September 2010

Tethering pigs or allowing them to roam freely in the village is one of the main factors favoring the life cycle of Taenia solium in developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This tapeworm causes porcine and human (neuro)cysticercosis. This photograph was taken in a highly endemic village of the Bas-Congo province, where approximately 40% of the pigs are infected with the parasite (see Praet et al., 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000817). Infected inhabitants of this village incur the risk of serious neurological disorders, seizures and epilepsy being the most frequent ones.

Image Credit: Kirezi Kanobana and Nicolas Praet, Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp.

Editorial

A New Clinical Section in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Carlos Franco-Paredes, Albert I. Ko, Serap Aksoy, Peter J. Hotez

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000760

Photo Quiz

A Woman with Chronic Subcutaneous Swelling of the Right Foot Associated with Sinus Tracts Discharging Yellow Grains

Ildefonso Tellez, Carlos Franco-Paredes

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000772

Review

Mycobacterium africanum—Review of an Important Cause of Human Tuberculosis in West Africa

Bouke C. de Jong, Martin Antonio, Sebastien Gagneux

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000744

Research Articles

Chemosensitization of Trypanosoma congolense Strains Resistant to Isometamidium Chloride by Tetracyclines and Enrofloxacin

Vincent Delespaux, Hervé Sèna Vitouley, Tanguy Marcotty, Niko Speybroeck, Dirk Berkvens, Krisna Roy, Stanny Geerts, Peter Van den Bossche

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000828

Leishmania-Specific Surface Antigens Show Sub-Genus Sequence Variation and Immune Recognition

Daniel P. Depledge, Lorna M. MacLean, Michael R. Hodgkinson, Barbara A. Smith, Andrew P. Jackson, Saufung Ma, Silvia R. B. Uliana, Deborah F. Smith

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000829

Understanding Uncertainties in Model-Based Predictions of Aedes aegypti Population Dynamics

Chonggang Xu, Mathieu Legros, Fred Gould, Alun L. Lloyd

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 28, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000830

Chagas Cardiomiopathy: The Potential of Diastolic Dysfunction and Brain Natriuretic Peptide in the Early Identification of Cardiac Damage

Ana Garcia-Alvarez, Marta Sitges, María-Jesús Pinazo, Ander Regueiro-Cueva, Elizabeth Posada, Silvia Poyatos, José Tomás Ortiz-Pérez, Magda Heras, Manel Azqueta, Joaquim Gascon, Ginés Sanz

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 21, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000826

In Vivo Imaging of Schistosomes to Assess Disease Burden Using Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Nicolas Salem, Jason D. Balkman, Jing Wang, David L. Wilson, Zhenghong Lee, Christopher L. King, James P. Basilion

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 21, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000827

Impact of Increased Economic Burden Due to Human Echinococcosis in an Underdeveloped Rural Community of the People's Republic of China

Yu Rong Yang, Gail M. Williams, Philip S. Craig, Donald P. McManus

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000801

Viability and Burden of Leishmania in Extralesional Sites during Human Dermal Leishmaniasis

Ibeth Romero, Jair Téllez, Yazmín Suárez, Maria Cardona, Roger Figueroa, Adrian Zelazny, Nancy Gore Saravia

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000819

Analysis of Complex Patterns of Human Exposure and Immunity to Schistosomiasis mansoni: The Influence of Age, Sex, Ethnicity and IgE

Angela Pinot de Moira, Anthony J. C. Fulford, Narcis B. Kabatereine, John H. Ouma, Mark Booth, David W. Dunne

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000820

Tick-Borne Rickettsioses, Neglected Emerging Diseases in Rural Senegal

Oleg Mediannikov, Georges Diatta, Florence Fenollar, Cheikh Sokhna, Jean-François Trape, Didier Raoult

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000821

Design, Development and Evaluation of rK28-Based Point-of-Care Tests for Improving Rapid Diagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis

Sowmya Pattabhi, Jacqueline Whittle, Raodoh Mohamath, Sayda El-Safi, Garner G. Moulton, Jeffrey A. Guderian, Danny Colombara, Asem O. Abdoon, Maowia M. Mukhtar, Dinesh Mondal, Javan Esfandiari, Shailendra Kumar, Peter Chun, Steven G. Reed, Ajay Bhatia

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000822

Application and Validation of PFGE for Serovar Identification of Leptospira Clinical Isolates

Renee L. Galloway, Paul N. Levett

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000824

In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of the Trypanocidal Properties of WRR-483 against Trypanosoma cruzi

Yen Ting Chen, Linda S. Brinen, Iain D. Kerr, Elizabeth Hansell, Patricia S. Doyle, James H. McKerrow, William R. Roush

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 14, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000825

A Large Repertoire of Parasite Epitopes Matched by a Large Repertoire of Host Immune Receptors in an Invertebrate Host/Parasite Model

Yves Moné, Benjamin Gourbal, David Duval, Louis Du Pasquier, Sylvie Kieffer-Jaquinod, Guillaume Mitta

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000813

Pediatric Visceral Leishmaniasis in Albania: A Retrospective Analysis of 1,210 Consecutive Hospitalized Patients (1995–2009)

Raida Petrela, Loreta Kuneshka, Eli Foto, Ferit Zavalani, Luigi Gradoni

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000814

The OmpL37 Surface-Exposed Protein Is Expressed by Pathogenic Leptospira during Infection and Binds Skin and Vascular Elastin

Marija Pinne, Henry A. Choy, David A. Haake

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000815

Stage-Specific Adhesion of Leishmania Promastigotes to Sand Fly Midguts Assessed Using an Improved Comparative Binding Assay

Raymond Wilson, Michelle D. Bates, Anna Dostalova, Lucie Jecna, Rod J. Dillon, Petr Volf, Paul A. Bates

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000816

Taenia solium Cysticercosis in the Democratic Republic of Congo: How Does Pork Trade Affect the Transmission of the Parasite?

Nicolas Praet, Kirezi Kanobana, Constantin Kabwe, Vivi Maketa, Philippe Lukanu, Pascal Lutumba, Katja Polman, Peter Matondo, Niko Speybroeck, Pierre Dorny, Julienne Sumbu

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000817

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Combination Therapies for Visceral Leishmaniasis in the Indian Subcontinent

Filip Meheus, Manica Balasegaram, Piero Olliaro, Shyam Sundar, Suman Rijal, Md. Abul Faiz, Marleen Boelaert

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases: published September 7, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000818

Cover

**Tethered village pig in a Taenia solium endemic area of the Bas-Congo province (Democratic Republic of Congo).**