I have read a couple of links about a "new" parasite called Urbanorum spp.
Although I'm not sure what it is, a parasite is not among my thoughts and disagree with the so called evidence thus far (see attached files).
What do you think or know?
http://www.scielo.org.ve/pdf/km/v44n1/art01.pdf
http://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rpmesp/v33n3/1726-4642-rpmesp-33-03-00593.pdf
http://www.idbclinicas.com/nota.php?id=79
As regards your (Kevin's) question, "What do you think or know?":
What I know: Nothing.
What I think: (A) I agree with your view that (at this point) "it" is not obviously a parasite requiring designation as a new genus. (B) "Spp." appears to have been mis-used in literature to which you referred the reader. "Spp." means "species" in the plural. In the singular, it is "sp." (not "spp."). I don't see the logic in the use of "spp." in this instance. Not that there is any evidence that "sp." is correct in the situation under discussion. "Sp." would be the lesser of two evils, however. I know there is a school of thought in microbiological circles that one must use "sp." or "spp." behind a generic name - but I don't agree with this pedantic concept.
Further to my posting (to clarify): I don't know what it is either, Kevin.
I definitely agree with you regarding the "spp." misuse. Although there is no reliable data for acknowledging the existence of what it has been called "Urbanorum", "sp." would be, like you said, the lesser of two evils.
I agree with prof. Markus. At the moment our knowledge about this hypothetical parasite is 0. There is only one publication (by Villafuerte and colleagues) in a journal of lesser importance (the Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública). The study is in Spanish and the bibliographic references are very scarce. The images are not helpful, because the "Urbanorum" could simply be a misinterpretation of some known cellular phenomenon or an artifact. Last but not least, all the reports come from Peru.
There are at least two examples that can be cited to better understand the situation of the "Urbanorum": the first one is the "ropeworm", a pseudoparasite described by some Russian scientists as an "intestinal, rope-like, blood-sucking, worm with five stages of development"; the second one is that of Lophomonas blattarum, a multiflagellated protozoan that could live as a commensal in the gut of termites and cockroaches and that, according to some authors, could infect humans and causing a bronchopulmonary disease, especially in imunocompromised patients.
The ropeworm does not exist, or better, it is not a worm but the result of particular enemas used by some pseudo-scientists to "clean the intestine deeper". There are many pictures available in the few publications about the ropeworm, most of the articles are in Russian.
The case of Lophomonas blattarum is different: we have some interesting reviews and research in notable scientific journals by different authors around the world (available in English), although some parasitologists are still skeptic even about its existance, the mysteries around this parasite could be explained with the extreme difficulty of identification.
My personal opinion is that the phenomenon of the "Urbanorum" should be placed nearest that of ropeworm than that of Lophomonas blattarum, so far there is no reason to think it is a new pathogen.
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