Taking the battle against parasites seriously

Funding

Over the past decade there has been an unprecedented swing in political will to tackle the problem of infectious diseases on a global scale.

Driven largely by anxieties about bioterrorism and biosecurity, there has been a boost in funding (both private and public) for research into tackling parasites and the diseases they produce.

In the US, public funding for biodefense has increased from US$30 million in 2001 to US$274.5 million in 2002, US$1,497 million in 2003 and, a projected, US$1,625 million in 2004.

Areas for research (because of their potential as bioterrorist tools) include several food and water-borne parasites including Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Giardia duodenalis and Entamoeba histolytica. All these parasites are subjects of research projects that are currently being carried out in Australia.

In addition there has been a growing recognition that a large number of infectious diseases have been grossly neglected; many of these are tropical diseases and many of them are caused by parasites.

Recently the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed more than US$1 billion to projects focused on the prevention and control of infectious disease with emphasis on fighting malaria and hookworm.

Due to increased drug resistance, malaria is on the rise in Africa for the first time in 20 years, killing more than one million people annually

The Foundation also recently announced a US$200 million grant to establish the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health - targeting, amongst other diseases, malaria (and the mosquitoes that transmit it), schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis and toxoplasmosis.

Technology

Technological advances over the past few years have given scientists the first real hope that novel control strategies will be developed for parasitic diseases.

Unraveling the genomes of parasites means that their ways of evading treatment and eradication will not remain mysteries for much longer.

The great challenge will be to manage and interpret this vast amount of information being generated by laboratories worldwide.

Australia has particular expertise in the fields of functional genomics and bioinformatics that are central to our ability to harness this genetic information.

Knowledge

Though in many contexts they may be a threat, it is important to remember that parasites can also bring many benefits.

• They represent more than 50% of the world's biodiversity.



• They help to maintain the genetic diversity of host populations.



• They provide vital ecological and evolutionary information, as well as indications about ecosystem health.