Tomas Machacek

Parasitic worms & immunity. Avian & human schistosomes. 🪱🔬@CharlesUniPRG assistant professor. @parazitologiecz secretary. 🎓📊

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

Schistosome eggs are not the same in the liver and the intestine 🥚🦠 Following our previous “winners & losers” story, we now provide additional evidence by analyzing proteins released by eggs across different tissues! 🔬🧪 https://t.co/llJ6uyZTQ4

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

First evidence of biofluorescence in the fire salamander! 🖤💛 Under UV light, they show striking blue-green and yellow fluorescence in their skin, glands, and secretions. 🦎✨🌟 @RSocPublishing
https://t.co/M5wiBlXtK8

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

Schistosome eggs are not the same in the liver and the intestine 🥚🦠 Following our previous “winners & losers” story, we now provide additional evidence by analyzing proteins released by eggs across different tissues! 🔬🧪 https://t.co/llJ6uyZTQ4

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

So proud and happy to have Dan in our lab! 🏆🥲

[Czech Society for Parasitology @parazitologiecz]

The Czech Society for Parasitology Awards for 2025 have their winners. Congratulations!

🏅 Best Master’s Thesis: Dan Butula (@CharlesUniPRG)
🏅 Best First-Author Article: Marek Valt (@CharlesUniPRG)

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

@MPL_UniOfGalway @uniofgalway @tadhgkilbane1 @EveOKelly3 @Natinwk @Richie76989674 Nice, congrats! 👏🏻

[Marek Štefan @infektolog]

🚨 Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship: What’s Happening?
🦠🚢 European health authorities are currently investigating a serious outbreak of Andes hantavirus (ANDV) linked to a cruise ship in the South Atlantic. 🌍

As of 6 May 2026, there have been:
⚠️ 6 confirmed cases
⚠️ 2 probable cases
⚠️ 3 deaths

🚢 What happened on the ship?
The cruise ship, operating under a Dutch flag, had 149 people onboard from 23 nationalities, including passengers from several EU countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.

The outbreak first raised alarms after some passengers developed:
🤒 Fever
😷 Severe respiratory symptoms
🤢 Gastrointestinal symptoms

Several cases rapidly progressed to:
🙁 Pneumonia
⚠️ Acute respiratory distress
⚠️ Shock

At least three laboratory confirmations have now been reported:
🧪 Two hantavirus-positive PCR tests
🧪 One confirmed Andes virus (ANDV) PCR result

🔎 What is Andes hantavirus? Hantaviruses are usually spread through exposure to infected rodent urine, saliva, or droppings. 🐭
However, the Andes virus is unique because it can spread occasionally from person to person through close and prolonged contact.

Officials believe the most likely scenario is that:
➡️ Some passengers were exposed while spending time in Argentina, where ANDV is endemic
➡️ Transmission may then have occurred between passengers onboard the ship due to the closed environment and shared social spaces

At this stage, authorities are treating everyone onboard as close contacts as a precaution. 🚨

🛡️ What are authorities doing now?

Public health teams and the cruise operator have already implemented several measures:
✅ Isolation of symptomatic passengers
✅ Medical evacuation of severe cases
✅ Use of protective equipment (PPE)
✅ PCR and laboratory testing
✅ Active monitoring of passengers and crew
✅ Infection control measures onboard
✅ Coordination between ECDC, WHO, affected countries, and laboratories

Passengers disembarking the ship are also receiving guidance on:
📋 Symptom monitoring
🧼 Hygiene precautions
🏥 When to seek medical care
🧪 Follow-up testing
📢 Should people in Europe worry?

According to ECDC, the risk to the general public in Europe remains very low
Why?
✔️ Andes virus does not spread easily
✔️ Close contact is usually required for transmission ✔️ The rodent species that naturally carries the virus is not present in Europe

⚠️ One important reminder: avoid misinformation.
This is not another COVID-style pandemic. 🌍
ANDV transmission between humans is:
➡️ Rare
➡️ Difficult
➡️ Usually requires close and prolonged contact

There is also no scientific evidence that ivermectin works against hantavirus infection. 💊❌

The best response is:
✔️ Following verified public health guidance
✔️ Monitoring reliable sources
✔️ Avoiding panic and conspiracy-driven misinformation online

📖 Sources:
ECDC Risk Assessment & Recommendations
ECDC Questions & Answers on the Outbreak

[Journal of Helminthology @JHelminthology]

Horsehair worms are known from crickets and mantis on land, but there are also marine horsehair worms that infect various types of crustaceans.
This study reports on Nectonema shimadai, a horsehair worm that parasitises snapping shrimps
#WormWednesday
https://t.co/EivsvCTiPc

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

30th Helminthological Days, a jubilee joint meeting of the Czech and German Societies for Parasitology, started today! 🪱🥳 @parazitologiecz @DParasitologie

[Journal of Helminthology @JHelminthology]

New fluke just dropped!
It's called Alloophistolecithum magaliae and it lives in the intestine of Odontesthes bonariensis, an economically important fish species more commonly known as the Argentinian silverside or Pejerry
https://t.co/3FfKkUM40r

[Simmar @Simmar_cz]

Fakt:
Z hlediska prognózy je dnes příznivější HIV pozivita (střední dožití cca 80 let) než morbidní obezita, tj. BMI>40 (dožití 65-70 let).

Další fakt:
Když jsem začínal v medicíně (2007), byl člověk s BMI nad 40 mimořádným jevem. Teď takových lidí vidím několik týdně (třeba dnes 18letý mladík s diabetem II. typu, hypertenzí a dnou).

Z hlediska ochrany zdraví populace by bylo největším úspěchem vedení státu (@ZdravkoOnline) zastavení/zvrácení epidemie obezity. Bez odvážných a razantních kroků už to obávám se nepůjde. Cena za ni je společensky obrovská.

Nápady mám, pan ministr se mi může ozvat 🙂

P.S. ano, BMI je screeningová veličina, ale s rostoucí hodnotou jeho specificita roste až k téměř 100procentní přesnosti.

[Journal of Helminthology @JHelminthology]

Limpets are commonly found on the rocky shores and can also be host to a wide range of trematodes.
This study reports on the limpet Siphonaria australis as a host for Gigantobilharzia cf. patagonensis, an avian schistosome, on the shores of New Zealand.
https://t.co/A2ASsbSvW1

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

Attending @BSPparasitology Spring Meeting remotely this time 🥲
Not ideal, but still excited to share our latest work on Schistosoma mansoni egg secretome directly in the host tissues! 🔬
🚨 Key message: liver is not intestine 😏

[The Scientific Lens @LensScientific]

Despite being just one cell, Lacrymaria olor is a formidable predator that hunts and consumes other microorganisms.

📽: James Weiss

[Czech Society for Parasitology @parazitologiecz]

Leishmania that breaks the rules! 😱
A new @PLOSPathogens article by our members Petr Volf and Jovana Sádlová highlights the remarkable Leishmania martiniquensis. A parasite challenging key assumptions about the biology and epidemiology of leishmaniasis.
https://t.co/MFVOPpI4To

[Trends in Parasitology @TrendsParasitol]

Controlled human helminth infection models: insights into type 2 immunity and therapeutic development https://t.co/sQagdcYzmv

[Trends in Parasitology @TrendsParasitol]

Tonic for your GIN: gastrointestinal nematode immunomodulator vaccines https://t.co/SWio7GiNnc

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

How do blood flukes survive for years without causing clots? 🩸 @IamLukasKonecny & Lucie show that schistosomes can block key human enzymes involved in immunity and blood clotting. Beyond parasite biology, it could inspire safer anticoagulant therapies. 🙏🏻
https://t.co/yLpZn3PE2v

[Tomas Machacek @tricho_tom]

@ParasiteJournal Great photos!

[Petr Pavel @prezidentpavel]

Jednou z velmi pozitivních předností naší země je síla a kvalita občanské společnosti, která se dokáže ve správnou chvíli jasně a srozumitelně postavit za správnou věc.

Velmi si vážím všech, kteří nezůstávají lhostejní k tomu, co se kolem nich děje, a cítí svůj díl odpovědnosti za stav naší země. Vážím si všech, kteří jsou připraveni přidat svůj hlas k obraně slušnosti, pravdy, solidarity a respektu jednoho k druhému.

Obrana těchto hodnot není naivitou ani překonanou „havlovskou iluzí“. Je životaschopnou alternativou k bezhodnotovému pragmatismu, který věří, že síla je víc než právo, arogance víc než slušnost a že svobodu slova lze nahradit svobodou lhát, překrucovat a urážet.

Chci poděkovat všem, kteří dnes ze všech koutů země přijeli do Prahy vyjádřit svůj názor a podporu slušné České republice.

[Czech Society for Parasitology @parazitologiecz]

Registration is now open for the 30th Helminthological Days, a jubilee joint meeting of the Czech and German Societies for Parasitology! 🇨🇿🇩🇪🪱

🗓️ Register until March 31, 2026
ℹ️ https://t.co/0qGGgw0s7E

‼️ Check out also Protistology Open 2026: https://t.co/y3Rpf9GWeR 😉