Resumo Os protozoários incluem muitos patógenos humanos intracelulares. A detecção acurada desses patógenos é necessária para tratar as doenças. Na epidemiologia clínica, a identificação molecular de protozoários é considerada o método de identificação mais confiável e rápido do que a microscopia. Entre esses protozoários, o Cryptosporidium é considerado um dos importantes patógenos zoonóticos transmitidos pela água e uma das principais causas de uma doença diarreica denominada criptosporidiose em humanos, animais domésticos e selvagens. Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar Cryptosporidium em zoofelídeos (N = 56) pertencentes a diferentes zoológicos da China, mas acidentalmente Colpodella foi encontrada na amostra de zoofelídeos e os dados filogenéticos confirmaram essa amplificação inesperada de amostras fecais usando nested-PCR em duas etapas. A análise filogenética revelou o fato sobre os primers específicos usados anteriormente por muitos pesquisadores e a amplificação entre gêneros. Ficamos sabendo que o amplicon sequenciado geneticamente fornece uma identificação mais acurada das espécies. Este estudo sugere mais investigação sobre Colpodella, que foi negligenciada anteriormente, mas ganha a atenção dos pesquisadores depois de identificada em humanos e animais e é conhecida por se correlacionar com sintomas neurológicos em pacientes.

Abstract The protozoans include many intracellular human pathogens. Accurate detection of these pathogens is necessary to treat the diseases. In clinical epidemiology, molecular identification of protozoan is considered a more reliable and rapid method for identification than microscopy. Among these protozoans, Cryptosporidium considered being one of the important water-borne zoonotic pathogens and a major cause of a diarrheal disease named cryptosporidiosis in humans, domestic animals, and wild animals. This study was aimed to identify Cryptosporidium in zoo felids (N= 56) belonging to different zoo of China, but accidentlly Colpodella was encountered in the zoo felids sample and phylogenetic data confirmed this unexpected amplification from fecal samples using two-step nested-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the fact about the specific primers used previously by many researchers and cross-genera amplification. We came to know that genetically sequenced amplicon gives more accurate identification of species. This study suggests more investigation on Colpodella which has been neglected previously but gains the attention of researchers after identified from humans and animals and has been known to correlate with neurological symptoms in patients.

BACKGROUND: Malaria remains a public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. In response to this, many countries are working towards achieving the World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria Partnership target of a 75% decline in malaria incidence. OBJECTIVE: To assess trends in malaria morbidity and mortality in the three islands of the Comoros Archipelago from 2010 to 2014. METHODS. This was a retrospective study in which all confirmed malaria cases and deaths recorded between 2010 and 2014 were accessed from the national malaria control database. Trends and comparisons in malaria incidence and case fatality rates for all age groups, including under-5 children and pregnant women, were analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 16. RESULTS: A substantial decline in malaria incidence was observed for each island between 2010 and 2014; from 75.98 cases per 1 000 population in 2010 to 0.14 in 2014 in Moheli, 60.60 to 0.02 in Anjouan and 235.36 to 5.47 in Grand Comoro. Additionally, a general reduction in malaria case fatalities was observed. In Moheli, there were no case fatalities between 2010 and 2014, while there was a decline in the case fatality rate in Anjouan (from 1.20 fatalities per 1 000 cases to 0) and Grand Comoros (0.51 to 0). There were also significant differences (p<0.05) in malaria incidence and case fatalities between the three islands. A similar trend was observed for pregnant women and under-5 children. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates a significant decline in malaria morbidity and mortality in the islands of Moheli, Anjouan and Grand Comoro from 2010 to 2014. This considerable reduction is attributed to a combination of malaria prevention and control interventions implemented during the study period.

Leukocyte adhesion is of pivotal functional importance. The adhesion involves several different adhesion molecules, the most important of which are the leukocyte ß2-integrins (CD11/CD18), the intercellular adhesion molecules, and the selectins. We and others have extensively studied the specificity and binding sites in the integrins and the intercellular adhesion molecules for their receptors and ligands. The integrins have to become activated to exert their functions but the possible mechanisms of activation remain poorly understood. Importantly, a few novel intercellular adhesion molecules have been recently described, which seem to function only in specific tissues. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that changes in integrins and intercellular adhesion molecules are associated with a number of acute and chronic diseases.