Ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TTBPs) are listed among the most serious concerns harming Egyptian livestock’s productivity. Several reports on tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) from various geographical regions in the country were published. However, data on the molecular characterization of TBPs are the most beneficial for understanding the epidemiology of this important group of pathogens. In this study, we present the first meta-analysis on the molecular epidemiology and species diversity of TBPs infecting animals in Egypt. All published studies on TBPs were systematically collected from various databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, and Google Scholar). Data from eligible papers were extracted and subjected to various analyses. Seventy-eight studies were found to be eligible for inclusion. Furthermore, ticks infesting animals that were molecularly screened for their associated pathogens were also included in this study to display high species diversity and underline the high infection risk to animals. Theileria annulata was used as parasite model of TBPs to study the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics across different governorates of Egypt. This study extends cross-comparisons between all published molecular data on TBPs in Egypt and provides resources from Egyptian data in order to better understand parasite epidemiology, species diversity, and disease outcome as well as the development and implementation of prevention and control methods for public health, veterinary care practitioners, and animal owners all over the country.

Heads of sheep (n = 600) and goats (n = 800) slaughtered at Al-Aziziah Abattoir in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were inspected for the presence of O. ovis larvae (L). Heads were split along the longitudinal axes, and larvae (L1, L2, and L3) were gathered. The infestation rate was significantly higher in goats (44.5%; 356/800) than that in sheep (22.3%; 134/600). Out of the 151 collected larvae from sheep, 0% were L1, 1.3% were L2, and 98.7% were L3. Out of the total of 468 larvae from goats, 0% were L1, 1.2% were L2, and 98.8% were L3. The infestation rate was significantly higher in males than that in females. Myiasis-causing larvae collected from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were authenticated as O. ovis, according to morphological characteristics. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a partial fragment (600 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) gene further confirmed the species. Phylogenetic analysis based on the partial mtCOI gene sequence demonstrated that 23 unique sequences showed high similarity based on nucleotide pairs of O. ovis accessions retrieved from GenBank.

In a cross-sectional survey in February-May 2019, the prevalence of Pediculosis capitis with demographic data and the behavioral practices were investigated among 750 participants in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Female participation was highly remarked with a percentage of 94.08% compared to that of male one about 5.91%. A deficiency of knowledge about lice infestation was noted especially among illiterate participants raised from their socio-economic levels (p-value = 0.001). Lice infestation reached higher rates in children aged less than 20 years with itching of the hair scalp. The obtained results revealed that 59.33% of the respondents believed that frequency of personal hygiene and washing of hair were the best methods for preventing the lice infestation. However, the treatment of lice infestation using anti-lice agents (p-value = 0.020) was preferred by 14.26% of participants. Although knowledge about the preventive tools for lice infestation (p-value 0.089) was not significantly associated with the experience of infestation but knowledge about the appropriate treatment to kill lice (p-value 0.020) and the wrong practices in the treatment of a head lice infestation were (p-value 0.005) significantly associated with the experience of infestation. Health programs and campaigns preventions are highly advised to increase the awareness of Pediculosis capitis with an effective strategic plan to control, manage, and prevent this disease.

Since the last survey on gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites infecting dogs in Dakahlia governorate, Egypt, was published 40 years ago, the present study detected various GIT parasites in feces of 78 stray dogs in this governorate. Twenty-one dogs (35.9%) had eggs/oocysts of eight different parasites including Toxocara canis (19.2%), Toxascaris leonina (2.6%), hookworms (1.3%), Taenia species (5.1%), Dipylidium caninum (2.6%), Cystoisospora canis (5.1%), Cystoisospora ohioensis (2.6%), and Neospora caninum-like oocysts (1.3%). These results were combined in various meta-analyses with findings of all published surveys on GIT parasites of dogs in Egypt to underline the potential parasitic zoonoses from dogs in the country. Feces and/or gastrointestinal tracts of 19,807 dogs from various Egyptian governorates, but particularly Cairo, have been microscopically tested in 182 datasets published between 1938 and 2022, revealed during our systematic database search. Toxocara canis, interestingly, displayed a twofold higher pooled prevalence (24.7%) when compared to the published global pooled prevalence for T. canis, indicating that dogs represent a major risk for toxocariasis in humans from Egypt. Dipylidium caninum (25.4%) as well as various Taenia species (17.1%) also displayed high pooled prevalences. On the contrary, lower pooled prevalence was estimated for the most important zoonotic taeniid “Echinococcus granulosus” (2.4%) as well as for hookworms (1.8%) in comparison to what has been published from other countries in the region. Relatively high prevalences were estimated for three protozoa detected in dogs and are common to infect children in Egypt; Cryptosporidium (5.5%), Giardia (7.4%), and Entamoeba histolytica (9.8%). In general, the pooled prevalence estimated for various parasites detected in dogs from Egypt has decreased in the recent years, sometimes by as much as one-fifth, but this great decline is statistically insignificant, which should alert the veterinary and public health authorities to continue their efforts for controlling these parasites in a “One Health” approach.

Background: An innovative approach has been introduced for identifying and developing novel potent and safe anti-Babesia and anti-Theileria agents for the control of animal piroplasmosis. In the present study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of Malaria Box (MBox) compounds (n = 8) against the growth of Babesia microti in mice and conducted bioinformatics analysis between the selected hits and the currently used antibabesial drugs, with far-reaching implications for potent combinations. Methods: A fluorescence assay was used to evaluate the in vivo inhibitory effects of the selected compounds. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted using hierarchical clustering, distance matrix and molecular weight correlation, and PubChem fingerprint. The compounds with in vivo potential efficacy were selected to search for their target in the piroplasm parasites using quantitative PCR (qPCR). Results: Screening the MBox against the in vivo growth of the B. microti parasite enabled the discovery of potent new antipiroplasm drugs, including MMV396693 and MMV665875. Interestingly, statistically significant (P < 0.05) downregulation of cysteine protease mRNA levels was observed in MMV665875-treated Theileria equi in vitro culture in comparison with untreated cultures. MMV396693/clofazimine and MMV665875/atovaquone (AV) showed maximum structural similarity (MSS) with each other. The distance matrix results indicate promising antibabesial efficacy of combination therapies consisting of either MMV665875 and AV or MMV396693 and imidocarb dipropionate (ID). Conclusions: Inhibitory and hematology assay results suggest that MMV396693 and MMV665875 are potent antipiroplasm monotherapies. The structural similarity results indicate that MMV665875 and MMV396693 have a similar mode of action as AV and ID, respectively. Our findings demonstrated that MBox compounds provide a promising lead for the development of new antibabesial therapeutic alternatives. Graphical

The present study used Litchi chinensis peel extract to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This technique is eco-friendly and can be performed in a single step; thus, it has attracted great attention for NPs biosynthesis. Herein, we biosynthesized AgNPs with L. chinensis peel extract and examined their anticoccidial activity in rabbit hepatic coccidiosis induced by E. stiedae infection. Thirty-five rabbits were allocated into seven groups: a healthy group (G1), an infected control group (G2), four groups infected before treatment with 10 mg/kg L. chinensis peel extract-biosynthesized AgNPs (G3, G5) or 50 mg/kg amprolium (G4, G6), and rabbits infected after two weeks of pretreatment with 10 mg/kg L. chinensis eel extract-biosynthesized AgNPs (G7). In this study, both pre-and post-treatment with AgNPs produced a substantial reduction in fecal oocyst output, liver enzyme levels, and histopathological hepatic lesions relative to the infected group. In conclusion, L. chinensis peel extract-prepared AgNPs should be considered harmless and efficient in the cure of hepatic coccidiosis in rabbits.