The highlight of this eBook is to bring new insights into parasites in the tropic. To achieve that, much has been discussed about risk assessment, infection rates, disease burden, hormones and mechanism of immune response, genetic expression and susceptibility as well as, therapeutic modalities. Authors raised hypothesis, discuss concepts, and show open questions. The remaining important issues to resolve questions within parasites in the tropic – a new paradigm shift are briefly discussed below. T. gondii, feline as the definitive host, is regarded as one of the most important parasites in the tropic. Human, as an accidental host, is the only species who still drinks raw milk or milk products particularly from animal sources. Based on the first paper, the author simplifies on how safe to drink milk to prevent the transmission of T. gondii by the insistence on heat treated milk before consumption. It is interesting to explore how hormone plays its role in Toxoplasma infection. Based on the second paper, the authors elucidated from thirty studies from humans, animals and cell cultures. Of these, it was shown that Toxoplasma infection was controlled by the presence of hormones found in different animal models. However, it is still premature to conclude which hormone that has a significant relationship with Toxoplasma infection. It estimates that one-third of the world population infected with T. gondii but the majority are asymptomatic. Based on the third paper, it demonstrated that people having low prevalent of Toxoplasma infection by having close contact with animals. This study will enhance positive attitudes for more people to be committed towards helping animals. For more than three decades, T. gondii has since been identified as one of the most important opportunistic parasitic pathogens in immunocompromised. Seroprevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis was detected in at least one-third of HIV-infected individuals in the regional hospital of southern Thailand, as reported from the fourth paper. Thailand has successfully formulated anti-retroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS patients and as a result reported a rare incidence of AIDS-related cerebral toxoplasmosis (CT) in this setting. Based on the fifth paper, the authors demonstrated low IL-10 (Th2 response) and IFN-γ (Th1 response) as well as high TNF-α were produced in ocular and cerebral toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients. This might be due to South American strains and/or the genetic susceptibility of the host. Due to high genetic diversity of T. gondii in Brazil, the sixth paper demonstrated that Calomys callosus survived chronically infected by T. gondii clonal type II strain and reinfected by Brazilian strains. However, congenital toxoplasmosis occurred leading to damaging effects of the developing fetus. The seventh paper conducted a questionnaire-based study on knowledge and practice on Toxoplasma infection among pregnant women from Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. It clearly demonstrated that health education, a core value, is the cheapest and the best option to envisage the preventive strategies of feto-maternal toxoplasmosis from this region. For treatment modality of congenital toxoplasmosis, a novel experimental therapeutic synergism of diclazuril plus atovaquone combination shows a promising outcome with no toxicity in treating this condition, as demonstrated in the eighth paper. However, it warrants for future trials to prove its properties against T. gondii in different clinical scenarios of human toxoplasmosis for more effective therapeutic regimens. In the ninth paper, the author discussed the pathogenesis of maternal and congenital toxoplasmosis, the current treatment in clinical practice, and the experimental treatment approaches for promising future trials. Overall, this protozoan represents the most extraordinary example of parasite in the tropic and beyond scientific imagination. Hence, there are still many challenges ahead and waiting for more explorations on T. gondii, the parasite that never dies. Based on the findings from the tenth paper, it is interesting to identify common gene targets between Glossina p. gambiensis and Glossina m. morsitans that might shed some lights as a suitable candidate for controlling both acute and chronic forms of sleeping sickness. This therefore requires further investigations using proteomic analysis to ascertain the corresponding genes and its proteins as well as functional role that may help the search for more novel therapeutic agents.

The Tropics are home to the greatest biodiversity in the world, but tropical species are at risk due to anthropogenic activities, mainly land use change, habitat loss, invasive species, and pathogens. Over the past 20 years, the avian malaria and related parasites (Order: Haemosporida) systems have received increased attention in the tropical regions from a diverse array of research perspectives. However, to date no attempts have been made to synthesize the available information and to propose new lines of research. This book provides such a synthesis by not only focusing on the antagonistic interactions, but also by providing conceptual chapters on topics going from avian haemosporidians life cycles and study techniques, to chapters addressing current concepts on ecology and evolution. For example, a chapter synthesizing basic biogeography and ecological niche model concepts is presented, followed by one on the island biogeography of avian haemosporidians. Accordingly, researchers and professionals interested in these antagonistic interaction systems will find both an overview of the field with special emphasis on the tropics, and access to the necessary conceptual framework for various topics in ecology, evolution and systematics. Given its conceptual perspective, the book will appeal not only to readers interested in avian haemosporidians, but also to those more generally interested in the ecology, evolution and systematics of host-parasite interactions.

The need to continually discover new agents for the control or treatment of invertebrate pests and pathogens is undeniable. Agriculture, both animal and plant, succeeds only to the extent that arthropod and helminth consumers, vectors and pathogens can be kept at bay. Humans and their companion animals are also plagued by invertebrate parasites. The deployment of chemical agents for these purposes inevitably elicits the selection of resistant populations of the targets of control, necessitating a regular introduction of new kinds of molecules. Experience in other areas of chemotherapy has shown that a thorough understanding of the biology of disease is an essential platform upon which to build a discovery program. Unfortunately, investment of research resources into understanding the basic physiology of invertebrates as a strategy to illuminate new molecular targets for pesticide and parasiticide discovery has been scarce, and the pace of introduction of new molecules for these indications has been slowed as a result. An exciting and so far unexploited area to explore in this regard is invertebrate neuropeptide physiology. This book was assembled to focus attention on this promising field by compiling a comprehensive review of recent research on neuropeptides in arthropods and helminths, with contributions from many of the leading laboratories working on these systems.

Parasitic Infections Understand and defeat a scourge of public health with this cutting-edge guide Parasitic diseases are considered as an important public health problem due to the high morbidity and mortality rates, particularly in countries where climate and level of economic development create serious challenges to the creation of public health infrastructure, thus can make parasitic infections both graver and more difficult to contain. As we come to understand the global ramifications of public health, there has never been a more crucial time to understand these infections and the processes by which they can be managed and defeated. Parasitic Infections is a comprehensive overview of parasitic immunopathology, including the fundamentals of parasite biology, mechanisms and processes of infection, and the key steps of drug discovery and treatment. In addition to detailed coverage of the most commonly encountered infectious parasites, analysis of the immune system provides material pertinent to any possible parasitic infection. The result is an essential contribution to public health research. Parasitic Infections readers will also find: A careful balance of parasite immunopathology and pharmaceutical analysis Detailed discussion of parasites such as protozoans, helminths, and ectoparasites Case studies and in-depth analyses written by authors around the world on the basis of first hand investigation Parasitic Infections is a must-read for researchers or professionals in immunology, biology, medicinal chemistry, drug development or pharmaceutical research, and all related fields.

Fundamentals of Tropical Freshwater Wetlands: From Ecology to Conservation Management is a practical guide and important tool for practitioners and educators interested in the ecology, conservation and management of wetlands in tropical/subtropical regions. The book is written in such a way that, in addition to scientists and managers, it is accessible to non-specialist readers. Organized into three themed sections and twenty-three chapters, this volume covers a variety of topics, exposing the reader to a full range of scientific, conservation and management issues. Each chapter has been written by specialists in the topic being presented. The book recognizes that wetland conservation, science and management are interlinked disciplines, and so it attempts to combine several perspectives to highlight the interdependence between the various professions that deal with issues in these environments. Within each chapter extensive cross-referencing is included, so as to help the reader link related aspects of the issues being discussed. - Contributed to by global experts in the field of tropical wetlands - Includes case studies and worked examples, enabling the reader to recreate the work already done - Focuses on tropical systems not available in any other book

Control of parasitic infections of humans has progressed rapidly over the last three decades. Such advances have resulted from focal disease control efforts based on historically effective interventions to new approaches to control following intensive research and pilot programs. Control of Human Parasitic Diseases focuses on the present state of control of the significant human parasitic infectious diseases. - Includes the impact of recent research findings on control strategy - Discusses the health policy implications of these findings and the importance of evaluation and monitoring - Highlights the lessons learned and the interactions between control programs and health systems

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue Skin-Related Neglected Tropical Diseases (Skin-NTDs)—A New Challenge that was published in TropicalMed

This book provides an overview on the major neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Leishmaniasis, Buruli Ulcer and Schistosomiasis. In well-structured chapters epidemiology and biology of these parasitic diseases will be discussed in detail. Further, diagnostics and therapeutic approaches as well as prevention strategies will be reviewed. The book will be of interest to basic researchers and clinicians engaged in infectious disease, tropical medicine, and parasitology, and a must-have for scientists specialized in the characteristics of the Sub-Saharan region.

For most historians, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the hostilities of the Civil War and the dashed hopes of Reconstruction give way to the nationalizing forces of cultural reunion, a process that is said to have downplayed sectional grievances and celebrated racial and industrial harmony. In truth, says Natalie J. Ring, this buoyant mythology competed with an equally powerful and far-reaching set of representations of the backward Problem South—one that shaped and reflected attempts by northern philanthropists, southern liberals, and federal experts to rehabilitate and reform the country's benighted region. Ring rewrites the history of sectional reconciliation and demonstrates how this group used the persuasive language of social science and regionalism to reconcile the paradox of poverty and progress by suggesting that the region was moving through an evolutionary period of “readjustment” toward a more perfect state of civilization. In addition, The Problem South contends that the transformation of the region into a mission field and laboratory for social change took place in a transnational moment of reform. Ambitious efforts to improve the economic welfare of the southern farmer, eradicate such diseases as malaria and hookworm, educate the southern populace, “uplift” poor whites, and solve the brewing “race problem” mirrored the colonial problems vexing the architects of empire around the globe. It was no coincidence, Ring argues, that the regulatory state's efforts to solve the “southern problem” and reformers' increasing reliance on social scientific methodology occurred during the height of U.S. imperial expansion.