Parasitoses in Switzerland and, more generally in Europe, account for only a fraction of diagnostics traffic and physicians' concerns, especially when symptoms are generic and differential diagnosis complex. However, there are a number of endemic parasitic diseases such as Giardiosis, Trichomoniosis, and emerging ones such as Leishmaniosis, for which longer-term consequences to patients are not always well-understood. Moreover, some parasitic diseases such as strongyloidiasis are difficult to diagnose as infected patients are generally asymptomatic while carrying the parasites for decades. In the case of Echinococcosis, long-term consequences of infection are well-known and very problematic. The (re)emergence of vector-borne parasitoses, some of them zoonotic, are a clear threat to public health, especially for the more vulnerable members of our community.
Investigative approaches in which medical and patient treatment-related issues such as treatment failure due to chemotherapeutic resistance or tolerance, and chronic reinfection, are addressed in the context of parasite biology and interactions with the host, are especially powerful. For this reason, the Medical Parasitology group investigates parasitic diseases and their causative agents by harnessing biological knowledge to expand and innovate on current clinical intervention practices and diagnostic possibilities, thereby improving prognosis and treatment outcomes for affected patients.
