Vincent and Daniel discuss research showing that Toxoplasma gondii infection of the brain alters extracellular vesicle production and the communication between neurons and astrocytes.

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• Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
• T. gondii infection of neurons (PLoS Path)

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Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP solves the case of the world travelers with poppy-seed size dots embedded in their skin, then present a new case about parasite check in summer camp.

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• Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
• Hero: Dr Laurence Tetley
• Letters read on TWiP 263

New Case

It is the first day of summer camp and the children are lined up for a parasite check. Some of the children have certificates that allow them to bypass the screening. Some of the parents are upset about this process commenting that this is not required by the state and report this could not be a problem for their children. One by one the children have their scalps examined and 2 of the children are asked to step to the side. The parents of these two children are contacted and told that they must address the identified concern before they can attend the camp. They are treated with a topical therapy on their hair with repeat in 1 week. The upset parents have several questions that hopefully our listeners can address.

-what is this all about?
-is anyone suggesting this is a hygiene issue?
-what is the most sensitive way to look for this problem?
-how do we know it is cured?
-feel free to talk about the life cycle

Become a patron of TWiP 

Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees