Foodborne and waterborne parasites at the 2020/2021 European Multicolloquium of Parasitology (EMOP)

Abstract

This Special Issue in Food and Waterborne Parasitology consists of six articles derived from presentations at the 13th European Multicolloquium of Parasitology (EMOP), that was held in Belgrade, Serbia in October 2021. Within the broad scope of parasitology presented at EMOP 2020/2021, the focus of several sessions, seminars, and presentations was on foodborne and waterborne parasites, with different aspects concerned with Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasma, Trichinella, and Opisthorchis all featuring. Although only a few manuscripts on foodborne and waterborne parasites are presented in this SI, the wide-ranging scope of the articles and, more broadly, of the presentations at EMOP 2020/2021, suggests that the topic of parasites transmitted by food and/or water remains of interest in the European parasitology community. We believe this is likely to be the case for years to come, and the topic is likely to feature prominently in the next (14th) EMOP, scheduled to be held in Poland in 2024. This interest, along with some obvious gaps in the articles on foodborne and waterborne parasites of both European and global importance (such as tapeworms, particularly Echinococcus spp. and Taenia solium), suggests to us that another SI on the subject could be of value as an outcome of the 14th EMOP.

Keywords: Cryptosporidium; European federation of Parasitologists; Opisthorchis; Toxoplasma; Trichinella.