Genetic Engineering Without Unwanted Side Effects Helps Fight Parasites
Published:04 Jan.2021 Source:University of Zurich
Around a third of the world's population carries Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that puts people with a weakened immune system at risk and can trigger malformations in the womb. The single-celled pathogen also leads to economic losses in agriculture, with toxoplasmosis increasing the risk of abortion among sheep, for example.
The parasite has a complex life cycle and infests virtually all warm-blooded creatures, including wild rodents and birds. It is introduced into livestock, and thus into humans, exclusively via cats. Only in this main host infectious stages form that are shed with the feces into the environment as encapsulated oocysts and from there enter the food chain.