Welcome to The World Federation of Parasitologists

The World Federation of Parasitologists promotes and co-ordinates the exchange of knowledge, research and other activities relating to parasitology. The International Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA) takes place every 4 years and ICOPA XII will be hosted by the Australian Society of Parasitology in Melbourne in 2010. Members of The Federation consist of scientific organizations concerned with parasitism, mainly national societies related to parasitology or tropical medicine. The Federation was founded in Warsaw, Poland in 1960.

NEW See letter from Prof. Terry Spithill, Program Coordinator for ICOPA X11

A Message from the President

Parasites are an integral part of the world’s biosphere. Probably every living organism provides a niche for parasites and infectious agents to exploit. Man is continually challenged by a wide variety of parasites that cause considerable mortality and suffering throughout the world. The numbers of people infected are staggering. For example, there are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria each year globally, resulting in more than a million deaths, mostly in young African children. Over a quarter of the world’s population are infected with intestinal worms, which can impact on a child’s physical growth and ability to learn. Our domestic animals, pets and crops face a similar barrage of parasites that threaten their health and well being

Parasitology, the study of parasites, is a discipline that has wide and important applications to human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, fisheries, nutrition, biodiversity and development. The unique adaptations of parasites and the interactions between parasitic organisms and their hosts pose research questions that continue to fascinate biologists and scientists from many different disciplines. The challenges to find better methods of parasite and vector control and to implement existing tools are enormous. It is encouraging that exciting new control initiatives, such as the integration of control for Neglected Diseases and the widespread use of insecticide- treated bed nets, are gathering pace. By harnessing global expertise and encouraging effective scientific networks much can be achieved.

The World Federation of Parasitology (WFP) exists to help promote the study of Parasitology in all corners of the globe. We seek to unite Parasitologists and their National Societies and provide a forum for information exchange by the organization of International Meetings every four years. It is WFP’s intention to provide contacts and insights to benefit students, research scientists, national and international agencies, health control specialists and others keen to learn more about Parasitology in the broadest sense.

We hope that this new website will grow with time. Remember that news from all National Parasitology Societies and interested individuals is welcome and please do notify us of important and influential research papers that could be featured in our “Highlighted Article" section. The Executive Board of WFP will welcome your comments and feedback.

David Rollinson

President

About this Web Site

The Gazette is for Members of the Federation to upload and manage their own notices. Mettings can be posted to the bulletin board, and educational articles, job and opportunity listings, and grants and scholarships can be posted to their specific pages.

The Features section promotes a “Highlighted Article,” selected by the editorial board. In addition members may submit slide shows and video shows for inclusion in these particular areas.

Membership and Governance gives details of the Executive Board, Full and Associate Members, the General Assembly and the Constitution and By-Laws.

The ICOPA section gives reports from ICOPA XI held in Glasgow 2006, and will soon provide details about ICOPA XII to be held in Melbourne in 2010.

Discover Fireflower takes you to the website of Fireflower Systems Limited, who specialize in sophisticated, yet simple to use, web-enabled systems for managing parasitological and other scientific data.

Any comments or queries can be sent to us from the Contact Us page.