Planning for the future of PWB. 🌎 This past week, our President, Daniel Griffin, MD, PhD, and Directors, Charles “Chuck” Knirsch, MD, MPH and Vincent Racaniello, PhD, got together at Hayden Backcountry Lodge in Colorado to strategize and plan for the next 10 years of Parasites Without Borders. The lodge is located in the Richmond Basin above Ouray, Colorado and it proved the perfect recess from the hustle and bustle of New York City. We can’t wait to share with you all what we’ve been working on!

Only a few weeks left! 🌍 Each year, Parasites Without Borders hosts a fundraiser that donates funds for American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene @ASTMH. Your donations to the campaign helped send Katherine from El Salvador, Central America, to the ASTMH Annual Conference. "I realized that amongst many learning experiences, the most important realization for me is that I definitely want to keep working and researching in the tropical medicine field." ~Katherine Help us reach our goal of $20,000 by donating at parasiteswithoutborders.com

TWiV 1364: Clinical Update with Dr. Daniel Griffin 🩺 Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello discuss their continuing struggle to understand the ongoing outbreak of cyclospora, decimation of US public health including 30% or greater loss of personnel from the CDC, continuing measles outbreaks here and abroad, a mumps outbreak in San Diego and a Hib death in Montana, criminalization of pediatricians in Texas, dengue associated death in Florida, Ebola in Kenya, a new Legionnaires outbreak, screw worm cases, and more. 📺 bit.ly/4icPrIe

Your yard work could have a hidden co-star. Ticks stay active in fall when it’s above freezing, and some may carry Babesia, a single-celled parasite that invades red blood cells. Ixodes scapularis is the vector for Babesia microti in many parts of the United States (it’s also the same tick that carries Lyme disease), while Ixodes ricinus is the primary vector for Babesia divergens in Europe. You can help prevent tick bites by: 🧦 Wearing permethrin-treated clothes and using a DEET repellent 🚿 Shower after outdoor activities and do a full-body tick check 👕 Tumble-dry outdoor clothes on high heat 🔍 Remove any ticks with fine-tipped tweezers, pulling straight up and out The number one tip? Stay informed! Learn more on Page 173 of Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition. All of our resources are free and available to share with your students and colleagues. Learn more at parasiteswithoutborders.com

The Big Red Book made its way to Armenia 📕 Ani Manukyan, a student furthering her studies via distance learning with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, is doing her dissertation on the epidemiological characteristics and national burden of echinococcosis in the Republic of Armenia. We were thrilled to send her a textbook to aid in her studies. “The book ‘Parasitic Diseases’ will serve as a key reference for strengthening my knowledge of the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and control of human parasitic diseases,” she told us. “I will use it to support evidence-based research, improve the scientific quality of my literature reviews and manuscripts, and enhance the design and interpretation of epidemiological studies on zoonotic parasitic diseases, particularly echinococcosis, within a One Health framework.”

What parasite do you find the most fascinating and why? 📸 CDC

Parasitic Diseases Lectures #36: Pork Tapeworm 🐷 Dickson and Daniel discuss the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. 📺 bit.ly/46EOF1c

Naegleria fowleri, known as the brain-eating amoeba, is a robust thermophilic free-living amoeba found worldwide in warm freshwater. It thrives in standing freshwater environments like hot springs, heated swimming pools, and hot tubs. 📸 Trophozoite of Naegleria fowleri. 25 μm. Page 179 📕 Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition Download a copy for free! parasiteswithoutborders.com/…

TWiV 1362: Clinical Update with Dr. Daniel Griffin 🩺 Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello continue their ongoing exasperation over 5 deaths in Pennsylvania associated with measles infections, the absurdity of RFK Jr.’s statement that AI is better informed than physicians, the outbreak of cholera, more deaths by raw milk products, spread of dengue virus in Florida, Ebola in DRC, refusal to acknowledge the benefits of the HBV vaccine birth dose, and more. 📺 bit.ly/4jAM4vI

TWiP 289: Dogs, Parasites, and an Exhausted Immune System 🐾 TWiP explains a single-cell analysis of immune cells in the blood of dogs with canine leishmaniosis, providing a detailed picture of how the immune response changes as the disease progresses. 📺 bit.ly/4hZdE4D

In 1979, Bailey Ashford described several cases of diarrhea in Papua New Guinea with a coccidian detected in the stool. A few years later, in 1986, Rosemary Soave reported several cases of diarrhea in returning travelers that may have been due to a coccidian pathogen. Then, in 1991, Ynes R. Ortega characterized this organism as a new coccidian species and named this organism Cyclospora cayetanensis after her alma mater, the Peruvian University Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru. Page 177 & 178 📕 Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition Download a copy for free! parasiteswithoutborders.com/… 📸 Oocyst of C. cayetanensis. 10 μm.

Infectious Disease Puscast #116 🪱 On episode #116 of the Infectious Disease Puscast, Daniel and Sara review the infectious disease literature for the weeks of 9/16 - 9/21/26. 📺 bit.ly/4yu8cg0

Timor-Leste successfully eliminates trachoma as a public health problem 🇹🇱 The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Timor-Leste as eliminating trachoma. This Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) spreads through contact with eye and nasal discharge from infected individuals, and can eventually result in blindness. Timor-Leste is the 4th country in the Southeast Asia Region and the 33rd country worldwide to eliminate trachoma. According to WHO, "Timor-Leste was the last country in the Region where the disease was suspected, which is why its validation means trachoma is no longer a public health problem anywhere in WHO’s South-East Asia Region."

Each year, Parasites Without Borders hosts a fundraiser that donates funds for the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene @ASTMH. Your donations to the campaign helped send Adriana from Brazil, South America, to the ASTMH Annual Conference. “The award provided access to cutting-edge scientific discussions, allowed me to present my research to an international audience, and created valuable opportunities to establish collaborations with researchers from different countries.” ~Adriana Help us reach our goal of $20,000 by donating at parasiteswithoutborders.com

TWiV 1360: Clinical Update with Dr. Daniel Griffin 🩺 Daniel and Vincent’s frustration continues over the increasing number of measles infections, Kennedy’s undermining of vaccines, perpetuation of autism-vaccine, autism-Tylenol myths, an outbreak of hepatitis A virus in the US, the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, changes in reporting of virus infection and vaccine recommendations, and Legionnaires disease and screwworm cases. 📺 bit.ly/4dTtNWL

Parasitic Diseases Lectures #35: Beef Tapeworm 🪱 Dickson and Daniel discuss the beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata. 📺 bit.ly/4xGtyWt

The Big Red Book made its way to Papua New Guinea 📕 Meet Loyde Murom, a lab tech and undergraduate MBBS Year 5 student at the University of Papua New Guinea, School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “I am grateful for this wonderful book, which will be helpful in my career,” Loyde told us. “I am also proud that some of the references – especially on Strongyloides – are from studies done here in my country, Papua New Guinea.” Thank you, Loyde, for sending us this photo of you holding the textbook in your medical library. Best of luck in your studies!

Enterobius vermicularis, commonly known as pinworm, is the most prevalent nematode infection of humans, its only host. In 1758, Carl Linnaeus named this organism Enterobius vermicularis. In 1824, Johann Bremser distinguished this roundworm from the other oxyurid and ascarid nematodes and accurately described it, forming the basis for today’s modern classification scheme. 📸 Adult female Enterobius vermicularis. 10mm. Page 200 📕 Parasitic Diseases, Eighth Edition Download a copy for free! parasiteswithoutborders.com/…

TWiP 288: Taco Bell and the Case of the Runny Jobbies 🥬 TWiP solves the case of the NYC woman in her 30s who developed 3 weeks of significant watery diarrhea after eating at a Taco Bell Restaurant. 📺 bit.ly/4yT4tbK