Host Switching of Zoonotic Broad Fish Tapeworm (Dibothriocephalus latus) to Salmonids, Patagonia

Diphyllobothriosis is a reemerging zoonotic disease because of global trade and increased popularity of eating raw fish. We present molecular evidence of host switching of a human-infecting broad fish tapeworm, Dibothriocephalus latus, and use of salmonids as intermediate or paratenic hosts and thus a source of human infection in South AmericaFil: Kuchta, Roman. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Biology Centre. Institute of Parasitology; República ChecaFil: Radačovská, Alžbeta. Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República ChecaFil: Bazsalovicsová, Eva. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Parasitology; EslovaquiaFil: Viozzi, Gustavo Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Semenas, Liliana Graciela. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; ArgentinaFil: Arbetman, Marina Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Scholz, Tomáš. Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; República Chec

Preventing and Controlling: Internal Parasites of Hogs

CONTENTS Damage..... 3 Spread........ 4 Prevention and Control.......... 4 Housing and pasture............. 5 Separation from older hogs..... 5 Swine-sanitation system....... 5 Treatment........ 7 Roundworms................. 8 The large intestinal round-worm, or ascarid......... 8 Stomach worms.......... 12 The intestinal threadworm..... 13 The swine kidney worm......... 13 Lung worms............ 17 Nodular worms......... 20 The whipworm.......... 2

Comparison of a new multiplex real-time PCR with the Kato Katz thick smear and copro-antigen ELISA for the detection and differentiation of Taenia spp. in human stools

Background : Taenia solium, the cause of neurocysticercosis (NCC), has significant socioeconomic impacts on communities in developing countries. This disease, along with taeniasis is estimated to infect 2.5 to 5 million people globally. Control of T. solium NCC necessitates accurate diagnosis and treatment of T. solium taeniasis carriers. In areas where all three species of Taenia tapeworms (T. solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica) occur sympatrically, conventional microscope-and copro-antigen based diagnostic methods are unable to distinguish between these three Taenia species. Molecular diagnostic tools have been developed to overcome this limitation; however, conventional PCR-based techniques remain unsuitable for large-scale deployment in community-based surveys. Moreover, a real-time PCR (qPCR) for the discrimination of all three species of Taenia in human stool does not exist. This study describes the development and validation of a new triplex Taq-Man probe-based qPCR for the detection and discrimination of all three Taenia human tapeworms in human stools collected from communities in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The diagnostic characteristics of the test are compared with conventional Kato Katz (KK) thick smear and copro-antigen ELISA (cAgELISA) method utilizing fecal samples from a community based cross-sectional study. Using this new multiplex real-time PCR we provide an estimate of the true prevalence of taeniasis in the source population for the community based cross-sectional study. Methodology/Principal findings : Primers and TaqMan probes for the specific amplification of T. solium, T. saginata and T. asiatica were designed and successfully optimized to target the internal transcribed spacer I (ITS-1) gene of T. solium and the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COX-1) gene of T. saginata and T. asiatica. The newly designed triplex qPCR (T3qPCR) was compared to KK and cAgELISA for the detection of Taenia eggs in stool samples collected from 342 individuals in Dak Lak province, Central Highlands of Vietnam. The overall apparent prevalence of taeniasis in Dak Lak province was 6.72% (95% confidence interval (CI) [3.94-9.50]) in which T. solium accounted for 1.17% (95% CI [0.37-3.17]), according to the T3qPCR. There was sympatric presence of T. solium, T. saginata and T. asiatica. The T3qPCR proved superior to KK and cAgELISA for the detection and differentiation of Taenia species in human feces. Diagnostic sensitivities of 0.94 (95% credible interval (CrI) [0.88-0.98]), 0.82 (95% CrI [0.58-0.95]) and 0.52 (95% CrI [0.07-0.94]), and diagnostic specificities of 0.98 (95% CrI [0.94-1.00]), 0.91 (95% CrI [0.85-0.96]) and 0.99 (95% CrI [0.96-1.00]) were estimated for the diagnosis of taeniasis for the T3qPCR, cAgELISA and KK thick smear in this study, respectively. Conclusions : T3qPCR is not only superior to the KK thick smear and cAgELISA in terms of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, but it also has the advantage of discriminating between species of Taenia eggs in stools. Application of this newly developed T3qPCR has identified the existence of all three human Taenia tapeworms in Dak Lak province and proves for the first time, the existence of T. asiatica in the Central Highlands and the south of Vietnam

Identifying wildlife reservoirs of neglected taeniid tapeworms : non-invasive diagnosis of endemic Taenia serialis infection in a wild primate population

Despite the global distribution and public health consequences of Taenia tapeworms, the life cycles of taeniids infecting wildlife hosts remain largely undescribed. The larval stage of Taenia serialis commonly parasitizes rodents and lagomorphs, but has been reported in a wide range of hosts that includes geladas (Theropithecus gelada), primates endemic to Ethiopia. Geladas exhibit protuberant larval cysts indicative of advanced T. serialis infection that are associated with high mortality. However, non-protuberant larvae can develop in deep tissue or the abdominal cavity, leading to underestimates of prevalence based solely on observable cysts. We adapted a non-invasive monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect circulating Taenia spp. antigen in dried gelada urine. Analysis revealed that this assay was highly accurate in detecting Taenia antigen, with 98.4% specificity, 98.5% sensitivity, and an area under the curve of 0.99. We used this assay to investigate the prevalence of T. serialis infection in a wild gelada population, finding that infection is substantially more widespread than the occurrence of visible T. serialis cysts (16.4% tested positive at least once, while only 6% of the same population exhibited cysts). We examined whether age or sex predicted T. serialis infection as indicated by external cysts and antigen presence. Contrary to the female-bias observed in many Taenia-host systems, we found no significant sex bias in either cyst presence or antigen presence. Age, on the other hand, predicted cyst presence (older individuals were more likely to show cysts) but not antigen presence. We interpret this finding to indicate that T. serialis may infect individuals early in life but only result in visible disease later in life. This is the first application of an antigen ELISA to the study of larval Taenia infection in wildlife, opening the doors to the identification and description of infection dynamics in reservoir populations

Ligula intestinalis (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea): an ideal fish-metazoan parasite model?

Since its use as a model to study metazoan parasite culture and in vitro development, the plerocercoid of the tapeworm, Ligula intestinalis, has served as a useful scientific tool to study a range of biological factors, particularly within its fish intermediate host. From the extensive long-term ecological studies on the interactions between the parasite and cyprinid hosts, to the recent advances made using molecular technology on parasite diversity and speciation, studies on the parasite have, over the last 60 years, led to significant advances in knowledge on host-parasite interactions. The parasite has served as a useful model to study pollution, immunology and parasite ecology and genetics, as well has being the archetypal endocrine disruptor

A new species of Paraberrapex Jensen, 2001 (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) from Squatina guggenheim Marini (Squatiniformes: Squatinidae) off Argentina

Paraberrapex atlanticus sp. n. (Cestoda, Lecanicephalidea) is described from the spiral intestine of the angel shark Squatina guggenheim Marini from coastal waters off Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Paraberrapex atlanticus sp. n. can be distinguished from the only species described in the genus, P. manifestus Jensen, 2001 in having cocoons 5?6 times longer with more eggs per cocoon, the extension of the uterine duct, the distribution of vitelline follicles, and the size and density of microtriches on the bothridial surfaces. The presence of P. atlanticus sp. n. in S. guggenheim confirms the specificity of Paraberrapex Jensen, 2001 for squatiniform sharks.Fil: Mutti, Leonardo Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Ivanov, Veronica Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentin

Development of a species-specific coproantigen ELISA for human taenia solium taeniasis

Taenia solium causes human neurocysticercosis and is endemic in underdeveloped countries where backyard pig keeping is common. Microscopic fecal diagnostic methods for human T. solium taeniasis are not very sensitive, and Taenia saginata and Taenia solium eggs are indistinguishable under the light microscope. Coproantigen (CoAg) ELISA methods are very sensitive, but currently only genus (Taenia) specific. This paper describes the development of a highly species-specific coproantigen ELISA test to detect T. solium intestinal taeniasis. Sensitivity was maintained using a capture antibody of rabbit IgG against T. solium adult whole worm somatic extract, whereas species specificity was achieved by utilization of an enzyme-conjugated rabbit IgG against T. solium adult excretory-secretory (ES) antigen. A known panel of positive and negative human fecal samples was tested with this hybrid sandwich ELISA. The ELISA test gave 100% specificity and 96.4% sensitivity for T. solium tapeworm carriers (N = 28), with a J index of 0.96. This simple ELISA incorporating anti-adult somatic and anti-adult ES antibodies provides the first potentially species-specific coproantigen test for human T. solium taeniasis

Identification of Unknown Tapeworms in Bobcats

Bobcats (Lynx rufus) have been found to be a popular host for several different species of tapeworms. As the population throughout the Midwest United States increases, the concerns regarding the number of available reservoirs for epizootic and zoonotic parasites, including tapeworms, also increases. One hundred bobcat intestines were collected in March 2012 from the Department of Natural Resources Facility in Madison, WI and analyzed for the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites. Tapeworms were identified based on proglottid and scolex morphology, however, because the intestines were frozen and thawed multiple times before worms were collected, the morphology was often compromised. In order to definitively identify the tapeworms, our goal was to develop specific PCR primers for cestodes species found in bobcats. Based on previous research studies completed on tapeworms found within bobcats in the Midwest, the genus Diphyllobothrium and Taenia were likely to be present in our Wisconsin bobcats. Primers were developed for Taenia based on the published sequences of Taenia solium, a pork tapeworm that is transmitted to pigs. Extracted DNA from the 16 bobcat tapeworms were amplified along with DNA from previously identified museum samples to use as controls. Currently, amplified DNA using different sets of primers are being prepared for sequencing. This research is a continuing project and becomes somewhat complicated due to the fact that so few animal tapeworms have been sequenced, therefore having little information to compare to our findings.https://openriver.winona.edu/urc2019/1004/thumbnail.jp