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Zoonotic helminths of three rodent species, Bandicota indiaca, Bandicota savilei, and Leopoldamys edwardsi, were investigated in Vientiane capital, Lao PDR. A total of 310 rodents were infected with 11 species of helminth parasites. There were 168 (54.2%) of 310 rodents infected with zoonotic helminths. From our results, there are six recorded zoonotic helminth species, and the highest prevalence was exhibited by Raillietina sp. (30.7%), followed by Hymenolepis diminuta (17.7%), Hymenolepis nana (2.6%), Echinostoma ilocanum (1.9%), Echinostoma malayanum (1.3%), and Angiostrongylus cantonensis (1%). This is the first study of zoonotic helminths in L. edwardsi and the first report of H. diminuta, H. nana, E. ilocanum, and E. malayanum in Bandicota indica and B. savilei, and the first demonstration of A. cantonenensis in B. indica in Lao PDR. From our results, these three rodents are potentially important reservoir hosts of zoonotic helminths. Thus, effective control programs should be considered for implementation to prevent the transmission of these zoonoses in this area.Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a disease caused by infection of the central nervous system with the larval stage of the tapeworm Taenia solium. This disease is endemic in many parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where animal husbandry practices are common such that pigs reared for human consumption ingest feces from humans infected with T. solium. Neurocysticercosis is rarely acquired in economically affluent regions, including North America, Central Europe, Japan, and Australasia, and in countries where pork consumption is discouraged by religious or social practices. In these countries, NCC is usually diagnosed in immigrants or returning travelers who have spent time in endemic regions. Here, we report a case of NCC in a 25-year-old woman presenting with worsening visual symptoms in association with headache, diagnosed previously as a migraine with visual aura. This person had always lived in Australia and had never traveled overseas to a country endemic for T. solium. The unusual features of the clinical presentation and epidemiology are highlighted to raise physicians’ awareness that attention needs to be paid to the risk of autochthonous infection occurring in non-endemic countries.Human granulocytic anaplasmosis is an obligate intra-granulocytic parasite that is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus in North America. We report on the second laboratory-confirmed case of Anaplasma phagocytophilum acquired within the province of Alberta, Canada. A 67-year-old woman from the Edmonton health zone developed nonspecific systemic symptoms including fatigue, night sweats, myalgia, headaches, and fever 6 days after noticing a tick on her left upper arm in May of 2017 (day 0). On day 13, she was found to have thrombocytopenia. Her symptoms progressed until day 16 when she was treated empirically with doxycycline, at which time she slowly improved over the subsequent 2 months. The tick was later identified as a partially engorged female blacklegged tick, I. scapularis, and it was positive for A. phagocytophilum DNA by PCR. Anaplasma serology performed retrospectively on blood samples collected on days 13, 31, and 52 showed a greater than 4-fold increase in A. phagocytophilum (IgG titers from less than 164 on day 13 to 12048 on days 31 and 52), consistent with an acute infection. Although populations of blacklegged ticks are not yet established in Alberta, suspicion should remain for tick-borne diseases because infected ticks are introduced into the province by migrating birds. This case report highlights the need to remind physicians and other public health professionals that rare, non-endemic tick-borne diseases can occasionally occur in low-risk jurisdictions.Scrub typhus and Queensland tick typhus (QTT)-rickettsial infections endemic to tropical Australia-can cause life-threatening disease. This retrospective study examined the clinical course of all patients with laboratory-confirmed scrub typhus or QTT admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary referral hospital in tropical Australia between 1997 and 2019. Of the 22 patients, 13 had scrub typhus and nine had QTT. The patients’ median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 50 (38-67) years; 14/22 (64%) had no comorbidity. Patients presented a median (IQR) of seven (5-10) days after symptom onset. Median (IQR) Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores were 13 (9-17) for scrub typhus and 13 (10-15) for QTT cases (P = 0.61). Following hospital admission, the median (IQR) time to ICU admission was five (2-19) hours. The median (IQR, range) length of ICU stay was 4.4 (2.9-15.9, 0.8-33.8) days. Multi-organ support was required in 11/22 (50%), 5/22 (22%) required only vasopressor support, 2/22 (9%) required only invasive ventilation, and 4/22 (18%) were admitted for monitoring. Patients were ventilated using protective lung strategies, and fluid management was conservative. Standard vasopressors were used, indications for renal replacement therapy were conventional, and blood product usage was restrictive; 9/22 (41%) received corticosteroids. One patient with QTT died, and two (8%) additional patients with QTT developed purpura fulminans requiring digital amputation. Death or permanent disability occurred in 3/9 (33%) QTT and 0/13 scrub typhus cases (P = 0.055). Queensland tick typhus and scrub typhus can cause multi-organ failure requiring ICU care in otherwise well individuals. Queensland tick typhus appears to have a more severe clinical phenotype than previously believed.Taenia martis is a tapeworm dwelling in the intestine of mustelids and a rare zoonotic cysticercosis pathogen in its larval stage. The metacestode is morphologically very similar to more prevalent cysticercosis parasites, such as the larvae of Taenia solium and Taenia crassiceps, and may be indistinguishable from other metacestodes on histological sections. PF-07104091 mw However, the epidemiology of human T. martis infections is different, and for prognosis, prevention, and detection of natural parasite reservoirs, the species should be identified. We here report the molecular identification of a T. martis larva located in the pouch of Douglas in a female German patient who underwent surgery for endometriosis. This case represents the fifth human infection described worldwide; all previous cases were also in European women, involving the eye, brain, and the peritoneum.