Parasites

Malaria remains a concern in Florida because the state has 14 mosquito species capable of harboring and transmitting the parasites responsible for the disease.

Chagas disease affects muscles in the heart and gut. Transmission is usually associated with kissing bug bites, but experts warn foodborne transmission of Chagas also has a significant impact and often causes more severe symptoms.

In addition to preying on endangered native wildlife, the invasive Burmese python also brought a deadly parasite to Florida’s snakes: Raillietiella orientalis, also known as snake lungworm.

UF researchers at the Emerging Pathogens Institute work to diagnose Chagas disease in Florida, a potentially lethal and poorly understood illness that spreads via kissing bugs.

The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum is a keystone species. Coral reefs rely on healthy sea urchins to eat algae so coral can thrive. Healthy coral means healthy fish, and their positive impacts continue up the food chain.

UF professor of marine ecology Donald Behringer may not have set out to become a leader in the growing field of marine disease ecology, but with each new discovery he grew into one.

A new study authored by EPI researcher Rhoel Dinglasan, Ph.D., and colleagues, twists the narrative in the fight against malaria by treating mosquitoes. His team showed that feeding a known antimalarial drug — intended for humans — to infected Anopheles mosquitoes rendered them unable to transmit malaria parasites to new hosts.

An easy-to-use saliva test to screen for the parasite that causes malaria has been developed by a team of researchers led by Emerging Pathogens Institute faculty member Rhoel Dinglasan.