Chagas disease, caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, bears a striking resemblance to the HIV epidemic, and could cause a similar “humanitarian catastrophe”, according to an editorial in PLoS NTDs. Continue reading
I’ve written a piece for Nature News this week on how liver fluke could be preventing diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle in the UK. The research I’m reporting on looks specifically at a fluke (aka trematode worm) called Fasciola hepatica, but there are lots of other flukes around – including schistosomiasis, which affects 230 million people a year. Continue reading
“Education, education, education.” Blair’s 1997 election catchphrase emphasises the importance of schooling in reducing inequality and poverty. As any gap year student who has spent a year constructing school walls in Uganda will attest, efforts to lift third-world countries out of poverty often centre on improving education. Continue reading