Côte d'Ivoire.

Unlabelled: ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Intestinal schistosomiasis remains a worrying health problem, particularly in western Côte d'Ivoire, despite control efforts. It is therefore necessary to understand all the factors involved in the development of the disease, including biotic and abiotic factors. The aim of this study was to examine the factors that could support the maintenance of the intermediate host and its vectorial capacity in western Côte d'Ivoire.

Phenome-wide analysis reveals epistatic associations between APOL1 variants and chronic kidney disease and multiple other disorders.

Background: APOL1 variants G1 and G2 are common in populations with recent African ancestry. They are associated with protection from African sleeping sickness, however homozygosity or compound heterozygosity for these variants is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and related conditions. What is not clear is the extent of associations with non-kidney-related disorders, and whether there are clusters of diseases associated with individual APOL1 genotypes.

FLAgellum Member 8 modulates extravascular distribution of African trypanosomes.

In the mammalian host, the biology of tissue-dwelling Trypanosoma brucei parasites is not completely understood, especially the mechanisms involved in their extravascular colonization. The trypanosome flagellum is an essential organelle in multiple aspects of the parasites' development. The flagellar protein termed FLAgellar Member 8 (FLAM8) acts as a docking platform for a pool of cyclic AMP response protein 3 (CARP3) that is involved in signaling.

Differences in gene expression profiles in early and late stage rhodesiense HAT individuals in Malawi.

T. b. rhodesiense is the causative agent of Rhodesian human African trypanosomiasis (r-HAT) in Malawi.

The murine meninges acquire lymphoid tissue properties and harbour autoreactive B cells during chronic Trypanosoma brucei infection.

The meningeal space is a critical brain structure providing immunosurveillance for the central nervous system (CNS), but the impact of infections on the meningeal immune landscape is far from being fully understood. The extracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, which causes human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness, accumulates in the meningeal spaces, ultimately inducing severe meningitis and resulting in death if left untreated. Thus, sleeping sickness represents an attractive model to study immunological dynamics in the meninges during infection.

γδ T cells control murine skin inflammation and subcutaneous adipose wasting during chronic Trypanosoma brucei infection.

African trypanosomes colonise the skin to ensure parasite transmission. However, how the skin responds to trypanosome infection remains unresolved. Here, we investigate the local immune response of the skin in a murine model of infection using spatial and single cell transcriptomics.

Association between polymorphisms of IL4, IL13, IL10, STAT6 and IFNG genes, cytokines and immunoglobulin E levels with high burden of Schistosoma mansoni in children from schistosomiasis endemic areas of Cameroon.

Eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem by 2030 requires a better understanding of the disease transmission, especially the asymmetric distribution of worm burden in individuals living and sharing the same environment. It is in this light that this study was designed to identify human genetic determinants associated with high burden of S. mansoni and also with the plasma concentrations of IgE and four cytokines in children from two schistosomiasis endemic areas of Cameroon.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence at urban and rural sites in Kaduna State, Nigeria, during October/November 2021, immediately prior to detection of the Omicron variant.

Background: Nigeria is Africa's most populated country. By November 2021 it had experienced three waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Peer-reviewed seroprevalence data assessing the proportion of the Nigerian population that have been infected were extremely limited.

Raman spectroscopic analysis of skin as a diagnostic tool for Human African Trypanosomiasis.

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) has been responsible for several deadly epidemics throughout the 20th century, but a renewed commitment to disease control has significantly reduced new cases and motivated a target for the elimination of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense-HAT by 2030. However, the recent identification of latent human infections, and the detection of trypanosomes in extravascular tissues hidden from current diagnostic tools, such as the skin, has added new complexity to identifying infected individuals. New and improved diagnostic tests to detect Trypanosoma brucei infection by interrogating the skin are therefore needed.

Corrigendum: To the Skin and Beyond: The Immune Response to African Trypanosomes as They Enter and Exit the Vertebrate Host.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.

Transcriptional differentiation of Trypanosoma brucei during in vitro acquisition of resistance to acoziborole.

Subspecies of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei are the causative agents of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), a debilitating neglected tropical disease prevalent across sub-Saharan Africa. HAT case numbers have steadily decreased since the start of the century, and sustainable elimination of one form of the disease is in sight. However, key to this is the development of novel drugs to combat the disease.

SNPs in IL4 and IFNG show no protective associations with human African trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a case-control study.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a protozoal disease transmitted by tsetse flies. Infection with trypanosomes can lead directly to active HAT or latent infection with no detectable parasites, which may progress to active HAT or to spontaneous self-cure. Genetic variation could explain these differences in the outcome of infection.

High Levels of Genetic Diversity within Nilo-Saharan Populations: Implications for Human Adaptation.

Africa contains more human genetic variation than any other continent, but the majority of the population-scale analyses of the African peoples have focused on just two of the four major linguistic groups, the Niger-Congo and Afro-Asiatic, leaving the Nilo-Saharan and Khoisan populations under-represented. In order to assess genetic variation and signatures of selection within a Nilo-Saharan population and between the Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo and Afro-Asiatic, we sequenced 50 genomes from the Nilo-Saharan Lugbara population of North-West Uganda and 250 genomes from 6 previously unsequenced Niger-Congo populations. We compared these data to data from a further 16 Eurasian and African populations including the Gumuz, another putative Nilo-Saharan population from Ethiopia.

Extravascular Dermal Trypanosomes in Suspected and Confirmed Cases of gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis.

Background: The diagnosis of gambiense human African trypanosomiasis (gHAT) typically involves 2 steps: a serological screen, followed by the detection of living trypanosome parasites in the blood or lymph node aspirate. Live parasites can, however, remain undetected in some seropositive individuals, who, we hypothesize, are infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense parasites in their extravascular dermis.

Methods: To test this hypothesis, we conducted a prospective observational cohort study in the gHAT focus of Forecariah, Republic of Guinea.

To the Skin and Beyond: The Immune Response to African Trypanosomes as They Enter and Exit the Vertebrate Host.

African trypanosomes are single-celled extracellular protozoan parasites transmitted by tsetse fly vectors across sub-Saharan Africa, causing serious disease in both humans and animals. Mammalian infections begin when the tsetse fly penetrates the skin in order to take a blood meal, depositing trypanosomes into the dermal layer. Similarly, onward transmission occurs when differentiated and insect pre-adapted forms are ingested by the fly during a blood meal.

Association of APOL1 renal disease risk alleles with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection outcomes in the northern part of Malawi.

Trypanosoma brucei (T.b.) rhodesiense is the cause of the acute form of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in eastern and southern African countries.

Macrophage migrating inhibitory factor expression is associated with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infection and is controlled by trans-acting expression quantitative trait loci in the Guinean population.

Infection by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is characterized by a wide array of clinical outcomes, ranging from asymptomatic to acute disease and even spontaneous cure. In this study, we investigated the association between macrophage migrating inhibitory factor (MIF), an important pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a central role in both innate and acquired immunity, and disease outcome during T. b.