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International journal that covers all branches of animal parasitology, including morphology, taxonomy, biology, biochemistry, physiology, immunology and molecular biology of parasites, host-parasite relationships and parasite evolution.

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Folia Parasitologica - Latest articles

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Harmless parasites? Infections with Hemolivia mauritanica (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina: Karyolysidae) and Haemocystidium spp. (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida: Haemoproteidae) have a negligible impact on white cell counts in tortoise hosts

Žaneta Živčicová, Jan Škrábal, Pavlína Hájková, David Jandzik, Hossein Javanbakht, Peter Mikulíček, Pavel Široký

Folia Parasitologica 72:031 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.031  

The pathogenicity of haemogregarines and their effects on the health status of ectothermic hosts remain largely unexplored. In this study, we examined the impact of Hemolivia mauritanica (Sergent et Sergent, 1904) infection on the differential leukocyte count (DLC) as a measurable indicator of health in tortoise hosts. A total of 206 blood smears were analysed, including 181 from spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca Linnaeus) and 25 from marginated tortoises (Testudo marginata Schoepff). Light microscopy was used to identify infected individuals, determine DLC, and quantify parasitaemia levels. Overall, H. mauritanica...

Thorny-headed worms (Acanthocephala) of the Patagonian blennie Eleginops maclovinus (Cuvier) from northern Patagonia, Argentina

Maité Aneley Barrena, Jesús Servando Hernández-Orts

Folia Parasitologica 72:030 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.030  

We report the fauna of the Acanthocephala of 120 Patagonian blennies Eleginops maclovinus (Cuvier) from northern Patagonia, Argentina. A total of 535 acanthocephalans belonging to five species were collected and identified using light microscopy. Juvenile and adult forms were only observed for Hypoechinorhynchus magellanicus Szidat, 1950 (Arhythmacanthidae). Juvenile forms of Corynosoma australe Johnston, 1937, Corynosoma cetaceum Johnston et Best, 1942 and Corynosoma shackletoni Zdzitowiecki, 1978 (Polymorphidae) were found encapsulated in the mesenteries. Juveniles of Profilicollis chasmagnathi (Holcman-Spector,...

First genetic characterisation and phylogenetic analysis of Trichomonadida from Gallus gallus domesticus (Aves: Phasianidae) and its nematode parasite Heterakis gallinarum (Ascaridida: Heterakidae) in Tunisia

Sarra Farjallah, Paolo Merella, Abdulaziz Nasser Alagaili, Nabil Amor

Folia Parasitologica 72:029 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.029  

Flagellated protozoa of the order Trichomonadida infect a variety of vertebrates, including poultry such as Gallus gallus domesticus (Linnaeus). Several trichomonad pathogens are of significant veterinary importance due to their role in diseases that cause high mortality rates in chickens. Despite the importance of Trichomonadida in poultry health, molecular studies on these protozoa in North Africa are limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships of Trichomonadida isolated from G. gallus domesticus and its nematode parasite Heterakis gallinarum (Schrank, 1788) in...

A new species of Pseudoacanthocephalus (Acanthocephala: Pseudoacanthocephalidae) from Sado Island, Japan, with a report of its accidental occurrence in a marine elasmobranch

Yuki Kita, Masato Nitta, Harue Abe, Shigen Kaburagi, Takeshi Fujita, Kenji Toyota, Yusuke Kondo, Hiroshi Kajihara

Folia Parasitologica 72:028 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.028  

Three species of amphibian-parasitic acanthocephalans belonging to the genus Pseudoacanthocephalus Petrochenko, 1958 have been recorded in Japan. However, only a limited number of localities have been surveyed, and the distribution of these congeners across other regions of Japan remains unclear. In this study, acanthocephalans of the genus Pseudoacanthocephalus were recovered from both definitive (Rana ornativentris Werner - type host, and Zhangixalus arboreus [Okada et Kawano]) and accidental hosts (Scyliorhinus torazame [Tanaka]) from Sado Island, Japan. Morphological analyses indicate that those specimens represent...

Intraspecific variation in the caudal papillae of Raphidascaris mundeswariensis (Nematoda: Raphidascarididae) from gobiiform fishes in eastern India

Bhairab Kumar Patra, Anindo Choudhury, Jit Marick, Roshmi Biswas, Anirban Ash

Folia Parasitologica 72:027 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.027  

The morphological variation of the nematode Raphidascaris mundeswariensis Patra, Choudhury, Thorn et Ash, 2021 in four fish hosts, Apocryptes bato (Hamilton), Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton), Taenioides cirratus (Blyth) and Eleotris lutea (Day), from the Mundeswari River of West Bengal, India, was studied. Partial sequences of the 28S rRNA and COI gene were generated to verify the conspecificity of these isolates while evaluating host-related variation in these samples. Little to no genetic variation was found among isolates from the different hosts and all were identified as R. mundeswariensis....

Massive, disseminated and lethal cysticercosis caused by Taenia crassiceps (Cestoda) in captive western grey bamboo lemur (Hapalemur occidentalis Rumpler) in Zoo in the Czech Republic

Jana Ježková, Veronika Zikmundová, Pavla Příhodová, František Kostka, Bohumil Sak, Martin Kváč

Folia Parasitologica 72:026 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.026  

Taenia crassiceps (Zeder, 1800), a zoonotic cestode with a wide geographical distribution, utilises canids as definitive hosts and small rodents as intermediate hosts. However, accidental infections in non-human primates, particularly in captive lemurs, have been increasingly documented. In this case report, we describe the first documented case of cysticercosis caused by the larval stage of T. crassiceps (metacestode; also known as Cysticercus longicollis Rudolphi, 1819) in a captive western grey bamboo lemur (Hapalemur occidentalis Rumpler). The affected female lemur showed progressive abdominal distension over a period...

Special Issue: Toxoplasma gondii and suicidal behaviour: discovery, cross-diagnostic confirmation and pathway exploration

Teodor T. Postolache

Folia Parasitologica 72:025 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.025  

Our team's discovery of the link between chronic "latent" infection with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) and suicidal behaviour, and our subsequent cross-diagnostic confirmatory work and mechanistic extensions, evolved from our neuroimmunology studies on affective and behavioural dysregulation exacerbated by allergic sensitisation and allergen exposure. Another root was studying behavioural changes and cytokine gene expression in the brain of rodents sensitised and exposed to aeroallergens. We "piggy-backed" our project funded to study coupling between aeroallergen sensitisation and exposure in patients with recurrent mood...

Special Issue: Association between type-2 diabetes and Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ashley Catchpole, Brinley N. Zabriskie, Bradley Embley, Hannah Kharazi, Rachelle Clarke, Grace Templeton, Christopher Hunt, Shawn D. Gale, Dawson W. Hedges

Folia Parasitologica 72:024 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.024  

A metabolic disease resulting in elevated blood glucose levels, type-2 diabetes affects approximately 462 million people globally. Although its prevalence appears to be increasing, type-2 diabetes has been associated with various potentially preventable risk factors, including infectious diseases. The protozoal infection with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) has been associated with type-2 diabetes in two previous meta-analyses. Since the publication of the last meta-analysis supporting an association between type-2 diabetes and T. gondii, several new primary studies have investigated this association. In this meta-analysis,...

Description of a new Neotropical species of Mathevotaenia (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae), a parasite of the Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana

Diana Coronado-Morones, Jesús Alonso Panti-May, Gerardo Torres-Carrera, Luis García-Prieto

Folia Parasitologica 72:023 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.023  

The cestodes of the genus Mathevotaenia Akhumyan, 1946, are parasites of mammals, although some species also occur in reptiles. The genus comprises 61 species distributed worldwide, 25 of which occur in the American continent. During a collection of mammals in Yucatán, Mexico, six specimens of a cestode belonging to Mathevotaenia were found in the Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana Kerr. The aim of this study is to morphologically describe these specimens, which represent a new species, and to evaluate their phylogenetic position within the Anoplocephalidae, based on cox1, 28S rDNA and ITS sequences. The new species is...

Prevalence of Ixodes ricinus and possible hybrids of I. ricinus and I. inopinatus on the edible dormouse in a Central European woodland

Karolína Šimurdová, Ludek Zurek, Ondřej Daněk, Pavlína Paclíková, Eva Nosková, David Modrý, Igor Magál, Peter Adamík

Folia Parasitologica 72:022 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.022  

Ixodes inopinatus Estrada-Peña, Nava et Petney, 2014 was described in 2014 from the Iberian Peninsula and later reported from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Germany, Austria and Romania. However, recent studies raised serious doubts about the presence of I. inopinatus in Central Europe and reported hybridisation between the Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758) and I. inopinatus. In this study, we selected a locally common rodent host, the edible dormouse Glis glis (Linnaeus) (Rodentia: Gliridae), to study the prevalence of these two tick species and their hybrids in a Central European woodland. The TROSPA nuclear...

Special Issue: Chronic inflammation in pregnant women with latent toxoplasmosis and explanation of discordant results of serological tests for toxoplasmosis

Jana Ullmann, Jaroslav Flegr, Kamila Nouzová, Josef Včelák, Šárka Kaňková

Folia Parasitologica 72:021 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.021  

Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908), an intracellular parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, infects a third of the human population. Latent toxoplasmosis has been linked to altered immune responses, including elevated proinflammatory cytokines. In early pregnancy, the immune system adapts to balance inflammation and foetal tolerance. This study assessed whether pregnant women in the first trimester infected with Toxoplasma gondii have different cytokine levels than uninfected women. This study also examined whether women with discordant test results for toxoplasmosis represent a distinct group or a mixed group composed...

Some nematodes from fishes of the Lacantún River in the Lacandon rain forest of Chiapas State, southern Mexico, including Cucullanus potamarii sp. n. (Cucullanidae) from the endemic catfish Potamarius usumacintae (Ariidae)

František Moravec, Guillermo Salgado-Maldonado, David González-Solís

Folia Parasitologica 72:020 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.020  

During November of 2007, parasitic nematodes were collected from 161 specimens of 32 freshwater fish species in the Lacantún River of the Lacandon rain forest of Chiapas, southern Mexico. Recent detailed morphological and taxonomic studies of this material revealed the presence of 17 nematode species (12 adult and 5 larval) of nine families, including Cucullanus potamarii sp. n. from the intestine of the ariid catfish Potamarius usumacintae Betancur-R et Willink, which is endemic to the Usumacinta River basin to which the Lacantún River belongs. This new species is mainly characterised by deirids and the excretory pore located far posterior...

Marginal cytokine modulation by Schistosoma mansoni soluble egg antigen in SARS-CoV-2-infected K18-hACE2 mice

Yi Mu, Kexin Yan, Donald P. McManus, Wilson Nguyen, Daniel J. Rawle, Jason A. Roberts, Malcolm K. Jones, Pengfei Cai

Folia Parasitologica 72:019 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.019  

Herein, we explore the potential influence of Schistosoma mansoni Sambon, 1907 soluble egg antigen (SmSEA) on the immunopathology of COVID-19 in K18-hACE2 mice infected with an Omicron BA.5 isolate of SARS-CoV-2. SmSEA treatment was delivered in a single dose by intraperitoneal injection, shortly after intrapulmonary inoculation of SARS-CoV-2. RNA-seq identified 36 differentially expressed genes in the spleens of virus-infected mice treated with SmSEA vs. PBS on day 5 post infection. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of these genes suggested marginal modulation of cytokine responses, with upregulation of the IL-10 and IL-4 signatures and downregulation...

Morphological description and molecular characterisation of Opegaster mezcal sp. n. (Trematoda: Opecoelidae) from the Mexican Tropical Pacific

Rodrigo I. Santillán-Pérez, Martín García-Varela, Rogelio Aguilar-Aguilar

Folia Parasitologica 72:018 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.018  

Opegaster Ozaki, 1928 is one of the most species-rich genera of the trematode family Opecoelidae, commonly found in marine teleost fishes. This study describes a new species of Opegaster of the intertidal fish species Labrisomus xanti Gill (Labrisomidae) (type host) and Tomicodon zebra (Jordan et Gilbert) (Gobiesocidae) from the coast of Oaxaca, Mexican Pacific. Opegaster mezcal sp. n. is characterised by the absence of papillae on the ventral sucker and the size and shape of the testes. Sequences of the D1-D3 domains from large subunit from nuclear DNA (28S) were generated for the new species and for another opecoelid...

Species richness and similarity of parasite communities in ten species of carangid fish (Carangiformes) from the Mexican Southern Pacific

Shirley S. Salas-Villalobos, Juan Violante-González, Edgar F. Mendoza-Franco, Yesenia Gallegos-Navarro, Erick Rodríguez-Ibarra, Carlos Valencia-Cayetano, Jonatan Carbajal-Violante, Sergio García-Ibáñez

Folia Parasitologica 72:017 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.017  

Species richness and similarity in metazoan parasite communities of fish can be influenced by several biotic (age, body size, vagility, social and feeding behaviour, among others), and local abiotic factors (temperature, salinity, climatic events, etc.). The parasite communities of ten species of the family Carangidae from Acapulco Bay, Mexico, were quantified and analysed between May 2014 and August 2024. A total of 1,148 fish specimens were examined and 78 parasite species were identified (44 endoparasites and 34 species of ectoparasites). At the component community level, species richness ranged from 11 in Euprepocaranx dorsalis (Gill)...

Special Issue: Who makes the decisions? Uncovering the evolutionary implications and clinical applications of Toxoplasma gondii's Fatal Feline Attraction

Joanne P. Webster

Folia Parasitologica 72:016 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.016  

Here I recount my research journey on the coccidian protist Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908), a ubiquitous parasite capable of infecting all warm-blooded animals as intermediate or secondary host, but with only members of the Felidae as its definitive host. I describe my initial studies into its epidemiology and persistence within the UK, and how this led on to a series of biologically and ethically appropriate studies into T. gondii's apparent specific manipulation of its rat intermediate host to facilitate transmission to its feline definitive host. I then describe how this prompted searches into the potential mechanisms...

Special Issue: Re-assessing host manipulation in Toxoplasma: the underexplored role of sexual transmission - evidence, mechanisms, implications

Ashkan Latifi, Jaroslav Flegr, Šárka Kaňková

Folia Parasitologica 72:015 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.015  

Latent infection with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) has been repeatedly correlated with behavioural and physiological changes in both humans and animals. While classically regarded as a parasite transmitted via ingestion or vertical (transplacental) transmission, accumulating evidence suggests that sexual transmission may also contribute to its epidemiology. This review explores the hypothesis that some behavioural effects of toxoplasmosis - especially those related to attraction, sexual activity, and mate choice - may have evolved to facilitate sexual transmission of the parasite. We summarise findings from animal models and...

Characterisation of eggs and larvae of Lamellodiscus erythrini (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) using light and scanning electron microscopy

Judith Revault, Marie-Line Escande, Valentin Logeux, Yves Desdevises, Élodie Magnanou

Folia Parasitologica 72:014 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.014  

While the identification of adult monogeneans primarily relies on morphological criteria, the morphology of a number of monogenean larvae (oncomiracidia) is to this day scarcely described. Yet, oncomiracidium plays a crucial role in the life cycle of the parasite, being responsible for the detection and localisation of its host, as well as for its attachment to this host. Few studies investigated the external morphological structures related to these functions, especially in Monopisthocotylea. The present study focuses on the early life stages (egg and oncomiracidium) of Lamellodiscus erythrini Euzet et Oliver, 1967, which are accurately described...

Fecundity of the zoonotic nematode Anisakis pegreffii cultivated in vitro

Harriet Nketiah Birikorang, Samantha Moratal Martínez, Jerko Hrabar, Ivona Mladineo

Folia Parasitologica 72:013 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.013  

The zoonotic marine nematodes of the genus Anisakis Dujardin, 1845 are the causative agents of anisakiasis, a parasitosis that has been increasingly reported in Europe over the past decade due to the more frequent consumption of lightly processed or raw seafood. While the life cycle in the marine environment is relatively well-known, an in vitro life cycle has recently been established with the goal to serve as a model for a better understanding of the functional biology of the nematode and consequent devising of strategies for its detection and inactivation. However, the reproductive capacity of the nematode has not been investigated...

Parasite communities of the gafftopsail pompano Trachinotus rhodopus (Carangiformes: Carangidae): examining the parasite species richness and diversity over time

Shirley S. Salas-Villalobos, Juan Violante-González, Edgar F. Mendoza-Franco, Scott Monks, Agustín A. Rojas-Herrera, Pedro Flores-Rodríguez, José Luis Rosas-Acevedo, Yesenia Gallegos-Navarro, Apolinar Santamaria-Miranda

Folia Parasitologica 72:012 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.012  

In total 949 specimens of Trachinotus rhodopus (Gill) were collected over a 11-year period (from June 2013 to February 2024) from Acapulco Bay, Mexico. Parasite communities in T. rhodopus were quantified and analysed to explore two hypotheses related to their parasite species richness and diversity associated with the bentho-demersal and pelagic habits, and effects of the climatic fluctuations. Thirty-two metazoan parasite taxa/species were identified: three species of 'Monogenea', 14 Digenea, one Aspidogastrea, one Acanthocephala, two Cestoda, three Nematoda and eight Crustacea. The digeneans and copepods were the best represented groups....

Variability in Trypanosoma cruzi susceptibility among species of kissing bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in Mexico

Alberto Antonio-Campos, Ernesto Ramírez-Moreno, Víctor Sánchez-Cordero, Nancy Rivas, Ricardo Alejandre-Aguilar

Folia Parasitologica 72:011 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.011  

Chagas disease, caused by the kinetoplastid Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909), and transmitted by triatomine bugs, poses a significant public health challenge. Variability in the susceptibility of different triatomine species to T. cruzi infection can profoundly influence disease transmission dynamics and control measures. In this study, we assessed the susceptibility to T. cruzi infection in the first and third nymphal stages across eight triatomine species to T. cruzi infection using experimental inoculation with the NINOA strain and optical microscopy. The evaluated species were Dipetalogaster maximus (Uhler), Triatoma...

Global hotspots and academic trends of vector-borne diseases in the order Diptera (Arthropoda: Insecta): a bibliometric visualisation

Yijia Xu, Yuni Wang, Mingyu Li, Yajun Lu

Folia Parasitologica 72:010 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.010  

Blood-sucking arthropods belonging to the order Diptera, encompassing mosquitoes, sandflies, midges, blackflies, horseflies and tsetseflies serve as vectors for a myriad of pathogens, inflicting substantial harm on both human and animal health globally. The analysis and visualisation of global hotspots and trends pertaining to vector-borne diseases, stemming from these six categories of arthropods, constituted a reliable reference for further delving into the research on Diptera insect vectors. To achieve this, we mined literature information from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), encompassing all publications related to these six arthropod...

Confocal fluorescent study of the fish blood flukes: the serotonergic elements and ultrastructure of the nervous system of adult Sanguinicola plehnae (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae)

Larisa G. Poddubnaya, Nadezhda B. Terenina, Natalia D. Kreshсhenko

Folia Parasitologica 72:009 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.009  

The first data on the neurochemical and ultrastructural organisation of the nervous system of the fish blood fluke, suckerless adult Sanguinicola plehnae Warren et Bullard in Warren, Poddubnaya, Zhokhov, Reyda, Choudhury et Bullard, 2023 (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) from the circulatory system of pike, Esox lucius Linnaeus are presented. Based on 5-HT-IP staining, the simple, uniformly developed orthogonal pattern of S. plehnae nervous system is revealed. The ventral and dorsal nerve cords originate from the brain lobes, but the lateral nerve cords originate from anterior nerves at the level of the large serotonergic neurons. In addition,...

Timing matters: exploring emergence patterns of two species of trematode furcocercariae from their snail hosts

Petra Kundid, Camila Pantoja, Miroslava Soldánová

Folia Parasitologica 72:008 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.008  

Cercariae are motile infectious larval stages of digenetic trematodes that emerge from their molluscan first intermediate host to seek the next host in their life cycle. A crucial transmission strategy of trematodes involves releasing the maximum number of cercariae at times that coincide with the presence and activity of the next hosts, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful infection and continuation of the parasite's life cycle. We investigated the cercarial emergence of two furcocercous (with forked tail) trematodes Tylodelphys clavata (von Nordmann, 1832) and unidentified species of Sanguinicola Plehn, 1905 from naturally...

Rhadinorhynchus villalobosi sp. n. (Acanthocephala: Rhadinorhynchidae) from the gafftopsail pompano Trachinotus rhodopus (Carangiformes: Carangidae) from the Pacific coast in Mexico

Gisela Martínez-Flores, Luis García-Prieto, Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa

Folia Parasitologica 72:007 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.007  

A new species of Acanthocephala is described based on specimens found parasitising the intestine of the gafftopsail pompano Trachinotus rhodopus Gill in the State of Oaxaca, off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Rhadinorhynchus villalobosi sp. n. differs from the other 25 species of the genus known from the Pacific Ocean by a combination of morphological traits, such as the fewer number of rows of hooks along the proboscis, the distribution of spines of the trunk forming two fields, the position of genital pore, subterminal in both sexes, a shorter neck and cement glands, among others. The phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of the nuclear...

Revision of Cryptogonimus Osborn, 1903 and Caecincola Marshall et Gilbert, 1905 (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae), supplemental description of Cryptogonimus chili Osborn, 1903, and description of a new species of Caecincola infecting basses (Centrarchiformes: Centrarchidae) in Tennessee and Alabama rivers

Triet N. Truong, Stephen S. Curran, Brandon L. Simcox, Alex P. Bybel, Stephen A. Bullard

Folia Parasitologica 72:006 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.006  

We provide a supplemental description of the type species for Cryptogonimus Osborn, 1903 (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae), Cryptogonimus chili Osborn, 1903, based on newly-collected, heat-killed, formalin-fixed specimens infecting rock bass, Ambloplites rupestris (Rafinesque), and smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède (both Centrarchiformes: Centrarchidae), from the Duck River, Tennessee (USA). We emend Cryptogonimus to include features observed in the present specimens of its type species and in the descriptions of its congeners: a broad (wider than long) oral sucker, an intestine that bifurcates in the posterior...

Special Issue: Thirty years of studying latent toxoplasmosis: behavioural, physiological, and health insights

Jaroslav Flegr

Folia Parasitologica 72:005 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.005  

In this article, I recount the journey of discovering the effects of latent toxoplasmosis on human psychology, behaviour, morphology, and health as I observed it from the closest perspective over the past 30+ years, during which our laboratory has been intensely focused on this research. I trace how we moved from the initial observations of differences between infected and uninfected individuals in certain personality traits to the systematic study of similar differences in behaviour, both in the laboratory and in everyday life, as well as in physiological and even morphological traits. This eventually led us to investigate the causal relationships...

Bertiella anapolytica Baylis, 1934 (Cestoda, Anoplocephalidae) in Rattus spp.: morphology, distribution and evolutionary history

Voitto Haukisalmi, Alexis Ribas, Serge Morand

Folia Parasitologica 72:004 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.004  

The present study describes the morphology and phylogenetic position of two specimens of Bertiella Stiles et Hassall, 1902 (Cestoda, Anoplocephalidae) from Rattus tanezumi (Temminck) (Muridae) from Đồng Tháp Province in southern Vietnam. The phylogenetic analysis was based on sequences of the large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (28S). The specimens were described and shown to be morphologically similar to Bertiella anapolytica Baylis, 1934 from Rattus spp. from Indonesia (Sumatra, type locality) and Australia, except for a few quantitative differences. The identification was confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis, which...

Potentially zoonotic parasite arrives to continental France: Clinostomum complanatum (Trematoda: Digenea) infection in perch (Perca fluviatilis) from the Doubs River (Jura)

Eloïse C. Rochat, Pierre Marle, Françoise Pozet, Isabel Blasco-Costa

Folia Parasitologica 72:003 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.003  

Clinostomum complanatum (Rudolphi, 1814) is known as a food-borne zoonotic parasite using freshwater fish as intermediate host, although in its native distribution area in Europe, the Danube and Po basins and the northeast of Italy, no cases have been reported. This study reports a new geographic location outside the native distribution range of this parasite. We detected high infection levels of C. complanatum in wild perch (Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus) from the Doubs River in continental France. Clinostomum complanatum reached a prevalence of 97% and mean intensity of 5.8 cysts per fish in 33 fish examined, with most fish...

Special Issue: Toxoplasma gondii, suicidal behaviour and suicide risk factors in US Veterans enrolled in mental health treatment

Teodor T. Postolache, Erica Duncan, Poyu Yen, Eileen Potocki, Meghan Barnhart, Amanda Federline, Nicholas Massa, Aline Dagdag, Joshua Joseph, Abhishek Wadhawan, Colt D. Capan, Cameron Forton, Christopher A. Lowry, Heidi K. Ortmeyer, Lisa A. Brenner

Folia Parasitologica 72:002 (2025) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2025.002  

Markers of chronic infection Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) have been associated with suicidal self-directed violence (SSDV). We present the results of the first study relating T. gondii IgG serology with suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in United States Veterans, known to have higher suicide rates than members of the general population. We also related T. gondii serology to SSDV risk factors, including valid and reliable measures of trait impulsivity, aggression, self-reported depression, and sleep disturbance. We recruited 407 Veterans enrolled at three Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with mean (S.D.)...
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