On the shores of Lake Nabugabo in Uganda, humans, domestic animals, and wildlife live side-by-side in an interconnected ecosystem. It’s a beautiful mix of rural life and wildlife, but it also raises an important question: are there any consequences to species sharing the same spaces, water sources, and soil?…
On Saturday 25 April, we in Parasitology mark World Malaria Day 2026 and take a moment to reflect on the research, collaboration, and global efforts that continue to drive progress against one of the world’s most persistent infectious diseases.…
During the afternoon of Saturday 28th March, Parasitology supported a well-attended public engagement session within the 2026 Cambridge Festival, Parasites in ancient civilisations.…
A few years ago, I found a parasite in my armpit. It was the larva of a blowfly, and I knew pretty well what it was, based on where I’d gotten it – or at least I thought I did. Kibale National Park, Uganda, is known internationally for its diversity of nonhuman primates and among smaller circles for its high frequency of furuncular myiasis, a condition caused by parasitic fly larvae burrowing into the skin of a host.
In this highlight of the month series, Professor Amaya Bustinduy highlights three papers: Lemin et al., Neufeld et al. and Smith et al.…
Introductions of alien species into new environments create major concerns including conservation and ecosystem disruption, agricultural production and economic loss. Problems are exacerbated where the introduced species transfer novel pathogens that carry new disease risks for native species.
Each year Parasitology hosts an open competition for authors and readers to submit either photographs or associated computer graphic imagery. In so doing, we hope to capture the essence of contemporary parasitological research across the world.…
Every year on 15 October, Global Handwashing Day reminds us of the critical role hand hygiene plays in protecting health and preventing disease. The 2025 theme, “It Might Be Gloves. It’s Always Hand Hygiene,” reinforces that even when gloves are used, hand hygiene remains essential.
New research uncovers how two marine nematode parasites are interbreeding, in a contact area of their range of distribution
The Galápagos Islands are famous for inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection — their unique plants and animals have been studied for over a century.…
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal. In this post we meet Mercedes Didier Garnham, Social Media Editor for Parasitology.
Eve O’Kelly Awarded the Irish Society for Parasitology William C. Campbell Award 2025. Eve O’Kelly is a PhD candidate in the Molecular Parasitology Laboratory (MPL) lead by Prof. John P. Dalton at the University of Galway, Ireland. Her work focused on the isolation and molecular/biochemical characterization of immunomodulatory proteins from Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke). Now pursuing her PhD, Eve is continuing this research with the aim of identifying and characterizing novel vaccine targets to combat fasciolosis, a significant parasitic disease affecting livestock and humans.
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal.…
From 99 faecal samples we identified 21 species of intestinal parasites – everything from common worms to various protozoa and amoebae. Overall, seven in ten monkeys harboured at least one parasite, and Guinea baboons averaged nearly three different species apiece.
This study not only adds valuable information about Brazil’s overlooked parasite diversity but also challenges how we classify one of the most important groups of fish parasites. It’s a reminder that even in familiar waters, there's still a lot left to discover.
Parasitology mark World Malaria Day 2025 and take a moment to reflect upon a few key articles and conference activities that contribute to and support the cause.
The microscopic parasite Strongyloides stercoralis infects millions of humans worldwide, often without symptoms. For years, the treatment of choice has been ivermectin, a drug that has been recognized for its use in combating diseases, such as river blindness. However, what is another option? Our recent study compared ivermectin to its lesser-known antiparasitic, moxidectin, and the results were promising.
The parasite faunas of wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) have often been studied by infectious disease ecologists and parasitologists.…
On 30th January, we celebrate World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day. This annual celebration highlights the hard work and achievements of the many researchers, medical workers, NGOs and other committed individuals in this field, and acts as a convenient forum to demand and sustain the necessary concerted actions to #BeatNTDs.…
We are delighted to announce that the new front cover image for Parasitology 2025 features the protist Trypanosoma cruzi, photograph taken by Ramiro Tomasina & Carlos Robello. This parasite is responsible for American trypanosomiasis or Chagas Disease in South America. It infects a wide range of mammalian hosts by stercorarian transmission from contaminated faeces of Reduviid bugs.
The scientific programme was very exciting. It allowed several leaders in this field to share their latest experiences and findings from their laboratories. In total, there were eight speakers representing universities across the UK, Ireland & Europe. With a larger international audience on site, speakers intermingled during lunch and break sessions for discussions and collaborative networking.
My introduction to the fascinating world of parasites and Fasciola was accidental, or rather, a fluke! I met Professor John Dalton, the lead of the Molecular Parasitology Laboratory while working on a drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity project using HepG2 cell-derived spheroids at the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Galway. After several hours of parasite chat, I was hooked and embarked on a PhD migratory pathway!
Parasitology are Celebrating World Toilet Day 19th November 2024 Those that study parasitic diseases, particularly the soil-transmitted helminthiases and/or giardiasis, know that the enduring theme of the toilet and sanitation typically conjures up serious academic debate.…
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal.…
Before 1935, ticks were composed of the hard (Ixodidae) and soft (Argasidae) tick families. In 1931, Gerald Bedford described a peculiar tick species named Nuttalliella namaqua, which he considered a missing link between the two families, since it shared characteristics with both families.
I was surprised and thrilled to learn that I was a joint winner of Parasitology Journal’s Early Career Research Award 2024 for my paper “Revisiting fecal metatranscriptomics analyses of macaques with idiopathic chronic diarrhoea with a focus on trichomonad parasites”. This work arose from a need to find new ways of generating interesting results for my PhD thesis while I was unable to access the lab during the Covid-19 lockdowns. The idea was to leverage the vast wealth of next-generation sequencing datasets available in online databases to address new biological questions.
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is First report of apparent praziquantel resistance in Dipylidium caninum in Europe and is freely available for one month. …
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is ‘Naturally acquired immunity to Plasmodium pitheci in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)‘ and is freely available for one month. …
A host organism typically harbors more than one parasitic species in or on its body, a phenomenon known as a coinfection. This can lead to worse symptoms, if there are compounded impacts of multiple infections. Alternatively, disease outcomes may be ameliorated if the parasites are in competition with each other. Given the variable impacts of coinfection on host and parasites, it is important to understand the spatial distribution of coinfections and the underlying drivers of these patterns.
The paper “Novel insight into the genetic diversity of strongylid nematodes infecting South-East and East Asian primates” published in Parasitology is freely available to read online.…
Circadian rhythms are timekeeping mechanisms responsible for the cyclic repetition of metabolic, behavioural and psychological processes in all living organisms, typically over a 24-hour period.
We would like to thank all our reviewers for their pro bono services to Parasitology in 2023, to our authors and to science in general.
This paper focuses on the biodiversity and ecology of specific trophically transmitted helminth endoparasites (TTHs) in Mediterranean Sea ecosystems.
We investigate parasite guilds within and between squid cohorts. 318 squids were examined for metazoan parasites in the Patagonian continental shelf.
The hookworm A. ceylanicum doesn't infect mice but does to other animals. We hypothesized that the immune system is the deciding factor for hookworm infections.
The journal Parasitology is delighted to announce the winner of this year's front cover competition.
This systematic review analyzed the diversity of metastrongyles in marine mammals and the host and parasite traits associated with virulence.
Parasitologists have discovered 2 cases of grey seals infected with heartworms in the North Sea.
In this work we show that LRR17, a secreted Leishmania protein never reported before, facilitates parasite attachment and internalization by the macrophage.
When Richard Burton and John Speke came across Lake Tanganyika in 1858 as the first Europeans, they had no idea what they had just discovered.
The Irish Society for Parasitology organises a vibrant annual meeting for parasitologists to come together and share their research and build collaborations.…
This research enhances our understanding of the Echinococcus granulosus complex and its impact on human health.
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) active larval emergence from deceased bubble pond snails (Bullastra lessoni) into water” and is freely available. …
In Parasitology's latest article, we reveal the genetic identity for one of the last Echinococcus isolates in Iceland, obtained from a sheep 46 years ago.
What is your current job title within Parasitology and what does it involve? Where are you based in the world? I’m the Publisher at Cambridge University Press for Parasitology.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is Comparative transcriptomics from intestinal cells of permissive and non-permissive hosts during Ancylostoma ceylanicum infection reveals unique signatures of protection and host specificity and is freely available. …
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “First report of eprinomectin-resistant isolates of Haemonchus contortus in dairy sheep farms in France“ and is freely available for one month. …
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Immunological mechanisms involved in macrophage activation and polarization in schistosomiasis” and is freely available.…
When do parasites infect hosts? And does timing differ between separate host populations? Answers to these questions are fundamental to our understanding of host-parasite interactions and co-evolution. Yet often these aspects of host-parasite interactions are understudied.
Starting my PhD in 2020 on the conservation of Swedish parasitic freshwater mussels (Order: Unionida), I initially noted a lack of effort put into the study of what these mussels actually do to their hosts. If our goal is to increase the number of these mussels in our lakes and rivers, this will inevitably have some downstream impact on their host fishes.
Despite its impact on United States (US) food safety since the 1990’s, efforts to understand Cyclospora cayetanensis genetics only really began within the last 7 years. However, we have learned a great deal over that time; genotyping technologies now exist for Cyclospora, and these are being used routinely to complement cyclosporiasis outbreak investigations performed by US public health agencies
Biting midges (genus Culicoides) are one of the world’s smallest and most abundant blood-sucking flies. Haematophagous females are well-known vectors of several pathogens, including those affecting both livestock and wildlife.
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal. In this post we meet Professor Joseph A. Jackson, Editor for Parasitology.
Amber is a rich source of invertebrate fossils that constantly turn up new families, genera, and species. To become an amber fossil, an organism needs to be trapped in tree resin oozing from injured trees, which hardens and gets buried beneath sediment before fossilization at high pressure and temperature.
Javier González Miguel was one of the winners of the Early Career Researcher Award 2019, awarded each year by Parasitology for first or last authors of outstanding papers published in the journal. Three years later we catch up with him to see how his career has progressed since then.
we are delighted to announce that the new front cover image for Parasitology is of the human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura. We congratulate Dr Lee Haines, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, who submitted this beautiful image as part of her photographic portfolio.
Nematodes are one of the most speciose groups of animals, and a significant proportion of them are parasitic.
Over the past 18 months, several authors and two Guest Editors have worked together on a Special Issue (SI) on Fish Parasites for the Cambridge University Press journal, Parasitology, the longest-running journal among periodicals in the field. Our SI contains 13 articles, including reviews and original research articles, co-authored by world-leading experts in individual research fields of fish parasitology.
This year, Mona Suleiman, who is doing her PhD at the University of Bath, was the winner of the award. The competition this year was high, but Mona’s presentation stood out for the fundamental impacts of her research that were explained in a very comprehensible way.
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal. In this post we meet Dr Cinzia Cantacessi, Editor for Parasitology.
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is Global epidemiology and molecular biology of Taenia multiceps: a comparative meta-analysis and in silico analysis study and is freely available for one month.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Cell repertoire and proliferation of germinative cells of the model cestode Mesocestoides corti” and is freely available for one month.…
More and more research is finding inflammation as a potential contributing factor towards to the development of various mental illnesses. A systematic review was conducted to determine the association between parasitic infection and mental illnesses in various African populations. Two parasite groups were evaluated; helminths and protozoans, and four mental illness classifications; depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizotypal disorders and unspecified mental illnesses.
From January 2023, Parasitology will become an Open Access (OA) journal within Cambridge University Press, where a total of 14 other hosted journals within the Life Sciences are now fully OA.
As the global human population approaches the 8 billion mark, it is sobering to think that around one third of these people will be carrying a parasitic helminth (worm) infection.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “A remarkable assemblage of ticks from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber” and is available open access.…
A new analysis of ancient faeces found at the site of a prehistoric village near Stonehenge has uncovered evidence of the eggs of parasitic worms, suggesting the inhabitants feasted on the internal organs of cattle and fed leftovers to their dogs.…
It takes a lot of people to publish an issue of Parasitology. Each year the journal successfully publishes 14 issues, with over 170 papers contained therein. Essential, of course, are our dedicated authors but there are also many “behind-the-scenes” people crucial in making sure we disseminate high quality research into the public domain
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Honey bees with a drinking problem: potential routes of Nosema ceranae spore transmission” and is available open access.…
Cystoisospora suis is an intestinal protozoan parasite of swine, especially of suckling piglets. It severely affects the host by causing diarrhoea and reduced weight gain. This considerably impairs animal health, welfare and productivity. The parasite has a worldwide distribution, and infections are very common. The parasite belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, which also includes other species of great medical and veterinary relevance by causing malaria, toxoplasmosis or coccidiosis.
The evolutionary arms race between parasites and their hosts have been fascinating/puzzling scientists for many years, and current World events have made even clearer about the importance of understanding host-parasite interactions.
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal. In this post we meet Dr Lisa Ranford-Cartwright, Editor for Parasitology
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Immunochemotherapy for visceral leishmaniasis: combinatorial action of Miltefosine plus LBSapMPL vaccine improves adaptative Th1 immune response with control of splenic parasitism in experimental hamster model” and is freely available for one month. …
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Lurking in the water: testing eDNA metabarcoding as a tool for ecosystem-wide parasite detection” and is freely available for one month.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Brain Food: rethinking food-borne toxocariasis” and is freely available. Toxocara canis and T.…
This year a new 275-page book, with 21 chapters, entitled "The Tale of a Man, a Worm and a Snail: The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative" written by Professor Alan Fenwick OBE, with the help of Wendie Norris and Becky McCall, first appeared in January. It is part autobiography, part scientific narrative, with an impressive bibliography. Typical of CABI publishers, the book has a high printed production standard with several colour photographs and schematic graphics that embellish its narrative.
Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in our Meet the Editors series on the Parasitology blog. We are very grateful for your time and input, and we hope that you enjoy the chance to share your work and a little bit about yourself with our readers.
When we think of the human roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, or the human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, we tend to focus upon the similarities between these two parasites. Why is this so?
Biological invasions have significant impacts on biodiversity, community structure, and ecosystem processes, often leading to the emergence of diseases that could have significant economic, public health, and conservation implications. These invasions are usually driven by anthropogenic disturbances on ecosystems and the increased movement of goods and people on a global scale.
When we think of parasites often our first thoughts are of six or eight-legged creatures crawling on our skin, or white spaghetti-like worms coming from our beloved pet’s rear end. However, there is a whole world beyond the eye, which comprises very small, generally single-cell organisms, known as protozoans.
Young men often do dangerous things, extreme sports for example. It’s less common for eating something to be the concern. Paragonimus kellicotti was first named as a species in 1908.
Cryptosporidium species are intestinal parasites that infect a wide range of vertebrate host species, causing a considerable burden of gastrointestinal disease. Cryptosporidium infections in humans are mostly caused by two species: C. hominis, which is primarily transmitted from human-to-human, and C. parvum, which is mainly derived from animals, particularly livestock.
Why do some individuals become sicker than others when they are infected with the same pathogen? Two factors that can change how sick an individual becomes are the dose of the pathogen and the presence of another parasite. We studied these two factors in mice that were infected with malaria and hookworms.
The British Society for Parasitology (BSP) is affiliated with the Cambridge University Press (CUP) journal Parasitology and BSP/CUP frequently collaborate to produce special issues dedicated to showcasing BSP meetings. The present issue is unusual for several reasons; it showcases a BSP meeting held outside of the UK (in Granada, Spain), it is devoted to the Trypanosomiasis and Leishmaniasis Symposium, a biannual gathering of folks with interests in these diseases and also represents the only BSP meeting of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Historical contingency, geography and anthropogenic patterns of exposure drive the evolution of host switching in the Blastocystis species-complex” and is freely available for one month.…
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Shining a light on parasite behaviour: daily patterns of Argulus fish lice” and is freely available for one month.…
We celebrate World Ocean Day to remind us of how important the marine habitat is today and its need for better environmental stewardship tomorrow.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Some gastrointestinal nematodes and ixodid ticks shared by several wildlife species in the Kruger National Park, South Africa“ With conservation of African mammalian species in mind, wildlife reserves and managed game parks continue to offer some protection to many species and associated natural habitats.…
Sunday, April 25th is World Malaria Day. A day when we celebrate the remarkable successes in the fight against malaria over the past two decades.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Taxonomic resolution affects host−parasite association model performance“ The ability to predict the occurrence and strength of species interactions is a fundamental goal in ecology.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Early immune responses and parasite tissue distribution in mice experimentally infected with oocysts of either archetypal or non-archetypal genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii“ Toxoplasmosis is a well-known disease caused by the single celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, which is found worldwide.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is “Eimeria bovis infections induce G1 cell cycle arrest and a senescence-like phenotype in endothelial host cells“ Eimeria bovis is a globally spread, host-specific parasite of cattle, causing severe bloody diarrhoea, especially in calves, and therefore high economic losses worldwide.…
Parasites can have serious impacts on their crustacean hosts and associated fisheries, from stunting growth to causing mass mortalities. When 56% of velvet crab from a bay in Ireland were found to be positive for the microparasite Paramarteilia sp.,…
Parasitology has just released a Special Issue from the 6th International Workshop on Angiostrongylus and Angiostrongyliasis, Hilo, Hawai’i , USA, January, 2020 When a parasite is given the common name “rat lungworm” you know it is going to be a particularly unpleasant one.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is Agranulocytosis leads to intestinal Echinococcus multilocularis oncosphere invasion and hepatic metacestode development in naturally resistant Wistar rats Let me introduce you to a tiny tapeworm that is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere: Echinococcus multilocularis.…
Paula Tierney, a final year PhD student at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland was recently awarded the 2020 Irish Society for Parasitology Prof.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is Host–parasite relationships between seabirds and the haemadipsid leech Chtonobdella palmyrae (Annelida: Clitellata) inhabiting oceanic islands in the Pacific Ocean The Indo-Pacific region harbours blood-sucking terrestrial leeches that belong to the family Haemadipsidae.…
The latest Paper of the Month for Parasitology is Arg-substituted VmCT1 analogs reveals promising candidate for the development of new antichagasic agent Molecules isolated from the venom of scorpions can be used as alternative treatments for parasitic and bacterial infections.…
Welcome to our “Meet the Editors” series, where we interview the editorial team about their work and their relationship to the journal.…
Archaeology and cultural heritage work have fully entered the digital age. Today, researchers rely on tools like 3D scanners, a variety of GIS software, and Lidar equipped drones to document the past in ways that were unimaginable just a few decades ago.…
Even though findings from genetics and other sciences unequivocally refute biological conceptions of race, this erroneous viewpoint remains widespread among the general public.…
The English language contains a wealth of insults and terms of abuse. Personal insults attack the core and immutable aspects of a person, such as their race, ethnicity, appearance, age, or a disability.…
A critical milestone for the archaeological ecosystem has been the publication this April of the National Archaeology Plan (NAP), part of a larger framework for cultural heritage that the Spanish Ministry of Culture has been developing for almost 40 years.…
The March article of Muses – the arts blog from BJPsych International is the first blog of the series. The blog is written by Dr Dami Ajayi, Specialty Doctor, Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Trainee/Blog Editor, BJPsych International.…
Some disability-related names have dropped out of usage, because they are now considered to be offensive due to their origins. Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) is one example.…
The paper “The role of premenstrual syndrome in hedonic hunger and food craving during the menstrual cycle“, published in Journal of Nutritional Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available to download for one month.…
How long will humankind survive? Besides the fact that we have been able to eliminate ourselves with nuclear weapons for decades, even without a third world war, the challenge to take care of the resources of our planet remains; we need to use them in a way that our children and their children can have a place on Earth as well. In this blog post Andreas Losch discusses his recent review article in the International Journal of Astrobiology, The need of an ethics of planetary sustainability
It is an article of faith among ordinary Filipinos that American troops will die with Filipino troops defending Philippine claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea (SCS).…
Q&A with Editor-in-Chief of the Precision Medicine Journal, Dame Anna Dominiczak, for International day of Women and Girls in Science
More and more research is finding inflammation as a potential contributing factor towards to the development of various mental illnesses. A systematic review was conducted to determine the association between parasitic infection and mental illnesses in various African populations. Two parasite groups were evaluated; helminths and protozoans, and four mental illness classifications; depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, schizotypal disorders and unspecified mental illnesses.
The March article of Muses – the arts blog from BJPsych International is the first blog of the series. The blog is written by Dr Dami Ajayi, Specialty Doctor, Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Trainee/Blog Editor, BJPsych International.…
This is the first post in our new series: “Conversations with Authors.” For our inaugural post, we asked Dr. Vesla Weaver to meet (virtually) with Dr.…
The English language contains a wealth of insults and terms of abuse. Personal insults attack the core and immutable aspects of a person, such as their race, ethnicity, appearance, age, or a disability.…
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