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Species name
Disease: common name(?)
Picture 1
Number of cases worldwide:
1 million per year
Number of deaths worldwide:
200,000 per year
Life-cycle and transmission:
Something interesting about the
disease
Picture 2
On going research:
Some stuff about understanding genetics, biochemistry and
vaccines, etc….
into this
The British Society for Parasitology:
Members of the BSP are helping research
disease by….
For more info contact us at …..
Plasmodium falciparum
Disease: Malaria
Number of cases worldwide:
250 million per year
Number of deaths worldwide:
1-2 million per year
Life-cycle and transmission:
The
On going research:
Some stuff about understanding genetics, biochemistry and
vaccines, etc….
into this
The British Society for Parasitology:
Members of the BSP are helping research
disease by….
For more info contact us at …..
Leishmania
Disease: Kala-azar
Number of cases worldwide:
12 million per year
Number of deaths worldwide:
750,000 per year (est.)
Life-cycle and transmission:
The Leishmania parasite is spread through
the bite from a sand-fly. There are two main
forms of the infection – cutaneous leishmaniasis
and visceral leishmaniasis. Cutaneous infection
causes disfiguring lesions on the skin at the site
of the sandfly bite whereas in visceral
leishmaniasis the parasite establishes infection
in the liver causing swelling, loss of function and
ultimately death. Importantly, by growing inside
white blood cells, the parasite suppresses the
immune response and allows it to establish a
long-lived infection.
In addition to infecting humans, Leishmania can
infect other animals. Indeed, up to 40% of dogs
in Mediterranean areas test positive for
infection.
Ongoing research:
Scientists are studying how Leishmania parasites interact with the immune system
and cause disease in an attempt to develop new vaccines and medicines. By
understanding how parasites become resistant to current drugs, they hope to
design better therapies to treat infection. And by understanding how Leishmania
suppresses the immune system, novel approaches to vaccination are being
developed.
The British Society for Parasitology:
The BSP arranges regular conferences where members
involved in the cutting-edge research into new cures for
leishmaniasis meet to discuss their work.
For more information visit ww.bsp.uk.net or contact [email protected]