Cool pathogens?

[Maschka1]

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hey guys,
So I need to write a paper on a fun pathogen. it can be bacterial, viral, protist, prion, or parasite. Anyone have any good ideas? oh it also has to pertain to North America.
thanks for your ideas!

 

[Marsala]

Giardia is always "fun". Lots of info anyway, and fairly interesting.

 

[david594]

Plague would probably be one of your best options.

 

[twelvetigers]

Yersinia pestis is SO 14th century. You need to pick something hip! Something cool!

There's a lot to pick from. Leishmania, brucella, bartonella, Entamoeba histolytica, Francisella tularensis, ehrlichia, cytauxzoon...

And I've always thought prions were wicked cool.

ETA: Iodamoeba butschlii?

Oh, oh! Trichomonas vaginalis! You KNOW you always wanted an excuse to talk about leukorrhea.

 

[GellaBella]

Some of my "favorites":

Plague (yersinia pestis)
Ebola/Marburg (US documented case in 2009)
Mad Cow
Influenza
Rabies

 

[rileyroo]

I would go with Brucella abortus or one of the prions!

Those are my favorites. 🙂

 

[eventualeventer]

I am a fan (in a morbid sort of way) of the Rickettsiales, - including Neorickettsia risticii (Potomac Horse Fever), Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (granulocytic Ehrlichiosis), etc. - which tend to have complex life cycles.

If you want to talk about a little-known but emerging issue, there's Cryptococcus gattii.

Of course, these are the REALLY fun pathogens.

 

[ATX00]

How has no one named Toxoplasma gondii?? Parasitic mind control is where it's at. 🙂

 

[sofficat]

Ostertagia!! Cattle parasite. Causes ostertagiasis type one and two and it's CRAZY! If the cow is in the north the SAME parasite acts different vs if that cow lives in the south... HOW DO THEY KNOW? So neat 😀

 

[eventualeventer]

How has no one named Toxoplasma gondii?? Parasitic mind control is where it's at. 🙂

The parasites in my brain don't want me to give away their plan.

 

[HopefulAg]

The heck? No Dicrocoelium dendreticum? It's got all the mind control of Toxoplasma gondii with some extra flare. It causes its host to get EATEN! I mean c'mon!

Other fun options include Echinococcus granulosas (grape-fruit sized cysts on the lungs) and that medilensis critter (Dracunculis medilensis maybe?) that pops out of your leg. Where the rod of Aesclepius came from.

 

[eventualeventer]

Well, technically, Toxoplasma does too (decreased fear of cats in rodents), but not with as much nuance.

 

[twelvetigers]

The heck? No Dicrocoelium dendreticum? It's got all the mind control of Toxoplasma gondii with some extra flare. It causes its host to get EATEN! I mean c'mon!

Other fun options include Echinococcus granulosas (grape-fruit sized cysts on the lungs) and that medilensis critter (Dracunculis medilensis maybe?) that pops out of your leg. Where the rod of Aesclepius came from.

Y..y...you italicize those.

Do it.

NOW!

*fights panic attack*

 

[HopefulAg]

Fine.

Dicrocoelium Dendriticum
Echinococcus Granulosas
Dracunculus Medinensis

 

[eventualeventer]

Well, if we're going there, the species name is not capitalized, just the genus name. Genus species.

 

[rileyroo]

Dracunculis medilensis maybe?) that pops out of your leg. Where the rod of Aesclepius came from.

Or Dracunculis insignis

"serpent on a stick"

 

[DrYoda]

Legionella has a pretty interesting life-cycle(lives in amoebas, uses their cysts to circumvent water treatment and then can infect people from water that is "clean"). Discovered (or at least recognized as a pathogen) in Philly sometime in the 70's.

 

[cuitlamiztli]

My favorite: Naegleria fowleri.

Others: Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, Stephanurus dentatus, Syngamus trachea, Haemonchus contortus, Cuterebra spp., Bacillus anthracis, any of the nematomorphs (Gordian worms)...

 

[rhinocerotidae]

Filarial nematodes! You can write about Lymphatic filariasis aka Elephantiasis!

Parasitology is so fascinating!! Love it.

 

[Siggy]

My favorite: Naegleria fowleri.

Damn you. Damn you to hell. That's my brain eating amoeba.

 

[No Imagination]

Ahh - You guys are all missing the best one...

Hendra (or Nipha, can't remember which one it is) Virus. If memory serves me correctly, its pretty damn close to Canine Distemper Virus (Morbilliviruse/[SIZE=-1]Paramyxoviridae) and causes distemper like symptoms in humans (lecture told us a story of an Australian Vet who came down with it). While these particular lecturer can be a bit over dramatic - the symptoms following his death seemed quite grotesque and scary!

I am sure one of our Australian SDN'ers can shed some light on it - but its pretty damn cool, and not one many people outside Vet Med know about.
[/SIZE]

 

[Bearby]

How has no one named Toxoplasma gondii?? Parasitic mind control is where it's at. 🙂

This is my favorite. I wrote a poem about it for my micro class for extra credit. It was pretty awesome. I never thought I'd write about poop in a poem, but...

 

[sunshinevet]

Ahh - You guys are all missing the best one...

Hendra (or Nipha, can't remember which one it is) Virus. If memory serves me correctly, its pretty damn close to Canine Distemper Virus (Morbilliviruse/[SIZE=-1]Paramyxoviridae) and causes distemper like symptoms in humans (lecture told us a story of an Australian Vet who came down with it). While these particular lecturer can be a bit over dramatic - the symptoms following his death seemed quite grotesque and scary!

I am sure one of our Australian SDN'ers can shed some light on it - but its pretty damn cool, and not one many people outside Vet Med know about.
[/SIZE]

Pretty sure the only reason you think its cool is because you're in america... (only half-joking here...)

He wasn't being dramatic. Hendra causes a horrible death - and death is almost assured. All 7 people who've ever been infected have been either vets, vet nurses or horse handlers, theres no treatment, no vaccination, and you can contract it from animals that barely seem sick. All of them have died, except one who has permanent brain damage. Its enough for me to safely say im never practicing equine med in Queensland. (I mean, besides the crappy hours and pay and crazy people, lol).

 

[laitmanvet]

Any bacteria having to do with poop. Escherichia coli is an oldie but a goodie!

My favs: mouse pinworms (Aspiculuris tetraptera or Syphacia obvelata), Heliobacter, and B. fragilis

 

[cuitlamiztli]

Hendra (or Nipha, can't remember which one it is) Virus.

That reminds me! I completely forgot about hantavirus, aka why you don't trust wild rodents. Nasty stuff.

Damn you. Damn you to hell. That's my brain eating amoeba.

But they're such cute little buggers... and Naegleria fowleri and primary amoebic meningoencephalitis are so fun to say...

 

[psilovethomas]

I love campylobacter! When I see the squigglies on cytologies, I get really excited!

 

[BlacKAT33]

How has no one named Toxoplasma gondii?? Parasitic mind control is where it's at. 🙂

this is what i was gonna say! i love toxo!!! so cool

 

[primatevetjess]

My favorite is Tritrichomonas foetus with the Trypanosomes coming in second. Parasitology was my favorite vet school class to date 😀

 

[primatevetjess]

I am a fan (in a morbid sort of way) of ... Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease)...

I did my STAR project on Borrelia burgdorferi, it's one of my favorites as well! This Friday at the TG my poster will be hanging in Valley foyer somewhere, check it out.