Early immune response to lineage III isolates of different virulence phenotype.

Introduction: is an intracellular parasite of importance to human and veterinary health. The structure and diversity of the genotype population of varies considerably with respect to geography, but three lineages, type I, II and III, are distributed globally. Lineage III genotypes are the least well characterized in terms of biology, host immunity and virulence.

A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Infection in Serbia's Pigs.

As pork is an important source for infection, we have analyzed genotypes and toxoplasmosis prevalence in pigs in Serbia in the context of production statistics and economics to assess the specific risk to public health. Genotyping was performed using MnPCR-RFLP; -specific IgG antibodies were detected using a modified agglutination test (MAT); and statistical data were extracted from official records and provided by government authorities. The results indicate that, from 2006 to 2021, the median number of annually slaughtered pigs was 5.

Effectiveness of Vaccination in Preventing COVID-19: A Community Study Comparing Four Vaccines.

The course of the COVID-19 pandemic has been critically altered by the availability of vaccines. To assess the risk of COVID-19 in the vaccinated, as compared to the unvaccinated population, as well as the comparative effectiveness of the BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm), BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech), Gam-COVID-Vac (Sputnik V) and ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) vaccines in the prevention of clinical infection, we carried out a retrospective study of the incidence of clinical COVID-19 in the Belgrade city municipality of Voždovac among both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during a 4-month period between 1 July and 31 October 2021. The study included all individuals with a symptomatic infection confirmed by a positive PCR and/or antigen test.

Three Outbreaks of COVID-19 in a Single Nursing Home over Two Years of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

Older people in nursing homes (NH) have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a retrospective study of three outbreaks of COVID-19, occurring during the waves of the initial pre-Alpha, Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants, in one NH in suburban Belgrade, Serbia. All staff and 95% residents were vaccinated in February 2021, mostly with BBIBP-CorV, and two thirds were boosted with a third dose in August 2021.

Seroprevalence, Direct Detection and Risk Factors for Infection in Pigs in Serbia, and Influence of Biosecurity Measures.

Consumption of contaminated pork is a major risk factor for human infection. We thus conducted a cross-sectional survey on the seroprevalence of infection in a representative sample of slaughter pigs from throughout Serbia and examined the influence of farm biosecurity-related risk factors on infection. In addition, direct detection of the parasite (by mouse bioassay) or its DNA was performed in the hearts of a subset of seropositive sows.

Epidemiology of Toxoplasmosis in SERBIA: A Cross-Sectional Study on Blood Donors.

Toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed parasitic zoonosis, affecting approximately one third of the human population. Epidemiological studies on toxoplasmosis conducted in Serbia so far have been focused on women of childbearing age, without a clear insight into the prevalence in the general population. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of the healthy adult population consisting of 1095 blood donors of both genders to establish the prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Genotypes Circulating in Serbia-Insight into the Population Structure and Diversity of the Species in Southeastern Europe, a Region of Intercontinental Strain Exchange.

In Europe, lineage II is dominant, and ToxoDB#1 the most frequently occurring genotype. The abundance of lineage III genotypes varies geographically and lineage I are rare, yet present in several regions of the continent. Data on the population structure in southeastern Europe (SEE) are scarce, yet necessary to appreciate the diversity of the species in Europe.

Postnatal ocular toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent patients.

Introduction: Ocular toxoplasmosis is the most common cause of infectious posterior uveitis worldwide. It can be prenatal or postnatal in origin. Despite estimations that postnatal ocular toxoplasmosis is more prevalent, only several cases of proven postnatal ocular toxoplasmosis have been reported in non-epidemic settings.

Prospective Cohort Study of the Kinetics of Specific Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 Infection and to Four SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines Available in Serbia, and Vaccine Effectiveness: A 3-Month Interim Report.

Real-life data on the performance of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are still limited. We here present the rates of detection and levels of antibodies specific for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein RBD (receptor binding domain) elicited by four vaccines available in Serbia, including BNT-162b2 (BioNTech/Pfizer), BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm), Gam-COVID-Vac (Gamaleya Research Institute) and ChAdOx1-S (AstraZeneca), compared with those after documented COVID-19, at 6 weeks and 3 months post first vaccine dose or post-infection. Six weeks post first vaccine dose, specific IgG antibodies were detected in 100% of individuals fully vaccinated with BNT-162b2 ( = 100) and Gam-COVID-Vac ( = 12) and in 81.

Risk of reactivated toxoplasmosis in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: a prospective cohort study in a setting withholding prophylaxis.

Objectives: Reactivation of latent toxoplasmosis may be life-threatening in haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients. We conducted an 8-year-long prospective study on the diagnosis and monitoring of reactivated toxoplasmosis in paediatric HSCT recipients. The primary objective was to determine the incidence of reactivated toxoplasmosis in a setting that withholds prophylaxis until engraftment.

Surveillance of foodborne parasitic diseases in Europe in a One Health approach.

In 2012, WHO/FAO ranked 24 foodborne parasites (FBP) using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to provide risk assessors with a basis for prioritising control of highly ranked FBP on the global level. One conclusion was that ranking may differ substantially per region. In Europe, the same methodology was used to rank FBP of relevance for Europe.

Experimental infection with Toxoplasma gondii in broiler chickens (Gallus domesticus): seroconversion, tissue cyst distribution, and prophylaxis.

Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread zoonotic protozoan that infects most species of mammals and birds, including poultry. This study aimed to investigate the course of T. gondii infection and the efficacy of diclazuril and Artemisia annua in preventing infection in experimentally infected chickens.

Mathematical modelling of transmission: A systematic review.

Background: is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite that can infect virtually all warm-blooded animals. It is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, a significant public health issue worldwide. Mathematical models are useful to study the transmission dynamics of infection in different settings, and may be used to compare the effectiveness of prevention measures.

Maternal Anti- Treatment during Pregnancy Is Associated with Reduced Sensitivity of Diagnostic Tests for Congenital Infection in the Neonate.

Neonatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis is based on a combination of serological and molecular tests. Maternal screening and treatment differ according to national policies and may impact the sensitivity of diagnostic methods in infants at birth. In this multicenter study, 115 neonates born to 61 treated (53%) and 54 (47%) untreated women were retrospectively included in three centers (France, Serbia, and the United States) to assess the impact of maternal anti- treatment on the performance of neonatal workup at birth (neosynthesized anti- IgM, IgA, and IgG and quantitative PCR [qPCR]) using univariate and multivariate approaches.

In Vivo and In Vitro Virulence Analysis of Four Genetically Distinct Lineage III Isolates.

archetypes II and III are mildly virulent, yet virulence of variant strains is largely unknown. While lineage II dominates in humans in Europe, lineage III strains are present in various intermediate hosts. In Serbia, lineage III represents 24% of the population structure and occurs most frequently in domestic animals, implying a significant presence in the human food web.

Aminoquinolines afford resistance to cerebral malaria in susceptible mice.

Objectives: Malaria treatment is impeded by increasing resistance to conventional antimalarial drugs. Here we explored the activity of ten novel benzothiophene, thiophene and benzene aminoquinolines.

Methods: In vitro testing was performed by the lactate dehydrogenase assay in chloroquine (CQ)-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7 and CQ-resistant (CQ) P.

Computational image analysis reveals the structural complexity of Toxoplasma gondii tissue cysts.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite infecting up to one third of the human population. The central event in the pathogenesis of toxoplasmosis is the conversion of tachyzoites into encysted bradyzoites. A novel approach to analyze the structure of in vivo-derived tissue cysts may be the increasingly used computational image analysis.

Toxoplasmosis: Overview from a One Health perspective.

Toxoplasmosis is paradigmatic of the One Health approach, as the causative parasite infects virtually all warm-blooded animals, including humans. This makes . one of the most successful parasites on earth, infecting up to a third of the global human population.

Surface waters as a potential source of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in Serbia.

Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis are recognized by the WHO as important emerging diseases of the 21st century. Symptoms are similar and include diarrhoea and vomiting, which may be severe, even life-threatening, for the immunocompromised and children under five years of age. Between 2013 and 2017, the Institute for Public Health in Serbia recorded 10 waterborne epidemics that manifested as gastrointestinal disease.

Detection and genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii in wild canids in Serbia.

To gain insight into the population structure of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii in wildlife in Serbia, multiplex nested PCR- RFLP was performed on T. gondii DNA positive samples of heart tissue of three wild canid species, including red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), golden jackals (Canis aureus) and grey wolves (Canis lupus). Out of 110 samples (28 red foxes, 72 golden jackals, 10 wolves), 30 (27.

Taeniosis and cysticercosis in Serbia, 1990-2018: Significance of standard of living.

Objectives: As is the case for all of Southeast Europe, Serbia is an area traditionally endemic for Taenia saginata and Taenia solium infections. This study was performed to analyse the epidemiological data on taeniosis and cysticercosis in Serbia for the period 1990-2018.

Methods: Data on cases of T.

genotypes circulating in domestic pigs in Serbia.

Consumption of undercooked or raw pork is considered a significant risk factor for human infection with In this study, we investigated the genetic structure of 18 strains obtained from slaughter pigs from Northern Serbia (mainly Vojvodina). The examined samples originated from eight pigs from large commercial farms, six backyard pigs and four free-range Mangalica pigs, all found to be positive for either viable or DNA. Genotyping was attempted from both pig tissues and mouse brains from the bio-assays using a multiplex multilocus nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (Mn-PCR-RFLP) method with seven markers (GRA6, alt.

Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum infection and associated risk factors in dairy cattle in Serbia.

Neosporosis in cattle is a globally important disease, causing abortions and significant economic losses if epidemic abortions occur. In Serbia, however, studies of Neospora caninum infection in cattle are few and are based on limited samples and/or from limited areas. We thus performed a nationwide study to examine the seroprevalence of N.

Trichinella spp. in wild mesocarnivores in an endemic setting.

Human trichinellosis and Trichinella infection in pigs are both still endemic in the Balkans, including Serbia. Because of the flow between the sylvatic and the domestic cycle of Trichinella spp., monitoring wildlife has been recommended for the risk assessment of Trichinella spp.