Evaluation of Child Cases Admitted for Tick Bite and Tick Species in İstanbul

Aim:The Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne infection that has a high mortality. In Turkey, the total number of cases reported between 2002-2014 was 9.069 and 440 of them died. The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic characteristics of the children with the complaint of tick bite and to determine the species of the ticks seen in İstanbul.Materials and Methods:A hundred sixty two tick bite cases were analyzed with respect to demographic, clinical and laboratory findings between January and December 2014. The blood samples for whole blood count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine were obtained from all cases and they were followed up for 10 days. The ticks removed from patients were classified by the Department of Parasitology in the Veterinary Faculty of İstanbul University.Results:The mean age of the patients was 6.1±3.7 years and 76% of them were male. Eighty four (52%) of the cases had additional complaints other than tick bite. The most frequently complaints were nausea/vomiting (26%), fever (19%) and cough (14%). We found that 34 (20%) of them had abnormal laboratory results such as elevated liver enzymes, leukocytosis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and prolonged prothrombin time. August was the month in which most patients applied (56 cases, 34%). The regions of body that were most bitten by the ticks were the extremities (35.8%). The total number of larvae, nymphs and adult ticks were found as 4, 88 and 14 respectively.Conclusion:This study showed that the tick species in the İstanbul province were largely different from the species causing CCHF. Although the incidence of CCHF in İstanbul is lower than in other regions of Turkey, children and their families who live in or travel to rural areas in Istanbul should be informed about this disease

A Coprological Study of Helminth Infections of Horses in Istanbul, Turkey

A coprological study to determine the helminth infections of horses in Istanbul was carried out. Individual fecal samples were taken from 204 horses (111 males and 93 females) of varying ages and breeds. The samples were examined for eggs by Fulleborn's flotation, Benedect's sedimentation methods and for the larvae of lungworm by the Baermann's method. Further individual larval cultures were performed from fecal samples for the identification of 3rd stage larvae (L3) of strongyle nematodes. It was found that 33(16.2%) of 204 horses were infected with any nematode species, 23(11.3%) with Cyathostomin nematodes, 17(8.3%) with cyathostomins except Gyalocephalus and Posteriostomum, 13 (6.4%) with Poteriostomum spp., 11(5.4%) with Strongylus edentatus, 7 (3.4%) with Trichostrongylus axei, 4 (2.0%) with Triodontophorus spp., 3 (1.5%) with Strongyloides westeri, 1 (0.5%) with Gyalocephalus capitatus, 1 (0.5%) with Oxyuris equi, 1 (0.5%) with Parascaris equorum, and 1 (0.5%) with Oesophagodontus robustus. Out of 204 horses, 15 (7.4%) were infected with only one species, 12 (5.9 %) with two species, 4 (1.9%) with three species, and 2 (0.9%) with four species. No trematode or cestode eggs could be detected

Two Chewing Lice Species, Colpocephalum subzerafae and Laemobothrion tinnunculi, on A Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) in Istanbul: Two New Records from Turkey

On the examination of a male kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), which was captured in Istanbul in June of 2011, three lice were collected. The lice were examined microscopically and two species of chewing lice (Colpocephalum subzerafae and Laemobothrion tinnunculi) were identified. All of the lice were male. These species are recorded for the first time from Turkey

Efficacy of Moxidectin against strongylin nematodes in naturally infected horses

Twenty naturally infected horses were divided into two groups (10 control and 10 experimental) according to EPG values. An injectable formulation of moxidectin, in a dose of 0.3 mg/kg, was given to the horses orally in jam syrup. The evaluation of drug efficacy was based on EPG values. The same dose of the drug was applied to an additional 25 horses to test for side effects

A survey of Hypodermosis in cattle slaughtered in Thrace (Trakya) Turkey

In this study, a total of 365 cattle (234 male, 131 female) slaughtered in different localities in Thrace (The European part of Turkey) were examined for hypodermosis between January and May of 1997. Hypoderma bovis, H. lineatum and unidentified 2nd instar larvae were found in the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the back region of the animals. The prevalence rate and intensity of infestation were 3.56% and 10.23 respectively

Efficacy of moxidectin against Aspiculuris tetraptera and Syphacia muris in naturally infected rats

in this study, 56 rats (Rattus norvegicus) naturally infected with both Aspiculuris tetraptera and Syphacia muris were used. The animals were randomly divided into the treatment (37 animals) and control (19 animals) groups. Moxidectin (Cydectin enj., %1 Moxidectin) at 0.2 mg/kgbw was given subcutaneously to the treatment group. The faeces of both groups were examined on days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28. The post-mortem examination of one animal from each group was performed to confirm the EPG results on days mentioned above. The percentage efficacy was measured on the basis of the reduction of the eggs

Prevalence of liver fluke infections in slaughtered animals in Trakya (Thrace), Turkey

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of liver fluke infections in cattle and sheep in Trakya (The European Part of Turkey). For this purpose the slaughterhouses of different localities (Tekirdag, Hadimkoy, Luleburgaz, Corlu, Kirklareli and Kesan) were visited between 03.03.1997 and 22.10.1997, and a total of 476 sheep and 415 cattle livers were examined. The prevalence rates of fasciolosis hepatica and dicrocoeliosis dendriticum were 3.99% and 23.55% in sheep, and 0.48% and 2.65% in cattle respectively. No changes in livers, which led to the partial or total condemnation, were observed

Efficacy of Moxidectin against Toxocara canis in experimentally infected dogs

In this study, 6 six-week-old puppies born of a stray bitch were used. Four of them were 5 kg, one of them 7 kg and the last 8 kg. Before egg inoculation, fecal examination by flotation technique showed that the animals had no helminth infection. Each puppy was infected orally with 150 embriyonated Toxocara canis eggs. When the egg first seen in their faeces after Inoculation, Moxidectin (Cytectin 1% inj) at a dose of 0.2 mg/kgbw was given subcutaneously. Fecal examinations were performed by flotation technique, on day-0 (treatment day), day-7, day-14 and day-21, and EPG values were calculated on the same days. Three dogs which had died of a viral infection at the 15th day of the experiment were necropsied and their intestines were examined for the adult stage of T. cani

Experimental visceral larva migrans in chicken with Toxocara canis

The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of Toxocara canis larvae in some organs of chicks and to clarify if the larvae found in brain will be able to lead to the behavioral disorder or not. For this purpose, 42 15-day-old broiler chicks were allocated to 6 groups, each consisted of 5 trial and 2 control animals (Totally 30 exp. and 12 contr. anim.). Each experimental chick recevied 5000 embriyonated T. canis eggs orally. All animals were necropsied between 2(nd) and 12(th) days after inoculation with two day intervals. Brain, lung, liver and a half carcass of animals were digested in the pepsin-HCL solution and the digested organs were examined for the presence of larvae

Visceral larva migrans in mice caused by eating Toxocara canis-infected chick livers

In this study, two subjects, 1) whether Visceral Larva Migrans (VLM) takes place when T. canis larvae-infected chick livers are eaten and 2) whether any differences are present between larval distributions, clinical signs and pathological disorders of the infections caused by eggs and infected liver, were investigated in the:chick-mouse model. For this purpose, 15-day-old broiler chicks (n=42) and 3-month-old albino mice (n=62) were used. Thirty chicks were each infected orally with 5000 infective T.canis eggs. These chicks. composed of 6 groups, were necropsied at 2-day intervals and their livers were fed to 42 mice in 6 experimental groups. In another group, experimental mice were inoculated with 1250 (2 mice), 2500 (2 mice) and 5000 (2 mice) infective eggs of T. canis. Two non-infected mice for each experimental group were kept as control. All mice were necropsied on day 6 and they were examined for T.canis larvae. The control mice presented neither behavioral disorders nor pathological changes and presented no larvae. Nine experimental mice died before the necropsy day. Toxocara canis-larvae were recovered from all experimental mice except one because this mouse was completely eaten by other mice. It was observed that the mice fed on infected liver were more affected by infection than those inoculated with the eggs. It is concluded that the consumption of T. canis infected raw poultry liver leads to toxocariosis in people