TWiP 247: Manhattan mystery malady
This Week in Parasitism
TWiP solves the case of the Manhattan man with pain on urination or ejaculation, and presents a new case for you to solve. Hosts: , , , and Christina Naula Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Hero: on TWiP 247 New Case A middle-aged male is referred to evaluation because of eosinophilia. This man is married, living here in the NY tristate area, and this was picked up on ‘routine blood work’ by his primary care doctor. This man had been in the military, serving as a marine, with time spent in Okinawa,...
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TWiP 246: Everything spiral: a worm in a hurry
This Week in Parasitism
TWiP taps into Dickson’s knowledge of Trichinella to discuss an outbreak in humans who consumed rare bear meat, and the impact of globalization and climate change on the epidemiology of the species. Hosts: , , and Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Outbreak of (CCDR) Impact of on Trichinella (Food Waterborne Parasit) on TWiP 246 Become a of TWiP Send your questions and comments to Music by
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TWiP 245: Flying purple people eater with Ben LaBrot
This Week in Parasitism
Founder of Floating Doctors Ben LaBrot joins TWiP to solve the case of the 1 year old in northeastern Panama with a fatal leg infection, followed by a discussion of the history and mission of Floating Doctors. Hosts: , , and Guest: Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV on TWiP 245 New Case A man in his early 20s comes in reporting pain when he urinates or ejaculates. He reports that he is sexually active. He does confide that he has been in a relationship with a woman but he had a sexual encounter outside this...
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TWiP 244: Engineering Toxoplasma
This Week in Parasitism
Lilach Sheiner joins TWiP to talk about her career and her work on engineering Toxoplasma gondii secretion systems for intracellular delivery of multiple large therapeutic proteins to neurons. Hosts: , , and Guest: Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Engineering T. gondii for (Nat Micro) Become a of TWiP Send your questions and comments to Music by
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TWiP 243: Don't blame it on Mexico
This Week in Parasitism
TWiP solves the case of the Woman with White Worms, and submits a new case involving a 1 year old in northeastern Panama with a fatal leg infection. Hosts: , , , and Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Enterobius, the pinworm () Hero: New Case This case comes from Panama mid summer 2024. A provider for Floating Doctors working in the coastal region in northeastern Panama. This case involves a one year old, so the history is a bit difficult, but there may have initially been a scratch or some sort of break in...
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TWiP 242: Worms impair COVID vaccines
This Week in Parasitism
TWiP reviews a study showing that intestinal helminth infection impairs vaccine-induced T cell responses through an IL-10 pathway, which compromised protection against antigenically drifted SARS-CoV-2 variants. Hosts: , and Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV impair COVID vaccines (Sci Trans Med) Heligmosomoides (Wiki Commons) Become a of TWiP Send your questions and comments to Music by
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TWiP 241: There once was a patient from China
This Week in Parasitism
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TWiP 240: A daily history of malaria with Sean Murphy
This Week in Parasitism
Sean Murphy joins TWiP to discuss his career and the work of his laboratory to assess the daily natural history of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections in adults and older children in Katakwi, Uganda. Hosts: , and Guest: Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV of Plasmodium infections (Lancet Microbe) Become a of TWiP Send your questions and comments to Music by
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TWiP 239: Cryptosporidiosis from NYC tap water in an AIDS patient
This Week in Parasitism
TWiP solves the case of the AIDS patient who developed fever and watery diarrhea after drinking NYC tap water, and present a new case for your sleuthing. Hosts: and Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Cryptosporidium () on TWiP 239 Become a of TWiP New Case Man in his 70s originally from Mainland China, then Hong Kong who has been living in the US for decades is admitted to the hospital with fever for 6 days. He reports that he saw his primary care physician in Queens and was referred to the...
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TWiP 238: Eliminating sleeping sickness
This Week in Parasitism
Michael Barrett joins TWiP to discuss progress in the elimination of human African trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. Hosts: , and Guest: Subscribe (free): , , , Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Elimination of human (PLoS NTD) Hero: Become a of TWiP Send your guesses to with TWiP 237 in the subject line Send your questions and comments to Music by
info_outlineLee Gottesdiener joins TWiP to help solve the case of the 46 Year Old Man with Ongoing Upper Extremity Swelling, and review plant‑based production of a protective vaccine antigen against the bovine parasitic nematode Ostertagia ostertagi.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula
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- Vaccine against cow parasite (Vert Farm Daily)
- Protective vaccine against bovine parasitic nematode Ostertagia ostertagi
- Hero: Dr. Katy Ewer
- Letters read on TWiP 225
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Case Study for TWiP 225
41-year-old male mechanical engineer, former Army Ranger trainee, moved from Denver, CO to Chattanooga, TN. He was in his usual state of vigorous health, hiking, doing Spartan races, working on his semi-rural property, and commuting to his place of work daily when about three months previous to his diagnosis, he began having episodes of sudden GI distress with diarrhea, followed by itchy hives in axilla and groin. He treated these episodes with Benadryl and got relief. At 10 PM one evening, he had another such episode, again took Benadryl, but began to experience gradual onset but relentlessly increasing shortness of breath and wheezing. He was taken at high speed to the Emergency Room by his wife. He reported that relaxation with a repetitive, meditative prayer seemed to control the symptoms but said it was like his throat was closing.
Past history includes variable exercise and cold-induced asthma treated with an inhaler as a child, with only rare episodes in adulthood related to high exposure to allergens like cat dander. Family history is not contributory. Diet was omnivorous. They had one dog, a labradoodle named Raphael, which they chose because he was “hypoallergenic.”
In the Emergency Department, he was treated with bronchodilators, intramuscular epinephrine, and antihistamines, and the symptoms abated.
The experienced ED physician ordered a diagnostic test, having seen other similar cases in the region. A lifestyle intervention was successful.