BioProject

Parasitic roundworms (nematodes) of humans, livestock and other animals cause diseases of major socio-economic importance globally. They have a major, long-term impact (directly and indirectly) on human health and cause substantial suffering, particularly in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.9 billion people are infected with nematodes. Furthermore, the current financial losses caused by parasites to agriculture worldwide (domesticated animals and crops) have a major impact on farm profitability and exacerbate the global food shortage. Methods available for the control of the parasitic nematode infections are mainly based on chemical treatment (anthelmintics), non-chemical management practices, immune modulation and biological control. More...

Parasitic roundworms (nematodes) of humans, livestock and other animals cause diseases of major socio-economic importance globally. They have a major, long-term impact (directly and indirectly) on human health and cause substantial suffering, particularly in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.9 billion people are infected with nematodes. Furthermore, the current financial losses caused by parasites to agriculture worldwide (domesticated animals and crops) have a major impact on farm profitability and exacerbate the global food shortage. Methods available for the control of the parasitic nematode infections are mainly based on chemical treatment (anthelmintics), non-chemical management practices, immune modulation and biological control. However, the incomplete protective response of the host and acquisition of anthelmintic resistance by an increasing number of parasitic nematodes hampered what use to be effective and long-lasting control strategies. Moreover, the use of such drugs poses major risks of residue problems in meat, milk and the environment. Therefore, the challenges to improve control of parasitic nematode infections are multi-fold and no single category of information will meet them all. However, new information, such as nematode genomics, functional genomics and proteomics, can strengthen basic and applied biological research aimed at developing improvements. Our mission is through integrated approaches to accelerate progress towards developing more efficient and sustainable parasitic nematode control programs. Less...