Conference Agenda

The Yanomami, Indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon, confront multifaceted challenges endangering their health and cultural integrity. Of immediate concern is the surge in malaria cases within Yanomami communities, unfolding amid the controversial environmental policies of former President Bolsonaro's administration in Brazil (2018-2022). Through causal inference methods, we examined the impact of land-use changes on malaria incidence among the Yanomami, drawing on annual health data spanning 2003-2022. Further, difference-in-differences analyses were performed to confirm if the Yanomami people suffered disproportionately when illegal mining raised in the region. A remarkable ~300% increase in malaria incidence was observed from 2016 to 2022. We show that mining is the primary driver of malaria incidence among the Yanomami people, with an increase of 31% in malaria incidence for every 1% increase in mining cover. A protective effect of forest cover was found, with a decrease of 0.81% in malaria incidence for a 1% forest cover increase. We also confirmed that Yanomami suffered disproportionally more (up to 15%) from malaria than other communities as a result of increasing illegal mining. Overall, we demonstrate that the increase in illegal mining contributed to the Yanomami humanitarian crises by boosting the high malaria burden suffered by these Indigenous people.

Giardia intestinalis is a protozoal parasite regularly found in both humans and animals in New Zealand and worldwide. Several genetically distinct assemblages of G. intestinalis, A to H, have been described, alongside their tendency to associate with different host species. Work conducted so far in New Zealand has focused mostly on which assemblages are found in humans, with very little DNA typing done on isolates from animals such as dogs and cats and therefore the zoonotic potential of infections in animals is relatively unknown. A total of 95 canine and feline samples positive for Giardia by faecal floatation and centrifugation were submitted for PCR and further diagnostics to identify assemblage. Of the 95, 44% were from dogs and 56% from cats, 90% were from animals in local animal shelters and 10% were from client owned pets. PCR returned a total of 22% negative results. Canine samples returned with 33% assemblage C, and 43% assemblage D. Feline cases had a return of 36% assemblage A1 which is generally considered one of the human giardia types, and 42% assemblage F. These results highlight the potential for human associated assemblages to be common in Giardia-infected cats, more so than in dogs.

A case of peritoneal cystic echinococcosis (CE) in a domestic cat is described from Queensland state of Australia. Physical examination indicated a large, distended abdomen, that palpated as fluid filled. Ultrasonography showed numerous cysts with hyperechoic walls and anechoic contents within the cat’s abdominal cavity. Molecular identification based on mitochondrial DNA genes indicated that the causative agent was Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (G1 strain). Moreover, the cat was also found infected with Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and FeLV induced immunosuppression could have led to the development of CE in this cat. This is the first report of CE in a FeLV infected cat in Australia.