In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, an ideal vision of family life would have shown that parents are continuing to share in caregiving responsibilities and spending quality time with their children — dads, in particular. Many people hoped that the behavioral changes caused by lockdowns would persist, allowing dads more time and flexibility in the long term and ultimately reshaping how we view fatherhood in general. However, according to new research from University of Notre Dame anthropologist and fatherhood expert Lee Gettler, those fathering benefits have not outlasted the pandemic itself.

Background

Infections with liver flukes (Clonorchis sinensis, Opisthorchis viverrini, and O. felineus) cause high burden. Mechanistic models have been employed to disentangle their transmission dynamics and guide the design of control strategies. However, no comprehensive review of these mechanistic models has yet been undertaken.

Methods

In this systematic review, we searched six major databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Korea Med, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], and Wanfang Data) for studies published up to 14 May 2025, to identify and evaluate mechanistic models of liver fluke infections. We included all mechanistic transmission models for human liver flukes regardless of language or setting, while excluded non-mechanistic models, reviews, and empirical studies.

Results

Of the 533 records identified, 18 studies were eligible for analysis. Most studies focused on C. sinensis in China and O. viverrini in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, primarily employing population-based model with ordinary differential equations. Findings consistently identified humans as the central reservoir sustaining transmission, while the role of animal reservoir hosts (e.g. cats and dogs) in transmission was less explored (in 6 out of 18 studies) and divergent in different models. Models incorporating host heterogeneity demonstrated the superiority of integrated control strategies-combining mass drug administration, health education, and environmental improvements over single intervention. High frequency, coverage and adherence of measures were shown to be critical for achieving control or even elimination targets.

Conclusion

Results from mechanistic models support the implementation of One Health strategies to improve liver fluke control. This review identifies the need for integrative, data-driven One Health modeling frameworks that incorporate human, animal, and environmental transmission parameters, and address key sources of heterogeneity in host behavior, exposure, and transmission dynamics to support control targets.

Purdue University student entrepreneurs received cash awards to advance their startups in the fields of education, healthcare, and ride sharing. They were the winning teams in the 2026 New Venture Challenge, an annual six-workshop series presented by Purdue Innovates Incubator.

Cure, the premier healthcare innovation ecosystem, is launching the Cure Innovation Index, the first data-driven framework to measure how effectively U.S. biomedical institutions translate scientific discovery into real-world healthcare solutions and treatments. The Index sets a new standard for measuring translational performance based on the full set of factors required to move innovation from discovery to early research to clinical and commercial impact. The Index ranks the top 303 U.S. academic institutions, selected from more than 6,000 nationwide, and provides benchmarked comparisons and customized improvement recommendations, making translational performance visible, comparable, and actionable.