General Notices

Professor Asoke Basu, Senior Lecturer – Parasitology, Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences presents his inaugural lecture as Professor on the topic "Focusing Concern, Control, and Eradication in Tropical Regions." 

This event takes place on May 21 at 5pm at the Amphitheatre A, Faculty of Medical Sciences. 

Abstract 

A Journey with Parasites

Focusing Concern, Control, and Eradication in Tropical Regions

Parasites, the enemy within, are of paramount importance in both humans and animals. While some parasites are relatively harmless, many produce pathological changes which lead to severe health problems including death. A thorough knowledge of various aspects of parasites such as epidemiology, biology, bionomics, life cycle, treatment etc. is indeed needed to combat them effectively. Some major deadly global parasites include: i)Onchocerca volvulus: a filarial parasitic nematode, causing river blindness to humans in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central America. About 25 million people are infected worldwide, of which approximately one million become blind; ii) Ticks: they are fascinating because of their considerable medical and veterinary importance. They are blood-sucking obligatory ectoparasites of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, giving rise to anaemia, decrease in milk production, and tick paralysis, along with irritation by injury resulting from bites. They are considered to be second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human infectious diseases in the world and are known to transmit numerous arboviruses, bacteria and protozoa. Global annuallosses are estimated to be between US$ 13.9 billion and US$ 18.7 billion. Only three species of ticks inflict annual losses to the tune of $62 million in the Caribbean livestock industry; iii) Trypanosoma spp. transmitted by tsetse flies of the genus Glossina affects both humans (sleeping sickness) and domestic animals (nagana). Trypanosoma remains one of the most challenging problems in tropical Africa.  African trypanosomosis occurs in 38 African countries affecting area approximately 10 million km² of land between latitudes 14⁰N and 29⁰S. African farmers spend nearly 35 million US dollars per year on trypanocidal drugs to protect their cattle.  If it is possible to eradicate trypanosomosis from Africa, the benefit accrued to the overall agricultural production is estimated to be about 4.5 billion US dollars per year.

My experience with different tropical parasites of India, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Trinidad and Tobago will be shared in the forthcoming lecture.