This thematic collection focuses on key parasites and their vectors in Southeast Asia. Up-to-date essays invite readers to discover parasite and vector morphology, genetic diversity as well as dynamic parasite communities linked to human land-use and climate change. The authors shed light on transmission pathways and explore tick-borne diseases, intestinal protozoa, cestodes, nematodes and the multiplicity of cryptic trematode species. Particular attention is given to mosquito vectors in changing environments and the dynamic biodiversity of vertebrate hosts, including mammals, birds and fish. The richly illustrated chapters are completed by new approaches in diagnostic methods, treatment and prevention to protect humans and animals from tropical parasite infections. Not only parasitologists and experts in tropical medicine but also public health officials and travelers will find this volume highly informative.

Offering an example for transnational cooperation and successful reduction of a neglected tropical disease, this volume shows how Chinese scientists and local physicians controlled schistosomiasis in Zanzibar. Over a four-year study, local medical specialists and the population of Zanzibar were taught how to diagnose the parasitosis caused by flukes (trematode worms) of the genus Schistosoma. Furthermore, methods to eliminate the disease and prevent new infections were established. The developed control system will avoid repeated increase of human schistosomiasis, which is still prevalent in the tropics and subtropics. Rural populations and poor communities lacking access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation are most affected. This book is a blueprint of activities urgently needed to combat schistosomiasis in countries with low medical impact. The strategies outlined are particularly relevant to parasitologists and professionals in public health, physicians, medical personnel and also governmental, healthcare and pharmaceutical institutions.

This book presents the latest information on canine parasites with zoonotic potential, to help avoid human infections. Compiled by international specialists, it covers protozoa, ectoparasites and helminth species of clinical importance in dogs, as well as the state of the art in diagnosis, preventive measures and potentially necessary treatment schemes. Dogs are commonly kept in families around the world and can predispose their human companions to disease. Updating and deepening insights from other specialist literature, the book is intended for practitioners and scientists alike. It also offers practical guidance for veterinary and human physicians and highlights unexplored research areas, making it a valuable resource for students and educated non-experts with an interest in parasitology, infectiology and zoonotic pet diseases.

This thematic collection focuses on key parasites and their vectors in Southeast Asia. Up-to-date essays invite readers to discover parasite and vector morphology, genetic diversity as well as dynamic parasite communities linked to human land-use and climate change. The authors shed light on transmission pathways and explore tick-borne diseases, intestinal protozoa, cestodes, nematodes and the multiplicity of cryptic trematode species. Particular attention is given to mosquito vectors in changing environments and the dynamic biodiversity of vertebrate hosts, including mammals, birds and fish. The richly illustrated chapters are completed by new approaches in diagnostic methods, treatment and prevention to protect humans and animals from tropical parasite infections. Not only parasitologists and experts in tropical medicine but also public health officials and travelers will find this volume highly informative.

This book focuses on waterborne pathogens and significant diseases occurring along major rivers around the globe, including key examples like the Amazonas, Mekong River and Nile. Written by leading international experts, it offers unique insights into local riverine infection risks in times of global warming, and addressing these through advances in diagnosis, health management and the development of simple but effective control measures. It also sheds light on why former societies collapsed due to transmitted diseases during periods of climate change, droughts and floods, to help establish effective preventive measures for the future. The book appeals to a wide readership, from scientists in the field of parasitology, infectious diseases and epidemiology, to healthcare managers and general readers with an interest in pathogen spread along the largest rivers on earth. It particularly highlights past and current control mechanisms in times of global warming and assesses potential future health hazards.

Offering an example for transnational cooperation and successful reduction of a neglected tropical disease, this volume shows how Chinese scientists and local physicians controlled schistosomiasis in Zanzibar. Over a four-year study, local medical specialists and the population of Zanzibar were taught how to diagnose the parasitosis caused by flukes (trematode worms) of the genus Schistosoma. Furthermore, methods to eliminate the disease and prevent new infections were established. The developed control system will avoid repeated increase of human schistosomiasis, which is still prevalent in the tropics and subtropics. Rural populations and poor communities lacking access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation are most affected. This book is a blueprint of activities urgently needed to combat schistosomiasis in countries with low medical impact. The strategies outlined are particularly relevant to parasitologists and professionals in public health, physicians, medical personnel and also governmental, healthcare and pharmaceutical institutions.

This book presents the latest information on canine parasites with zoonotic potential, to help avoid human infections. Compiled by international specialists, it covers protozoa, ectoparasites and helminth species of clinical importance in dogs, as well as the state of the art in diagnosis, preventive measures and potentially necessary treatment schemes. Dogs are commonly kept in families around the world and can predispose their human companions to disease. Updating and deepening insights from other specialist literature, the book is intended for practitioners and scientists alike. It also offers practical guidance for veterinary and human physicians and highlights unexplored research areas, making it a valuable resource for students and educated non-experts with an interest in parasitology, infectiology and zoonotic pet diseases.

This book intensively examines the efficacy of plant-derived products that have been used for over a thousand years by practitioners of so-called Traditional Chinese Medicine in the light of recent chemotherapeuticals. The chapters were written by renowned Chinese medical researchers and are supplemented by results obtained in German antiparasitic research projects. Parasites and emerging diseases are a major threat of our time, which is characterized by an enormous increase in the size of the human population and by an unbelievably rapid globalization that has led to the daily transport of millions of humans and containers with goods from one end of the earth to the other. Furthermore the slow but constant global warming offers new opportunities for many agents of diseases to become established in new areas. Therefore it is essential that we develop precautions in order to avoid epidemics or even pandemics in overcrowded megacities or at the large-scale farm animal confinements that are needed to secure a steady flow of food in the crowded regions of the world. Of course intensive research in the field of chemotherapy since 1900 has produced unbelievable breakthroughs in therapies for formerly untreatable and thus deadly diseases. However, a large number of untreatable diseases remain, as well as a constantly growing number of agents of disease that have developed resistances to standard chemical compounds. As such, it is not only worthwhile but also vital to consider the enormous amounts of information that have been obtained by human "high cultures" in the past. Examples from the past (like quinine) or present (like artemisinin, a modern antimalarial drug) show that plant extracts may hold tremendous potential in the fight against parasites and/or against vector-transmitted agents of diseases.

This book gathers contributions by 16 international authors on the phenomenon "bats," shedding some light on their morphology, the feeding behaviors (insects, fruits, blood) of different groups, their potential and confirmed transmissions of agents of diseases, their endo- and ectoparasites, as well as countless myths surrounding their lifestyle (e.g. vampirism, chupacabras, batman etc.). Bats have been known in different cultures for several thousand centuries, however their nocturnal activities have made them mysterious and led to many legends and myths, while proven facts remained scarce. Even today, our knowledge of bats remains limited compared to other groups in the animal kingdom. Also, their famous ability to avoid collisions with obstacles during their nightly flights with the help of a sophisticated and unique system using ultrasound waves (which are transmitted and received) is as poorly studied as birds finding their way from continent to continent. In recent times, where globalization transports millions of people and goods from one end of the earth to the other, there are increased risks posed by agents of diseases, as a result of which bats have received increasing attention as potential vectors. These suppositions are based on their proven transmission of viruses such as rabies. In dedicated chapters, the book addresses the following topics: * The world of bats * The astonishing morphology of bats * Bats as potential reservoir hosts for vector-borne diseases * Bat endoparasites * Macroparasites - ectoparasites * Glimpses into how bats fly * Blood-licking bats * Vampirism in medicine and culture * Chupacabras and "goat milkers" * Myths on candiru As such, this book provides a broad range of information for all non-experts interested in biological topics, but also for people working in this field, as well as physicians and veterinarians who are confronted with clinical cases, and for teachers and students interested in expanding their knowledge of biology and of past and present cultures.

This edited volume focuses on parasite-host relationships and the behavioral changes parasites may trigger in their hosts. Parasites have developed strategies which enhance their chances to find a host to survive inside its body and to become most easily transmitted to one another. Many of these parasites influence the host's behavior by various mechanisms, so that the rate of their transmissions to further hosts becomes considerably enhanced in comparison to that of non-influenced specimens of the same host species. A broad number of recent studies elucidate more and more examples in an extreme spectrum of host-parasite relationships, where successful transmission and /or survival of a parasite inside a host is based on parasite-derived behavioral manipulations of the hosts. In the literature, an increasing numbers of papers appear which prove that these behavioral alterations are based on complicated psychoimmunologic, neuropharmacologic and genomically steered mechanisms. Researchers working in parasitology or behavioral sciences will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative.

Knowledge in the field of parasitology must be kept at a high level and up to date in order to fight a parasitosis as quickly and effectively as possible. This work, one of Springer's renowned and authoritative Major Reference Works, contributes to these goals in several ways. First, it comprises a number of entries, consisting of both in-depth essays and definitions. Secondly, the content has been improved even more by adding additional tables and high-quality figures. Thirdly, the extensive linking between definitions and essays facilitates information within a minimum of time. The Encyclopedia of Parasitology contains clearly structured essays in alphabetical order with extensive cross-references between definitions and related entries. International contributors, who are well-known specialists in their fields, give a comprehensive review of all parasites and therapeutic strategies in veterinarian and human parasitology. This 4th edition presents all important parasites of humans and animals in detail and the less important ones in short. Each parasite has its own large "chapter" with all subheadings (life cycle, morphology, treatment etc.). Topics common for other parasites and/or transmitted agents of diseases are presented in separate topics, which altogether are listed alphabetically. Furthermore all important parasitological and medical terms are explained as separate topics and are cross-linked to the chapters/topics, where they are explained intensively. Existing entries are updated and presented in the light of the latest knowledge.

The stages of Blastocystis have been known for 101 years. However, many facts are still disputed, e.g. even the question whether it is a true pathogen or a commensal present in sometimes life-threatening diarrheas. The present book evaluates in chapters contributed by renowned researchers the latest findings on: *Landmarks in the discovery of Blastocystis *Epidemiology, transmission and zoonotic potential *Morphology of human and animal Blastocystis isolates *Clinical aspects of Blastocystis infections *Behavioral decision analysis: what makes us sick? *Blastocystis-host interactions *Molecular approaches on the systematical position *Genetic polymorphism *Blastocystis from a statistical point of view *Diarrheas due to different agents of disease *Zoonotic diseases in comparison As such, this book provides a broad range of information for people working in this field, for physicians and veterinarians who are confronted with clinical cases, teachers, students and technical staff members in the fields of microbiology, parasitology and diagnostic methods.

Global warming and globalization are the buzzwords of our time. They have nearly reached a religious status and those who deny their existence are considered modern heretics. Nevertheless, the earth has become an overcrowded village, traversable within a single day. Thus it is hardly surprising that besides persons and goods also agents of disease are easily transported daily from one end of the world to the other, threatening the health and lives of billions of humans and their animals. Agents of diseases (prions, viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites) are not only transmitted by body contact or direct exchange of bodily fluids, but also by means of vectors which belong to the groups of licking or blood-sucking arthropods (mites, ticks, insects) that live close to humans and their houses. Without a doubt the recently accelerating globalization supports the import of agents of disease into countries where they never had been or where they had long since been eradicated, leading to a false sense of living on a "safe island." These newly imported or reintroduced diseases - called "emerging diseases" - may lead to severe outbreaks in cases where the countries are not prepared to combat them, or in cases where viruses are introduced that cannot be controlled by medications or vaccines. Arthropods are well known vectors for the spread of diseases. Thus their invasion from foreign countries and their spreading close to human dwellings must be blocked everywhere (in donor and receptor countries) using safe and effective measures. This book presents reviews on examples of such arthropod-borne emerging diseases that lurk on the fringes of our crowded megacities. The following topics show that there is an ongoing invasion of potential vectors and that control measures must be used now in order to avoid disastrous outbreaks of mass diseases.

Parasites threaten the health of animals and humans alike. Especially in times of increasing globalization and global warming, parasites can enlarge their kingdom by spreading. At the same time many of the existing medical products have become ineffective. As these products have been used for many decades, parasites have developed resistances, so that they have progressed in their fight for survival. Therefore it is obvious that humans must develop new methods to face these dangers.

Thus parasitological knowledge increases daily and must be formulated to be accessible for as many parasitologists (veterinarians, physicians, biologists) as possible. Therefore it is necessary that reviews reflecting the present status of the progress in many fields of research be published.

Therefore this book, published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the German Society of Parasitology, compiles 18 reviews on recent hot topics, including a new vaccine against malarial parasites; severe diseases with poor chances of treatment (cryptosporidiosis, coccidiosis, theileriosis); vectors (mosquitoes, ticks) and their transmission activities; and fish parasites, including molecular insights into the sex of parasites with a focus on the survival abilities that made them so dangerous.

These chapters provide detailed information for researchers, as well as for teachers and students in parasitology."

This book intensively examines the efficacy of plant-derived products that have been used for over a thousand years by practitioners of so-called Traditional Chinese Medicine in the light of recent chemotherapeuticals. The chapters were written by renowned Chinese medical researchers and are supplemented by results obtained in German antiparasitic research projects. Parasites and emerging diseases are a major threat of our time, which is characterized by an enormous increase in the size of the human population and by an unbelievably rapid globalization that has led to the daily transport of millions of humans and containers with goods from one end of the earth to the other. Furthermore the slow but constant global warming offers new opportunities for many agents of diseases to become established in new areas. Therefore it is essential that we develop precautions in order to avoid epidemics or even pandemics in overcrowded megacities or at the large-scale farm animal confinements that are needed to secure a steady flow of food in the crowded regions of the world. Of course intensive research in the field of chemotherapy since 1900 has produced unbelievable breakthroughs in therapies for formerly untreatable and thus deadly diseases. However, a large number of untreatable diseases remain, as well as a constantly growing number of agents of disease that have developed resistances to standard chemical compounds. As such, it is not only worthwhile but also vital to consider the enormous amounts of information that have been obtained by human "high cultures" in the past. Examples from the past (like quinine) or present (like artemisinin, a modern antimalarial drug) show that plant extracts may hold tremendous potential in the fight against parasites and/or against vector-transmitted agents of diseases.

This book gathers contributions by 16 international authors on the phenomenon "bats," shedding some light on their morphology, the feeding behaviors (insects, fruits, blood) of different groups, their potential and confirmed transmissions of agents of diseases, their endo- and ectoparasites, as well as countless myths surrounding their lifestyle (e.g. vampirism, chupacabras, batman etc.). Bats have been known in different cultures for several thousand centuries, however their nocturnal activities have made them mysterious and led to many legends and myths, while proven facts remained scarce. Even today, our knowledge of bats remains limited compared to other groups in the animal kingdom. Also, their famous ability to avoid collisions with obstacles during their nightly flights with the help of a sophisticated and unique system using ultrasound waves (which are transmitted and received) is as poorly studied as birds finding their way from continent to continent. In recent times, where globalization transports millions of people and goods from one end of the earth to the other, there are increased risks posed by agents of diseases, as a result of which bats have received increasing attention as potential vectors. These suppositions are based on their proven transmission of viruses such as rabies. In dedicated chapters, the book addresses the following topics: * The world of bats * The astonishing morphology of bats * Bats as potential reservoir hosts for vector-borne diseases * Bat endoparasites * Macroparasites - ectoparasites * Glimpses into how bats fly * Blood-licking bats * Vampirism in medicine and culture * Chupacabras and "goat milkers" * Myths on candiru As such, this book provides a broad range of information for all non-experts interested in biological topics, but also for people working in this field, as well as physicians and veterinarians who are confronted with clinical cases, and for teachers and students interested in expanding their knowledge of biology and of past and present cultures.

Nature helps... of course at first itself by developing measures that give bacteria, fungi, plants and animals a chance to be successful in their struggle for life. As a latecomer on Earth, Homo sapiens was gifted with some droplets of the divine spirit of recognition and thus became able to observe, to analyse and recombine skills of other living beings and to use them for his overwhelming career over the last 10,000 years.

Of course fungi, plants, animals and even bacteria were primarily used by mankind as food or as lifestyle products such as beer, but soon it became clear that there was much more potential hidden in these organisms and that they could be used for other purposes, too. Extracts of plants and fungi were recognized as powerful remedies, as medicines, as insecticides or acarizides, as repellents against parasites or even as weapons, e.g. when poisonous compounds from frogs or plants were applied to arrowheads.

Over the last 110 years the pharmaceutical industry has often simulated nature by analyzing complex organic substances taken from living organisms and then producing by synthesis absolutely pure compounds, which mostly consisted of only one single active substance. These products had the advantage of acting against precisely one target and thus produced fewer possible side effects than the complex plant extracts.

However, the more serious side effect was that disease agents could develop resistances to pure medicinal products much more easily. Thus after 70 years of excellent prospects for chemotherapy, some dark clouds appeared and quickly gathered, so that several therapeutic remedies now no longer work.

Therefore in many countries - especially in those where the pure chemotherapeutics are too expensive for the poor population - the cry back to nature is becoming louder and louder. This has led to an enormous increase of studies that again use natural extracts as remedies in the fight against diseases.

The present book summarizes examples of promising aspects in a broad spectrum of applications and shows how extracts derived from bacteria, marine organisms, plants or even animals may help to treat infectious diseases, how such organisms may keep away parasites and pests from the bodies of plants or animals, including humans, and how they can be used directly to aid in diagnosis, promote wound healing and even to help catch criminals.

These 15 chapters offer not only basic research on these different fields, but also show how useful and effective products can be developed from research."

The stages of Blastocystis have been known for 101 years. However, many facts are still disputed, e.g. even the question whether it is a true pathogen or a commensal present in sometimes life- threatening diarrheas. The present book evaluates in chapters contributed by renowned researchers the latest findings on: * Landmarks in the discovery of Blastocystis * Epidemiology, transmission and zoonotic potential * Morphology of human and animal Blastocystis isolates * Clinical aspects of Blastocystis infections * Behavioral decision analysis: what makes us sick? * Blastocystis-host interactions * Molecular approaches on the systematical position * Genetic polymorphism * Blastocystis from a statistical point of view * Diarrheas due to different agents of disease * Zoonotic diseases in comparison As such, this book provides a broad range of information for people working in this field, for physicians and veterinarians who are confronted with clinical cases, teachers, students and technical staff members in the fields of microbiology, parasitology and diagnostic methods.

Global warming and globalization are the buzzwords of our time. They have nearly reached a religious status and those who deny their existence are considered modern heretics. Nevertheless, the earth has become an overcrowded village, traversable within a single day. Thus it is hardly surprising that besides persons and goods also agents of disease are easily transported daily from one end of the world to the other, threatening the health and lives of billions of humans and their animals. Agents of diseases (prions, viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites) are not only transmitted by body contact or direct exchange of bodily fluids, but also by means of vectors which belong to the groups of licking or blood-sucking arthropods (mites, ticks, insects) that live close to humans and their houses.

Without a doubt the recently accelerating globalization supports the import of agents of disease into countries where they never had been or where they had long since been eradicated, leading to a false sense of living on a safe island. These newly imported or reintroduced diseases called emerging diseases may lead to severe outbreaks in cases where the countries are not prepared to combat them, or in cases where viruses are introduced that cannot be controlled by medications or vaccines.

Arthropods are well known vectors for the spread of diseases. Thus their invasion from foreign countries and their spreading close to human dwellings must be blocked everywhere (in donor and receptor countries) using safe and effective measures.

This book presents reviews on examples of such arthropod-borne emerging diseases that lurk on the fringes of our crowded megacities. The following topics show that there is an ongoing invasion of potential vectors and that control measures must be used now in order to avoid disastrous outbreaks of mass diseases.

Parasites threaten the health of animals and humans alike. Especially in times of increasing globalization and global warming, parasites can enlarge their "kingdom" by spreading. At the same time many of the existing medical products have become ineffective. As these products have been used for many decades, parasites have developed resistances, so that they have progressed in their fight for survival. Therefore it is obvious that humans must develop new methods to face these dangers. Thus parasitological knowledge increases daily and must be formulated to be accessible for as many parasitologists (veterinarians, physicians, biologists) as possible. Therefore it is necessary that reviews reflecting the present status of the progress in many fields of research be published. Therefore this book, published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the German Society of Parasitology, compiles 18 reviews on recent "hot topics," including a new vaccine against malarial parasites; severe diseases with poor chances of treatment (cryptosporidiosis, coccidiosis, theileriosis); vectors (mosquitoes, ticks) and their transmission activities; and fish parasites, including molecular insights into the sex of parasites with a focus on the survival abilities that made them so dangerous. These chapters provide detailed information for researchers, as well as for teachers and students in parasitology.

Nature helps... of course at first itself by developing measures that give bacteria, fungi, plants and animals a chance to be successful in their struggle for life. As a latecomer on Earth, Homo sapiens was gifted with some droplets of the divine spirit of recognition and thus became able to observe, to analyse and recombine skills of other living beings and to use them for his overwhelming career over the last 10,000 years.Of course fungi, plants, animals and even bacteria were primarily used by mankind as food or as lifestyle products such as beer, but soon it became clear that there was much more potential hidden in these organisms and that they could be used for other purposes, too. Extracts of plants and fungi were recognized as powerful remedies, as medicines, as insecticides or acarizides, as repellents against parasites or even as weapons, e.g. when poisonous compounds from frogs or plants were applied to arrowheads. Over the last 110 years the pharmaceutical industry has often simulated nature by analyzing complex organic substances taken from living organisms and then producing by synthesis absolutely pure compounds, which mostly consisted of only one single active substance. These products had the advantage of acting against precisely one target and thus produced fewer possible side effects than the complex plant extracts. However, the more serious side effect was that disease agents could develop resistances to pure medicinal products much more easily. Thus after 70 years of excellent prospects for chemotherapy, some dark clouds appeared and quickly gathered, so that several therapeutic remedies now no longer work. Therefore in many countries - especially in those where the pure chemotherapeutics are too expensive for the poor population - the cry "back to nature" is becoming louder and louder. This has led to an enormous increase of studies that again use natural extracts as remedies in the fight against diseases. The present book summarizes examples of promising aspects in a broad spectrum of applications and shows how extracts derived from bacteria, marine organisms, plants or even animals may help to treat infectious diseases, how such organisms may keep away parasites and pests from the bodies of plants or animals, including humans, and how they can be used directly to aid in diagnosis, promote wound healing and even to help catch criminals. These 15 chapters offer not only basic research on these different fields, but also show how useful and effective products can be developed from research.

Menschen leben mit und von Tieren und sind in vielfaltiger Weise auf sie angewiesen. Tiere haben nicht nur als Nahrungslieferanten ungeheure Bedeutung, sondern auch als Weggefahrten von Familien oder einsamen Personen. Die Gesundheit der Tiere wird allerdings von Parasiten bedroht, deren Anzahl gerade in Zeiten der Globalisierung mit Transporten von Waren, Pflanzen, Tieren von einem Ende der Welt ans andere standig zunimmt. Viele Parasiten der Haus-, Nutz- und Heimtiere konnen auch den Menschen befallen und als sog. Zoonosen z.T. lebensbedrohliche Erkrankungen hervorrufen.

Daher ist es wichtig, das Wissen zu den Ubertragungswegen solcher Parasiten sowie zu den Vorbeuge- und Bekampfungsmassnahmen standig zu aktualisieren, um Schaden von Mensch und Tier abzuwenden.

Dieses Buch stellt die wichtigsten Parasiten von Hunden, Katzen, Wiederkauern, Pferden, Schweinen, Kaninchen, Nagern, Geflugel, Fischen, Reptilien und Bienen dar, wobei jeder Parasit bzw. jede Parasitose in 11 Abschnitte untergliedert ist: NamensgebungVerbreitung/EpidemiologieMorphologie/LebenszyklusSymptome der ErkrankungDiagnoseInfektionswegProphylaxeInkubationszeitPrapatenzPatenzTherapie

Das Buch bietet komprimierte Informationen zu Parasiten, die die Tiere und den Menschen bedrohen. Es wendet sich daher sowohl an Tierarzte und Studierende der Veterinarmedizin als auch an Laborpersonal und Tierhalter, also alle Personen, die von zoonotischen Parasiten bedroht sind bzw. deren Haustiere darunter leiden. In informativen Texten, auf Tabellen, Schemata und auf uber 500 farbigen Abbildungen werden die wichtigsten Aspekte des Parasitenbefalls dargestellt und aktuelle Hinweise zur Vermeidung und Bekampfung dieser unliebsamen Zeitgenossen gegeben. 100 Fragen helfen bei der Uberprufung des eigenen Wissens.

Ist eine Gefahr erst einmal erkannt, kann sie heute relativ schnell mit geeigneten Massnahmen gebannt werden. Tiere und Menschen sind dann keine gefahrdete Gemeinschaft "

The new edition of this textbook provides an up-to-date overview of the most important parasites in humans and their potential vectors. Climate change and globalization steadily favor the opportunities for parasites to thrive. These challenges call for up-to-date information on pathogen transmission routes and timely preventive measures. For each parasite, this book offers a concise summary in eleven sections: 1. Naming 2. Geographic distribution and epidemiology 3. Morphology, biology and life cycle 4. Disease symptoms 5. Diagnosis 6. Infection pathways 7. Prophylaxis 8. Incubation period 9. Prepatency 10. Patency 11. Therapeutic options Numerous tables, diagrams and over 200 colorful illustrations highlight the main aspects of parasitic infestations and present suitable control measures. Moreover, 60 questions help to test readers’ theoretical knowledge of the field. Readers can additionally download the free Springer Nature Flashcards App and benefit from the digital study questions. In short, this work is highly recommended for anyone looking to delve into the field of human parasitology. It is intended for students of biology and human medicine, medical doctors, pharmacists and laboratory staff alike. Furthermore, persons who plan to visit or live longer in endemic regions will find essential information on necessary preventive and control measurements.

The heart of this volume is exploring the links between human disease spread and the broad Silk Road trading networks which connect Eurasian civilizations past and today. Compiled by an international team of subject authors, this book includes two themed parts. Readers are first introduced into history naming, former, present and future routes of the Silk Road, representing the longest trade way and culture diffuser in the world. The second part contains the main book focus and addresses medical research as well as individual diseases and parasite groups from the region in detail. By drawing an arc between the past and present disease situation, the authors trace how parasites and vectors spread around the globe, and what impact infectious diseases had and will have upon human civilizations. Through its interdisciplinary character this book will be enjoyed by interested readers from the fields of parasitology and palaeoparasitology, medical sciences and public health, as well as cultural history.

This volume provides cutting-edge research from malaria parasitology and records the success story of disease control in China. The country, which was certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization in 2021, looks back on 70 years of effort and fruitful combat history.Expert authors supply insights from Plasmodium morphology to the clinical picture of malaria, molecular and immunodiagnosis, as well as current treatment and resistance issues, making this book a valuable blueprint for further success stories. The present work makes a significant contribution to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, Good Health and Well-Being, with the aim to end malaria epidemics by 2030. Practical details of malaria elimination tools and strategies are completed by chapters on artificial intelligence in diagnosis and also traditional Chinese medicines for therapy. All researchers involved in malaria control and elimination around the globe will benefit from the knowledge presented, including students, scientists, policy makers at various levels, and professionals in healthcare and antiparasitic drug discovery.