Parasites Series: Parasitic Infection, Characterisation and Host Health, Parasitic Diversity and Host Range

Dear Colleagues,

Parasitism is classically defined as a relationship between two living organisms in which one benefits at the expense of the other. Helminths, ectoparasites and protozoa are the three main types of organisms that cause such infections, and vary in size, complexity, and medical and/or veterinary concern. Their life cycles can range from intracellular parasitism to exoparasitism, with completion requiring either a single host species or multiple successive hosts. Parasite transmission roots vary highly, ranging from environmental contamination (contaminated food, water, and fomites) to being reliant on vectors for their continued development, reproduction, and host infection. As natural stressors, parasites often have detrimental effects on their hosts, with clinical severity ranging from asymptomatic to symptomatic, with the outcome of such infections often dependent on the immune status of their host. Acute-to-chronic infections can develop with symptoms associated to helminths and gastrointestinal protozoans (e.g., Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia) generally leading to malabsorption, vomiting, diarrhoea, and weight loss, while infections with bloodborne parasites (e.g., Plasmodium spp. and Trypanosoma spp.) tend to be associated with haemolytic anaemia, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, headache, flu-like symptoms, encephalitis and behavioural changes. However, interchanges of symptoms can occur, adversely affecting the health and productivity of animal and human populations worldwide. The need to characterise and ascertain all aspects of parasitic infections through biological, chemical, molecular, and epidemiological studies is imperative to address knowledge gaps in the field, which will ultimately facilitate management strategies and treatment options to maintain stable and healthy populations on both a domestic and global scale.

Dr. Jill M. Austen
Dr. Alireza Zahedi
Prof. Dr. Nawal S. H. Hijjawi
Guest Editors

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