WAAVP

Most people think tapeworms only live in the intestine… but under certain conditions, humans can become part of the parasite’s life cycle itself. In some infections, the larvae don’t stay in the gut — they travel through the body and form cysts in tissues, including the brain. 🧠
Parasitology is often stranger than fiction, let’s take a look 🔬

📚 Sources:
Garcia, H. H., Gonzalez, A. E., & Gilman, R. H. (2020). Taenia solium cysticercosis and its impact in neurological disease. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 33(3), e00085-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00085-19

Cestodos en perros y gatos—Aparato digestivo. (s. f.). Manual de veterinaria de MSD. https://www.msdvetmanual.com/es/aparato-digestivo/parásitos-gastrointestinales-de-los-pequeños-animales/cestodos-en-perros-y-gatos

🧠 Did You Know?
Apicomplexans are among the most impactful parasites in veterinary medicine 🐾

From intestinal infections to systemic and reproductive diseases, genera like Eimeria, Babesia, Theileria, Toxoplasma gondii, and Neospora caninum play a crucial role in animal health worldwide.

🔬 These obligate intracellular parasites combine complex life cycles with highly efficient transmission strategies, allowing them to infect a wide range of hosts and persist in diverse environments.

📚 Sources:
Carnevale, J., & Brewer, M. T. (2025). Neosporosis in dogs. MSD Veterinary Manual.

Morrison, I. W. (2024). Theileriosis in animals. MSD Veterinary Manual.

Otranto, D., & Wall, R. (2024). Veterinary parasitology (5th ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Seeber, F., & Steinfelder, S. (2016). Recent advances in understanding apicomplexan parasites. F1000Research, 5, 1369. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.7924.1

Members of the WAAVP Executive Committee are attending the 20th CVBD World Forum in Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪 — a key global gathering advancing veterinary parasitology and animal health.

This year’s theme, in Action, highlights the vital connection between animal, human, and environmental health.

Pictured (left to right): Domenico Otranto ( 🇮🇹), Tim Geary 🇨🇦, Filipe Dantas-Torres ( 🇧🇷), Alicia Rojas ( 🇨🇷), and Elias Papadopoulos 🇬🇷.