Helminths: Biotic Relationships

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 7209

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: helminths; leishmaniasis; genetic diversity; genotyping; molecular epidemiology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Most parasitic helminths inhabit microbiota-rich environments through most of their life cycles, and some have developed or have suspected symbiotic relationships with bacteria—notably, Wolbachia and filarial worms. Their relationship with their environmental or internal microbiota have increasingly been shown to shape their relationship with their hosts or to affect the host microbiota, with consequences for the host’s health.

I invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications on the topic of helminths and their relationships with microorganisms in their internal or external environment, including inside or outside their hosts, or how microorganisms affect parasite–host relationships, including vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Experimental or descriptive studies will be considered, as well as those showing evidence of the genome integration of putative former symbionts. Microbiota here are considered to include microorganisms in general; microscopic multicellular and single-cell eukaryotes as well as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

As a Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I look forward to reviewing your submissions.

Dr. Isabel Mauricio
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • helminths
  • microbiome
  • host–parasite relationships
  • symbionts

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 301 KiB  
Article
Intestinal Helminth Infection, Anemia, Undernutrition and Academic Performance among School Children in Northwestern Ethiopia
by Abraham Degarege, Berhanu Erko, Yohannes Negash and Abebe Animut
Microorganisms 2022, 10(7), 1353; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10071353 - 5 Jul 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3021
Abstract
This study examined the prevalence and intensity of intestinal helminth infections and their association with anemia, undernutrition, and academic performance among school children in Maksegnit, northwestern Ethiopia. A total of 1205 school children, who attended Maksegnit Number Two Elementary School between May and [...] Read more.
This study examined the prevalence and intensity of intestinal helminth infections and their association with anemia, undernutrition, and academic performance among school children in Maksegnit, northwestern Ethiopia. A total of 1205 school children, who attended Maksegnit Number Two Elementary School between May and July 2021, participated in this study. To determine helminth infection status, two thick Kato–Katz slides were examined for each child. Hemoglobin level was measured using a HemoCue machine. Academic performance was assessed using the mean score of all subjects children have taken for the Spring 2020/2021 academic term. Out of 1205 children examined, 45.4% were infected with at least one helminth species, 7.9% were anemic, and 35.8% were undernourished. The means for hemoglobin level and z-scores of weight for age, height for age, body mass index for age, and academic scores were lower among helminth-infected children than the uninfected. Children infected with intestinal helminths showed higher odds of anemia than those uninfected with helminths. In conclusion, there was a moderate prevalence of intestinal helminth infection and undernutrition among school children in Maksegnit. Intestinal helminth infection could increase the risk of anemia, undernutrition, and poor academic performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Helminths: Biotic Relationships)

Review

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10 pages, 553 KiB  
Review
Possible Interactions between Malaria, Helminthiases and the Gut Microbiota: A Short Review
by Jean d’Amour Mutoni, Jean-Paul Coutelier, Nadine Rujeni, Leon Mutesa and Patrice D. Cani
Microorganisms 2022, 10(4), 721; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040721 - 27 Mar 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3623
Abstract
Malaria, caused by the Plasmodium species, is an infectious disease responsible for more than 600 thousand deaths and more than 200 million morbidity cases annually. With above 90% of those deaths and cases, sub-Saharan Africa is affected disproportionately. Malaria clinical manifestations range from [...] Read more.
Malaria, caused by the Plasmodium species, is an infectious disease responsible for more than 600 thousand deaths and more than 200 million morbidity cases annually. With above 90% of those deaths and cases, sub-Saharan Africa is affected disproportionately. Malaria clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic to simple, mild, and severe disease. External factors such as the gut microbiota and helminthiases have been shown to affect malaria clinical manifestations. However, little is known about whether the gut microbiota has the potential to influence malaria clinical manifestations in humans. Similarly, many previous studies have shown divergent results on the effects of helminths on malaria clinical manifestations. To date, a few studies, mainly murine, have shown the gut microbiota’s capacity to modulate malaria’s prospective risk of infection, transmission, and severity. This short review seeks to summarize recent literature about possible interactions between malaria, helminthiases, and the gut microbiota. The knowledge from this exercise will inform innovation possibilities for future tools, technologies, approaches, and policies around the prevention and management of malaria in endemic countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Helminths: Biotic Relationships)
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