Immunogenic multi-epitope-based vaccine development to combat cyclosporiasis of immunocompromised patients applying computational biology method.

Cyclospora cayetanensis infections, also known as cyclosporiasis, persist to be the prevalent emerging protozoan parasite and an opportunist that causes digestive illness in immunocompromised individuals. In contrast, this causal agent can affect people of all ages, with children and foreigners being the most susceptible populations. For most immunocompetent patients, the disease is self-limiting; in extreme circumstances, this illness can manifest as severe or persistent diarrhea as well as colonize on secondary digestive organs leading to death. According to recent reports, worldwide 3.55% of people are infected by this pathogen, with Asia and Africa being more prevalent. For the treatment, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is the only licensed drug and does not appear to work as well in some patient populations. Therefore, the much more effective strategy to avoid this illness is immunization through the vaccine. This present study uses immunoinformatics for identifying a computational multi-epitope-based peptide vaccine candidate for Cyclospora cayetanensis. Following the review of the literature, a highly efficient, secure, and vaccine complex based on multi-epitopes was designed by utilizing the identified proteins. These selected proteins were then used to predict non-toxic and antigenic HTL-epitopes, B-cell-epitopes, and CTL-epitopes. Ultimately, both a few linkers and an adjuvant were combined to create a vaccine candidate with superior immunological epitopes. Then, to establish the vaccine-TLR complex binding constancy, the TLR receptor and vaccine candidates were placed into the FireDock, PatchDock, and ClusPro servers for molecular docking and iMODS server for molecular-dynamic simulation. Finally, this selected vaccine construct was cloned into Escherichia coli strain-K12; thus, the constructed vaccines against Cyclospora cayetanensiscould improve the host immune response and can be produced experimentally.

Outbreak of cyclosporiasis in a U.S. Air Force training population, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX, 2018.

Diarrheal illnesses have an enormous impact on military operations in the deployed and training environments. While bacteria and viruses are the usual causes of gastrointestinal disease outbreaks, 2 Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX, training populations experienced an outbreak of diarrheal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis in June and July 2018. Cases were identified from outpatient medical records and responses to patient questionnaires. A confirmed case was defined by diarrhea and laboratory confirmation, and patients without a positive lab were classified as suspected cases. In cluster 1, 46 suspected and 7 confirmed cases occurred among technical training students who reported symptom onset from 12 June to 21 June. In cluster 2, 18 suspected and 14 confirmed cases in basic military training trainees reported symptom onset from 29 June to 8 July. Numerous lessons from cluster 1 were applied to cluster 2. Crucial lessons learned during this cyclosporiasis outbreak included the importance of maintaining clinical suspicion for cyclosporiasis in persistent gastrointestinal illness and obtaining confirmatory laboratory testing for expedited diagnosis and treatment.

Simultaneous Molecular Detection of Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora from Raw Vegetables in Korea.

Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora are well-known coccidian protozoa that can cause waterborne and foodborne diarrheal illnesses. There have been a few reports regarding contamination in different vegetables with Cryptosporidium, but no data are available regarding the sources of Cyclospora infections in Korea. In the present study, we collected 6 kinds of vegetables (perilla leaves, winter-grown cabbages, chives, sprouts, blueberries, and cherry tomatoes) from July 2014 to June 2015, and investigated contamination by these 2 protozoa using multiplex quantitative real-time PCR. Among 404 vegetables, Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora were detected in 31 (7.7%) and 5 (1.2%) samples, respectively. In addition, Cryptosporidium was isolated from all 6 kinds of vegetables, whereas Cyclospora was detected in 4 kinds of vegetables (except perilla leaves and chives). Cryptosporidium (17.8%) and Cyclospora (2.9%) had the highest detection rates in chives and winter-grown cabbages, respectively. Cryptosporidium was detected all year long; however, Cyclospora was detected only from October to January. In 2 samples (sprout and blueberry), both Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora were detected. Further investigations using TaqI restriction enzyme fragmentation and nested PCR confirmed Cryptosporidium parvum and Cyclospora cayetanensis, respectively. In conclusion, we detected C. cayetanensis in vegetables for the first time in Korea. This suggests that screening should be employed to prevent these protozoal infections in Korea.

Cyclospora cayetanensis: un protozoo intestinal emergente / Cyclospora cayetanensis: an emerging intestinal protozoan

Resumen Cyclospora cayetanensis es un protozoo patógeno emergente causante de diarrea el cual se ha estado notificando cada vez con mayor frecuencia a escala mundial en personas de todas las edades, independientemente de su estado inmunológico. Esta coccidia ha sido descrita como causa de diarrea del viajero y de brotes de diarrea debido a la ingestión de frutas y vegetales, particularmente de áreas tropicales. La enfermedad que causa, cyclosporosis, está caracterizada principalmente como un síndrome de diarrea aguda autolimitada que puede ocasionar deshidratación y llegar hasta provocar diarrea prolongada o crónica. Otras manifestaciones como perdida de peso, anorexia, fatiga, astenia, borborismos, flatulencia y distensión abdominal pueden estar presentes, lo que hace esta afección indistinguible de otras diarreas infecciosas causadas por parásitos intestinales. El diagnóstico depende básicamente de la identificación del microorganismo en muestras fecales. Su tratamiento consiste en mantener el equilibrio hidromineral y electrolítico, al tiempo que se prescribe tratamiento antibiótico entre ellos se usa fundamentalmente el trimetoprín- sulfametoxazol, aunque se ha reportado la utilidad de otras drogas entre las que se cuentan la ciprofloxacina y la nitazoxanida. Esta revisión presenta diferentes aspectos actuales del manejo de la infección por Cyclospora cayetanensis y pone en relieve interrogantes sobre esta parasitosis donde factores relacionados con el protozoo, el ambiente y el susceptible quedan por esclarecer.

[Bioterrorism, parasites as potential bioterrorism agents and biosecurity studies]. / Biyoterörizm, potansiyel biyoterörizm ajani olan parazitler ve biyogüvenlik çalismalari.

A variety of agents have a potential risk for being use as weapons of biological terrorism. However, the use of parasites as bioterrorism agents has not received so much attention. Parasites could contribute to the installation of fear in human population upon intentional addition to their food and water supplies. On the other hand, vector-borne parasites can also constitute risk of bioterrorism. Biosecurity issues are gaining importance as a consequence of globalization. Surveillance is critical in maintaining biosecurity and early detection of infectious disease agents is essential. In this review article, bioterrorism, the role of parasites as potential bioterrorism agents, studies on biosecurity and laboratory design for biosafety have been discussed under the light of recent literature.