The prevalence of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) and male genital schistosomiasis (MGS) remains high in many low-to-medium-income countries, and each has sex-specific disease sequelae with wider detrimental gender and health impacts. Social science research studies on the former outnumber those on the latter. Indeed, in many countries across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), MGS (as with male reproductive and sexual health issues in general) is overlooked, underappreciated, and broadly orphaned within urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis research and control. Similarly, in those countries where MGS has been reported formally, its psychosocial dimensions and effects remain poorly understood, especially in terms of context-specific cultural and societal factors. In this scoping review, we attempt to better contextualize MGS within men's sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and general wellbeing, as it often draws parallels with social science research in FGS. We discuss common psychosocial determinants, highlighting why current surveillance of MGS is particularly poor and the primary health care response to mitigate it is bottlenecked and largely stalled within the wider health system, from both top-down and bottom-up perspectives. Our specific approach remains cognisant of the context of infected households where all members could be suffering from urogenital and/or intestinal schistosomiasis. Looking ahead, we develop and frame a pragmatic social science research agenda to encourage and better explore and assess the detrimental impact of MGS on infected men and boys, considering appropriate ameliorations more holistically within primary care.

Urogenital schistosomiasis has 2 gender-specific manifestations, male genital schistosomiasis (MGS) and female genital schistosomiasis (FGS). The burdens of MGS and FGS are multifaceted, encompassing financial hardship, emotional and mental health problems and sometimes social stigmatization. Given the pernicious nature of sequelae in the genitalia, managing these chronic health conditions is expensive, difficult and problematic in resource poor settings. Key challenges include lack of epidemiological data on the burden of MGS and FGS, inadequate knowledge among primary and auxiliary health care workers, leading to misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment administration, e.g. overuse of antibiotics, and a lack of appropriate point-of-care diagnostic equipment. Prevention of MGS and FGS is therefore more preferable, however, current preventive programmes and chemotherapy campaigns offering praziquantel are becoming more resource constrained and in most endemic areas are not reaching at-risk adults (and adolescents), sufficiently. Furthermore, there are limited prospects for adequate access to treatment in pre-school children where infections can be first acquired. Therefore, we propose 3 key recommendations guiding movement towards elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem: scaling-up praziquantel treatment for other at-risk groups; developing a targeted One Health approach to reduce environmental transmission in both humans and animals; Multi-stakeholder collaboration and community engagement for effective implementation of Water Sanitation and Hygiene components of disease control. Whilst maintaining a school-based approach is still foundational, targeted and sustainable expansion of preventive chemotherapy to other at-risk groups within communities is needed to secure real prospects in elimination of genital schistosomiasis as a public health problem in Africa.

The digenean trematode, , is a frequently reported component species in studies of helminth communities of wild rodents in Europe, especially those of wood mice and bank voles. It has been known since Dujardin first described the species in 1845, and yet its life cycle is still poorly defined, although Dicrocoeliidae typically have at least 3 hosts in their life cycles. Here, we review the history of nomenclature changes of the species, morphological studies, definitive mammalian host species range and evidence for the identity of intermediate hosts. We also review the epidemiology of , searching for commonalities between studies that have assessed the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on both prevalence and abundance of the species in wood mice. Furthermore, we identify gaps in knowledge and propose key objectives for future work on the species. We emphasize that if the life cycle of could be established in the laboratory and maintained in laboratory mice, as a hepatopancreatic specialist in its definitive host, the parasite may turn out to be the source of novel medicines for the treatment of human pancreatic/liver diseases.

is an arboreal tree squirrel that occurs in the Savanna biome of Africa, and information on its parasite diversity is limited and mostly qualitative. The aim of the study was to record the diversity and abundance of ecto- and helminth parasites associated with across its distribution in South Africa. individuals ( = 94) were opportunistically obtained from eight localities during 2020 to 2024. In total, 21 parasite species (19 ectoparasites and two nematodes) and one tick species group were identified. This included lice, ticks, fleas, a mesostigmatic mite, chiggers, nematodes and cestodes. Nematodes were the most prevalent (93·67%), followed by lice (80·85%). was recorded in 92·41% of , while an unknown species, resembling , was recorded in 21·52% of squirrels. The lice species displayed variation in parasitope preference, while chiggers were primarily recorded in the ears. This study provides new country records for the lice species and , for the chigger species and for the nematode . cf. . New locality records were documented for the nematode in South Africa, and is a new host record for the eight chigger species and . cf. . It is evident that in South Africa hosts a considerably larger diversity of parasite taxa than previously recorded. Nematode counts were related to host length. These findings warrant future studies on the parasite diversity of in Africa.

Parasite transmission can be disrupted when their free-living larval stages are consumed by non-host organisms. Yet, the contribution of benthic scrapers to this process remains insufficiently explored. Here, we experimentally assessed the ability of the North American pulmonate snail to reduce the abundance of free-living digenean larvae - cercariae of sp. and sp., and adolescariae of sp. - and evaluated how this effect is modulated by snail body size and colonisation by other organisms. Larval consumption by occurred in all treatments and was highest for settled sp. adolescariae, particularly among larger individuals. The extent of larval reduction varied with infection by digenean metacercariae (xiphidiometacercariae), which either enhanced or inhibited feeding depending on parasite identity. It also varied with colonisation by , whose presence increased the ingestion of planktonic cercariae, likely due to the combined feeding activity of the snail and its commensal oligochaete. Most snails harboured metacercariae, indicating that frequently functions as a second intermediate host in its non-native range. Our findings highlight the dual ecological role of - both as a consumer of free-living parasite stages and as a competent host. This trophic interaction may disrupt parasite transmission while providing nutritional benefits that support the ecological success and spread of this non-native species. Conversely, by serving as a host, may facilitate the persistence and dissemination of parasitic taxa in invaded ecosystems.

is an apicomplexan parasite, the causal agent of bovine besnoitiosis. This disease is characterised by cyst formation in the skin and mucosa. During early infection, fast proliferating tachyzoites invade and replicate within host endothelial cells. In non-excitable cells, extracellular signals activate the inositol-triphosphate/calcium (InsP3/Ca) pathway, which depends on phospholipase C (PLC) activation, inducing an increase in IP levels, followed by intracellular Ca release. Despite the understanding of Ca signalling, this process in tachyzoites is unclear. This work aimed to study Ca dynamics during infection in bovine umbilical vein endothelial cells (BUVEC) and the role of the InsP/Ca pathway during infection. Ca dynamics during tachyzoite replication were determined in infected BUVEC loaded with fluo-4-AM. The role of InsP/Ca signalling for parasite invasion was evaluated by treatments with Ca chelators (BAPTA, EGTA) or PLC inhibitors (U73122, D609). PLC activation was studied in fluo-4-loaded free tachyzoites using the PLC activator m-3M3FBS, in the presence or absence of PLC inhibitors. Current data show an infection-driven increase in total Ca signals in -infected BUVEC over time. BAPTA, but not EGTA, treatments of tachyzoites affected their invasion, reducing infection rates by 85.4 ± 9.3%, suggesting that intracellular Ca sources are necessary for invasion. In line, treatments with U73122 and D609 reduced infection rates by 79.3 ± 9.4% and 49.7 ± 8.9%, respectively, demonstrating that PLC participation is required for host cell infection. Finally, m-3M3FBS treatments induced a PLC-independent Ca flux in tachyzoites.

We applied 2 methods of phylogenetic regionalization (evoregions and phyloregions) for the distributions of fleas and their rodent hosts across Mongolia. We investigated the congruence between these 2 regionalization schemes and their alignment with physiographic and ecological subdivisions of Mongolia. We identified evoregions and phyloregions for both fleas and hosts. Ancestral regional distributions were reconstructed, and a phylogenetic correspondence analysis identified key contributing lineages. Using the V-measure, we tested for the congruence between (a) evoregions or phyloregions identified for fleas and evoregions or phyloregions, respectively, identified for their hosts and (b) evoregions and phyloregions identified for either fleas or hosts and each of the physiographic/ecological regionalization schemes of Mongolia. Four evoregions and 8 phyloregions were identified for both fleas and hosts, exhibiting distinct spatial patterns. Host-parasite regionalizations demonstrated moderate spatial similarity (V-measure 0.49-0.50), a significantly higher congruence than previously reported at the larger Palearctic scale (0.33). Flea regionalizations exhibited stronger congruence with environmental schemes than did host regionalizations. We concluded that evoregionalization and phyloregionalization capture distinct evolutionary signals, reflecting the role of diversification vs. phylogenetic turnover resulting from dispersal. Host-parasite co-regionalization is scale-dependent, with increased congruence at regional scales. Despite adult fleas' obligate host dependence, their regionalization is not merely a passive reflection of host biogeography but is also profoundly shaped by environmental conditions. These findings emphasize the importance of method choice, scale and eco-evolutionary interactions in shaping complex biogeographic patterns.

Liberia (West Africa) has an extensive (co)burden of urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis; each largely restricted to more inland areas. Where urogenital schistosomiasis is endemic, as both disease surveillance and case management are nascent, many women may unknowingly be living with Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS). Using a recently developed FGS score card, we appraised FGS score card valuations with point-of-care gynaecological and molecular parasitological evaluations as undertaken within typical primary care settings of four Liberian counties. A total of 400 women, 100 participants from each of four endemic inland counties, underwent a cursory gynaecological examination using a speculum for visible FGS lesions, undertaken by a midwife, and provided a urine sample that was examined by centrifugation with microscopy for Schistosoma ova. Urine-sediments in ethanol were later analysed with a high-resolution melt (HRM) real-time (rt) PCR assay to screen for Schistosoma genetic markers. Using a combination of clinical and parasitological information, overall prevalence of UGS and FGS was <10% and a single case of putative FGS-associated co-infection with Schistosoma mansoni was observed. Participant interviews with the FGS score cards provided an insight into at-risk lifestyle and environmental factors, e.g. women who fished regularly were more likely to present with FGS whereas those who lived > 15 km from a local river were less likely to present with FGS. In this resource-poor setting of Liberia, active surveillance for FGS with either clinical or parasitological methods remains challenging such that sole future use of the FGS score card is most pragmatic for primary care.