Correction to: Epidemiology of taeniosis/cysticercosis in Europe, a systematic review: eastern Europe.

In the original article [1], the authors Dr Jasmin OMERAGIC and Dr Davor ALAGIC were erroneously omitted from the co-authors list.

Ovicidal and larvicidal activity of extracts from medicinal-plants against Haemonchus contortus.

The use of medicinal plants (MP) containing bioactive compounds is an alternative strategy to control of parasitic nematode of small ruminants Haemonchus contortus at various stages of their life cycle. The aims of this study were to determine the in vitro anthelmintic activity of both aqueous and methanolic extracts from 13 medicinal plants typical for Central Europe, and to determine quantity of selected plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) in the methanolic extracts. In vitro egg hatch test and larval development tests were conducted to determine the possible anthelmintic effects of methanolic and aqueous extracts of the roots of Althaea officinalis L., Petasites hybridus L. and Inula helenium L.; flowers of Malva sylvestris L. and Chamomilla recutita L.; leaves of Plantago lanceolata L. and Rosmarinus officinalis L.; seeds of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. and stems of Solidago virgaurea L., Fumaria officinalis L., Hyssopus officinalis L., Melisa officinalis L. and Artemisia absinthium L. on eggs and larvae of H. contortus. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectroscopy was used for quantifying six PSMs: gallic acid (GA), rutin (RU), diosmin (DI), hesperidin (HE), quercetin (QU) and kaempferol (KA). RU content of the most effective methanolic extracts was in the order: M. sylvestris (9.33 mg/g DM) > A. absinthium (6.10 mg/g DM) > C. recutita (0.42 mg/g DM). The highest concentration of QU (44.8 mg/g DM) and KA (6.59 mg/g DM) were detected in stems of F. officinalis comparing to the other evaluated plants. The most significant (p < 0.05) anthelmintic effects exhibited methanolic extracts of A. absinthium in both in vitro tests (i.e., egg hatch test and larval development test). Additionally, only two methanolic extracts of C. recutita and M. sylvestris were comparable to activity of A. absinthium using the larval development test. Wider spectrum of aqueous extracts exhibited stronger ovicidal activity in comparison to methanolic extracts. The similar trend was observed in evaluating of larvicidal activity of aqueous and methanolic plant extracts.

Epidemiology of taeniosis/cysticercosis in Europe, a systematic review: eastern Europe.

BACKGROUND: Taenia solium and Taenia saginata are food-borne parasites of global importance. In eastern Europe only fragmented information is available on the epidemiology of these zoonotic parasites in humans and animal populations. In particular for T. solium, on-going transmission is suspected. The aim of this systematic review was to collect the available data and describe the current knowledge on the epidemiology of T. solium and T. saginata in eastern Europe. METHODS: Literature published in international databases from 1990 to 2017 was systematically reviewed. Furthermore, local sources and unpublished data from national databases were retrieved from local eastern European experts. The study area included 22 countries. RESULTS: Researchers from 18 out of the 22 countries provided data from local and unpublished sources, while no contacts could be established with researchers from Belarus, Kosovo, Malta and Ukraine. Taeniosis and human cysticercosis cases were reported in 14 and 15 out of the 22 countries, respectively. Estonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia reported cases of porcine cysticercosis. Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine reported bovine cysticercosis. CONCLUSIONS: There is indication that taeniosis and cysticercosis are present across eastern Europe but information on the occurrence of T. solium and T. saginata across the region remains incomplete. Available data are scarce and species identification is in most cases absent. Given the public health impact of T. solium and the potential economic and trade implications due to T. saginata, notification of taeniosis and human cysticercosis should be implemented and surveillance and notification systems in animals should be improved.

Import and efflux of flubendazole in Haemonchus contortus strains susceptible and resistant to anthelmintics.

Drug entry into the body of a helminth is a key factor in the efficacy of anthelmintics. The present project was designed to study the ex vivo uptake and efflux of the benzimidazole anthelmintic flubendazole (FLU) in four strains of H. contortus: the ISE strain (fully susceptible to anthelmintics), the ISE-S strain (resistant to ivermectin), the BR strain (resistant to benzimidazoles) and the WR strain (multi-resistant). The transport of FLU between dead and living nematodes was also compared as well as the effect of verapamil, an inhibitor of the main efflux ABCB1 transporter (P-glycoprotein), on FLU accumulation in nematodes. The obtained results showed that FLU is able to effectively enter H. contortus adults due to high FLU lipophilicity. Passive diffusion is probably the only mechanism in both FLU import and efflux from nematodes. No differences in FLU transport were found among four H. contortus strains with different sensitivity to anthelmintics. No active FLU efflux from H. contortus and no effect of verapamil were observed, indicating that H. contortus cannot protect itself against FLU by the active removal of this anthelmintic from its body.