Taxonomy of North American fish Eimeriidae

Taxonomic descriptions, line drawings, and references are given for the 30 named and 5 unnamed species of North American fish Eimeriidae. In addition, a key was developed based on available morphologic data to distinguish between similar species. Taxa are divided into two genera: Eimeria (27 species) which are tetr&sporocystic with dizoic, nonbivalved sporocysts, and Goussia (3 species) which are tetrasporocystic with dizoic, bivalved sporocysts that lack Stleda bodies and have sporocyst walls composed of two longitudinal valves. (PDF file contains 24 pages.

Electronic decision support systems at point of care: trusting the deus ex machina

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Justin J Beilby, Andre J Duszynski, Anne Wilson and Deborah A Turnbul

Acute bronchitis in Australian general practice - a prescription too far?

OBJECTIVE: To quantify how frequently general practitioners in Australia prescribe antibiotics for acute bronchitis, which antibiotics are used, and whether there are subgroups of patients who might benefit from their use. DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective descriptive study using 3 sets of data: Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network, the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) Program, and the General Practice Research Network (GPRN). RESULTS: Over 50% of all patients with ‘acute bronchitis’ had either chest or one or more systemic signs on physical examination. The rate of antibiotic prescribing for acute bronchitis was 79.6% of acute bronchitis visits using BEACH data 2001–2002 and varied from 68.6 (95% CI: 62.8–74.5%) in 2001 to 78.7 (95% CI: 72.2–85.2%) in 1999 using GPRN data. Penicillins, followed by macrolides, were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics. DISCUSSION: Australian GPs frequently prescribe antibiotics for ‘acute bronchitis’ despite guidelines to the contrary. One reason may be that many patients present with chest or systemic signs.N.P. Stocks, H. McElroy, G.P. Sayer and K. Duszynsk

Transgenic Eimeria magna Pérard, 1925 Displays Similar Parasitological Properties to the Wild-type Strain and Induces an Exogenous Protein-Specific Immune Response in Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.)

Rabbit coccidiosis causes great economic losses to world rabbitries. Little work has been done considering genetic manipulation on the etiological agents, rabbit Eimeria spp. In this study, we constructed a transgenic line of Eimeria magna (EmagER) expressing enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) using regulatory sequences of Eimeria tenella and Toxoplasma gondii. We observed the life cycle of EmagER and confirmed that the transgenic parasites express exogenous proteins targeted to different cellular compartments throughout the entire life cycle. EYFP was expressed mainly in the nucleus and RFP both in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Then, coccidia-free, laboratory-reared 40-day-old rabbits were primarily infected with either EmagER or wild-type strain oocysts and challenged with the wild-type strain. EmagER showed similar reproductivity and immunogenicity to the wild-type strain. Finally, we examined the foreign protein-specific immune response elicited by EmagER. Rabbits were immunized with either transgenic or wild-type oocysts. Immune response against parasite-soluble antigen, EYFP and RFP in spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The relative expression level of IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α were higher in EmagER-immunized rabbits than wild-type parasites-immunized rabbits after stimulation with EYFP and RFP. Our study confirmed that a specific immune response was induced by the exogenous protein expressed by EmagER and favored future studies on application of transgenic rabbit coccidia as recombinant vaccine vectors

Acceptance of the Clark P. Read Mentor Award: Students, Opportunity, Serendipity, and W.B. Yeats: \u3ci\u3eEducation Is Not the Filling of a Pail; It Is the Lighting of a Fire\u3c/i\u3e

Transcript of the speech given by Donald W. Duszynski, of the University of New Mexico, upon acceptance of the American Society of Parasitologists\u27 Clark P. Read Mentor Award, 2008

Reassignment of Some \u3ci\u3eCaryospora\u3c/i\u3e Species (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) to \u3ci\u3eEumonospora\u3c/i\u3e (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) and a Summary

This review was crafted to clear up some of the current confusion regarding the correct taxonomic placement of those apicomplexan coccidians that produce unique monosporocystic octosporozoic (1 sporocyst with 8 sporozoites) oocysts during the sexual phase of their life history in vertebrate hosts. Currently, such oocysts have been placed in 1 of 4 genera, Avispora, Caryospora, Karyospora, or Eumonospora, 2 of which are no longer accepted or useful (Avispora and Karyospora). My review suggests that to present (2023) there are 62 valid Caryospora and 26 valid Eumonospora species. Caryospora species are recorded from a bird (1), lizards (4), snakes (56), and a turtle (1), and Eumonospora species are recorded from birds (25) and a mammal (1). In addition to the morphotypes with (more-or-less) valid binomials in both genera, there are an additional 24 Caryospora-like forms mentioned in the literature that do not yet have sufficient structural or genetic information to have merited a binomial and, therefore, must be designated as species inquirendae; these include 5 in birds, 2 in lizards, 1 in a mammal, and 16 in snakes. Similarly, 4 Eumonospora morphotypes in birds and 1 in a mammal also must be designated species inquirendae. Vertebrate hosts reported to have been infected with 1 or more species of these 2 genera include: birds: 14 families, 23 genera, 40 species; lizards: 3 families, 3 genera, 4 species; mammals: 2 families, 2 genera, 2 species; snakes: 10 families, 54 genera, 83 species; and turtles: 1 family, 1 genus, 1 species. Finally, such infections occur worldwide and have been documented in vertebrates in 43 countries on 6 of 7 continents on Earth (except Antarctica)

Biodiversity of the Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Conoidasida) in Vertebrates: What We Know, What We Do Not Know, and What Needs to Be Done

Over the last two decades my colleagues and I have assembled the literature on a good percentage of most of the coccidians (Conoidasida) known, to date, to parasitise: Amphibia, four major lineages of Reptilia (Amphisbaenia, Chelonia, Crocodylia, Serpentes), and seven major orders in the Mammalia (Carnivora, Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Insectivora, Marsupialia, Primates, Scandentia). These vertebrates, combined, comprise about 15,225 species; only about 899 (5.8%) of them have been surveyed for coccidia and 1,946 apicomplexan valid species names or other forms are recorded in the literature. Based on these compilations and other factors, I extrapolated that there yet may be an additional 31,381 new apicomplexans still to be discovered in just these 12 vertebrate groups. Extending the concept to all of the other extant vertebrates on Earth; i.e. lizards (6,300 spp.), rodents plus 12 minor orders of mammals (3,180 spp.), birds (10,000 spp.), and fishes (33,000 spp.) and, conservatively assuming only two unique apicomplexan species per each vertebrate host species, I extrapolate and extend my prediction that we may eventually find 135,000 new apicomplexans that still need discovery and to be described in and from those vertebrates that have not yet been examined for them! Even doubling that number is a significant underestimation in my opinion