Squirming into the new year!

Hello everyone and welcome to a new year in the Verocai Lab! A lot of research has been on going in the lab and below is just a sampling of new papers that were published this year or very recently. We hope your year is filled with new joys and, of course, new parasites (ours has been!).

A footworm in the door: revising Onchocerca phylogeny with previously unknown cryptic species in wild North American ungulates

ELISA based seroprevalence and risk factors for three zoonotic parasites (Toxoplasma gondii, Echinococcus granulosus and Trichinella spiralis) in humans in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Widespread geographic distribution of filarioid nematodes in caribou (Rangifer tarandus sspp.) in Canada

Cutaneous myiasis by Calliphoridae dipterans in dogs from Chad

Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria striata (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) detected in wild carnivores from Texas, United States

Verocai Lab is in the news!!

Happy New Year! We are excited to share a recent Verocai Lab publication that has drawn considerable public interest (see below). The article features the “rat lungworm”, or Angiostrongylus cantonensis, and how it has spread across the southeastern United States. These new details are significant to both human and animal health because of the parasite’s ability to migrate to the brain or spinal cord region! In addition to news articles, Dr. Guilherme Verocai was also featured in a CDC podcast to further discuss these findings. Please make sure to check it out to learn more about the parasite’s history, life-cycle, clinical picture, impact on public health, and what scientists are doing about it!

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022

Parasitic Brain Worm Spreading Across Southeastern U.S., Scientists Warn

Rat-Borne Parasite That Can Cause Brain Disease Spreading in Southern U.S.

Listen to Dr. Verocai’s interview on the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Disease Podcast! (also available on other podcast providers like Apple and Spotify)

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Gottdenker NL, Nascimento Ramos R, Hakimi H, McHale B, Rivera S, Miller BM, et al. Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022. Emerg Infect Dis. 2023;29(10):2167-2170. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2910.230706

Happy Halloween! Some scary new papers!

At the Verocai Lab, one of our favorite holidays is Halloween because we get to talk about all the frightening (and cool) parasites that are out there. To celebrate, we have two new papers to pique your interest and give you chills!

The first paper is about Angiostrongylus cantonensis, or the rat lungworm. This is the first time that rat lungworm has been found in the state of Georgia and this is scary important news! The parasite causes a eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, which means that humans or other mammals may experience clinical signs similar to bacterial meningitis (e.g., nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness, and headaches). However, in rare cases, more severe signs can be apparent, which makes this parasite quite a fright. Read more about our published collaboration and how this story is making national news!

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022

Parasitic Brain Worm Spreading Across Southeastern U.S., Scientists Warn

Parasitic, Invasive Worm Found in Rats in Georgia

Worm that jumps from rats to human brains invades southeastern US


The second paper is about Spirocerca lupi, a parasite of dogs and wild canids that has the potential to cause esophageal nodules that can ultimately transform to neoplastic lesions (!). Read more about how the Verocai Lab and colleagues are trying to tease apart the geographic diversity of this important canid parasite.

Elucidating Spirocerca lupi spread in the Americas by using phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses

Happy Halloween Parasite Friends!

Go ahead…Make my May!

It’s time to recognize again all the scientific contributions that the Verocai Lab has made this year thus far. Enjoy catching up on all these really interesting publications!

Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) in carnivores kept in zoos in Texas, USA: risk perception, practices, and antigen detection

Occurrence of Dirofilaria immitis infection in shelter cats in the lower Rio Grande Valley region in South Texas, United States, using integrated diagnostic approaches

Evaluation of a refugia-based strategy for gastrointestinal nematodes on weight gain and fecal egg counts in naturally infected stocker calves administered combination anthelmintics

The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control

Toxocara canis seropositivity in different exposure groups in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Northwest Pakistan

Spirometra infection in a captive Samar cobra (Naja samarensis) in the United States: An imported case?

Reverse sneezing, unilateral epistaxis, and acute-onset seizures in a 9-year-old spayed female miniature Dachshund

Comparison of 3 Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. in Asymptomatic Dogs (Canis lupis familiaris)

New Year, New Papers!

It’s been a busy year and that means lots, and lots of papers! The last time we updated our recently published papers was in Spring(!), so we have a ton of hard work to share from the past year. We hope everyone had a wonderful break and we look forward to another productive new semester.

What lies behind the curtain: Cryptic diversity in helminth parasites of human and veterinary importance

Extensive Aberrant Migration of Onchocerca lupi in a Dog

MORPHOMETRY OF FIRST-STAGE LARVAE OF ORTHOSTRONGYLUS MACROTIS (NEMATODA: PROTOSTRONGYLIDAE), LUNGWORM OF WILD UNGULATES FROM WESTERN NORTH AMERICA

Detection of Dirofilaria immitis via integrated serological and molecular analyses in coyotes from Texas, United States

Heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, in carnivores kept in zoos located in Texas, USA: Risk perception, practices, and prevalence 

LupiQuant: A real-time PCR based assay for determining host-to-parasite DNA ratios of Onchocerca lupi and host Canis lupus from onchocercosis samples

The Prevalence and Control of Lungworms of Pastoral Ruminants in Iran

Probe-based qPCR as an alternative to modified Knott’s test when screening dogs for heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in combination with antigen detection tests

High prevalence of canine heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, in pet dogs in south Texas, USA, with evidence of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes contributing to transmission

Evaluation of urine for Dirofilaria immitis antigen detection in dogs

An unusual case of Brugia sp. infection in a dog from Alberta, Canada

Sores of boreal moose reveal a previously unknown genetic lineage of parasitic nematode within the genus Onchocerca

New Paper!

Check out the most recent publication from the Verocai Lab on Thelazia californiensis, or what is commonly known as “the Californian eyeworm”.

Coyotes Are a Probable Reservoir for Onchocerca lupi

O. lupi, a filarial nematode parasite, is an emerging infectious threat in southwestern United States to both domestic animals and humans. Relatively little is known about the parasite’s epidemiology, including what role wild canids (e.g., coyotes) could play in transmission. Check out the Verocai’s Lab most recent paper to learn more about the surveillance of O. lupi in coyotes!

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/12/19-0136_article