Sníkjuþráðormurinn Strongyloides stercoralis staðfestur á Íslandi í innfluttum hundum, heimilishundum og í hundaræktunarstöð.

The aim of this paper is to report cases of the intestinal parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis in dogs in Iceland. The nematode was diagnosed in 20 (0.6%) of imported dogs in quaratine in Iceland during 1989-2016. Household dogs: The first case of S. stercoralis infection diagnosed outside quaratine in Iceland was in an unhealthy household puppy purchased from an Icelandic breeding kennel (Kennel A) in 2012. A total of nine puppies purchased from Kennel A, and two dogs which had contact with dogs from the kennel, were diagnosed with S. stercoralis. Kennel dogs: In 2012 S. stercoralis was confirmed in dozens of dogs in Kennel A. Follow-up examinations after anthelmintic treatments indicated a successful removal of worms in imported and household dogs. In spite of more than a dozen anthelmintic treatment actions and other arrangements in Kennel A since 2012, recurrent infections have repeatedly been confirmed, the last one in 2015. The nematode is believed to have been introduced to the breeding kennel with an imported dog, in spite of anthelmintic treatments in quarantine.Markmið þessa yfirlits er að greina frá tilfellum sem greinst hafa af sníkjuþráðorminum Strongyloides stercoralis í hundum á Íslandi. Ormurinn hefur greinst í saursýnum úr 20 (0.6%) hundum sem fluttir voru til landins um einungrunarstöðvar á árunum 1989-2016. Heimilishundar: Fyrsta tilfelli utan einangrunarstöðva greindist í veikum heimilishvolpi sem keyptur var á íslenskri hundaræktunarstöð 2012. Ormurinn greindist í alls níu hvolpum sem keyptir voru á stöðinni og í tveimur heimilishundum sem höfðu haft samgang við hunda frá stöðinni. Hundaræktunarstöðin: S. stercoralis greindist í tugum hunda í stöðinni í byrjun árs 2012, bæði í hvolpum og fullorðnum hundum. Innfluttu hundarnir og heimilishundarnir fengu ormalyfjameðferð og eftirfylgnirannsóknir bentu til að tekist hefði að uppræta ormana. Margendurteknar ormalyfjagjafir á árunum 2012-2016 og aðrar aðgerðir í hundaræktunarstöðinni virðast hafa borið umtalsverðan árangur en ormurinn hefur þó greinst í stökum saursýnum á undanförnum árum, síðast í nóvember 2015. Talið er að þráðormurinn hafi borist inn í hundaræktunarstöðina með innfluttum hundi, þrátt fyrir endurteknar ormalyfjagjafir í einangrunarstöð,smitast milli hunda í ræktunarstöðinni og borist þaðan út með seldum hundum.Peer Reviewe

Sníkjudýr staðfest í innfluttum hundum og köttum á Íslandi á árunum 1989 - 2017 ásamt upplýsingum um sníkjudýr sem fundist hafa í hundum og köttum innanlands

Importing dogs into Iceland was prohibited or restricted from 1909 until 1989, when the ban was lifted and importing dogs and cats permitted, with the proviso of an enforced period of quarantine and the requirement of specific medical treatments and examinations. Prior to importation pets must be treated against cestodes and external parasites. From 1989 until the end of 2017, a total of 3822 dogs and 900 cats were imported from 67 countries from all continents of the world, except Antarctica. Routine examinations for endoparasites revealed one or more species in 10.6% of the dogs and 4.2% of the cats. In spite of the required treatment, ectoparasites were detected on 0.2% of the dogs and 0.2% of the cats. Eighteen endoparasite species and six ectoparasite species have been identified from imported pets. Six species (one nematode, five ectoparasites) are believed to have been introduced to native dogs or cats with imported animals that were apparently still infected/infested when they left quarantine and were handed over to the owners. Three of them are believed to have been eliminated after a temporary local occurrence, but two or three species of mites have become permanently resident.Innflutningur hunda til Íslands var bannaður nema með sérstakri undanþágu á árunum 1909 til 1989. Þá var banninu aflétt og innflutningur hunda og katta leyfður að uppfylltum skilyrðum um dvöl í einangrunarstöð, heilbrigðisskoðun og ákveðnar lyfjameðhöndlanir. Þá eru gerðar kröfur um lyfjameðhöndlun gegn bandormum og ytri sníkjudýrum fyrir komu dýranna til landsins. Frá 1989 fram til ársloka 2017 voru 3822 hundar og 900 kettir fluttir til landsins. Dýrin hafa komið frá 67 löndum í öllum heimsálfum. Leit að innsníklum leiddi í ljós eina eða fleiri tegundir sníkjudýra í 10,6% hunda og 4,2% katta, óværa hefur fundist við komuna til landsins á 0,2% hunda og 0,2% katta. Alls hafa 18 tegundir innri sníkjudýra og sex tegundir óværu fundist í eða á innfluttum gæludýrum. Talið er að sex þeirra (þráðormur og fimm óværutegundir) hafi borist yfir í innlenda hunda eða ketti með gæludýrum sem enn voru smituð þegar einangrunarvist lauk. Tvær eða þrjár tegundanna virðast hafa náð fótfestu á Íslandi en talið er að tekist hafi að útrýma þremur þeirra.Peer Reviewe

Transcriptional responses in Parascaris univalens after in vitro exposure to ivermectin, pyrantel citrate and thiabendazole

Publisher's version (útgefin grein)Background: Parascaris univalens is a pathogenic parasite of foals and yearlings worldwide. In recent years, Parascaris spp. worms have developed resistance to several of the commonly used anthelmintics, though currently the mechanisms behind this development are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the transcriptional responses in adult P. univalens worms after in vitro exposure to different concentrations of three anthelmintic drugs, focusing on drug targets and drug metabolising pathways. Methods: Adult worms were collected from the intestines of two foals at slaughter. The foals were naturally infected and had never been treated with anthelmintics. Worms were incubated in cell culture media containing different concentrations of either ivermectin (10-9 M, 10-11 M, 10-13 M), pyrantel citrate (10-6 M, 10-8 M, 10-10 M), thiabendazole (10-5 M, 10-7 M, 10-9 M) or without anthelmintics (control) at 37 °C for 24 h. After incubation, the viability of the worms was assessed and RNA extracted from the anterior region of 36 worms and sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 system. Results: All worms were alive at the end of the incubation but showed varying degrees of viability depending on the drug and concentration used. Differential expression (Padj < 0.05 and log2 fold change ≥ 1 or ≤ - 1) analysis showed similarities and differences in the transcriptional response after exposure to the different drug classes. Candidate genes upregulated or downregulated in drug exposed worms include members of the phase I metabolic pathway short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase superfamily (SDR), flavin containing monooxygenase superfamily (FMO) and cytochrome P450-family (CYP), as well as members of the membrane transporters major facilitator superfamily (MFS) and solute carrier superfamily (SLC). Generally, different targets of the anthelmintics used were found to be upregulated and downregulated in an unspecific pattern after drug exposure, apart from the GABA receptor subunit lgc-37, which was upregulated only in worms exposed to 10-9 M of ivermectin. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first time the expression of lgc-37 and members of the FMO, SDR, MFS and SLC superfamilies have been described in P. univalens and future work should be focused on characterising these candidate genes to further explore their potential involvement in drug metabolism and anthelmintic resistance.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]This work was supported by the Swedish research council FORMAS (grant no. 942-2015-508).Peer Reviewe

A recent whole-genome duplication divides populations of a globally-distributed microsporidian

The Microsporidia are a major group of intracellular fungi and important parasites of animals including insects, fish, and immunocompromised humans. Microsporidian genomes have undergone extreme reductive evolution but there are major differences in genome size and structure within the group: some are prokaryote-like in size and organisation (<3 Mb of gene-dense sequence) while others have more typically eukaryotic genome architectures. To gain fine-scale, population-level insight into the evolutionary dynamics of these tiny eukaryotic genomes, we performed the broadest microsporidian population genomic study to date, sequencing geographically isolated strains of Spraguea, a marine microsporidian infecting goosefish worldwide. Our analysis revealed that population structure across the Atlantic Ocean is associated with a conserved difference in ploidy, with American and Canadian isolates sharing an ancestral whole genome duplication that was followed by widespread pseudogenisation and sorting-out of paralogue pairs. While past analyses have suggested de novo gene formation of microsporidian-specific genes, we found evidence for the origin of new genes from noncoding sequence since the divergence of these populations. Some of these genes experience selective constraint, suggesting the evolution of new functions and local host adaptation. Combining our data with published microsporidian genomes, we show that nucleotide composition across the phylum is shaped by a mutational bias favoring A and T nucleotides, which is opposed by an evolutionary force favoring an increase in genomic GC content. This study reveals ongoing dramatic reorganization of genome structure and the evolution of new gene functions in modern microsporidians despite extensive genomic streamlining in their common ancestor

Yfirlitsgrein : sníkjudýr í mönnum á Íslandi

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn Skoða/Opna(view/open)A survey of endoparasites found in humans in Iceland. At least 29 species of endoparasites capable of infecting humans have been found in Iceland (see Table). Only 8 species are definitely endemic, four are questionable and the remaining species have probably been acquired abroad. In this review article all these species are mentioned and briefly discussed.Að minnsta kosti 29 tegundir innri sníkjudýra sem smitað geta menn hafa fundist á Íslandi. Aðeins átta þeirra eru nokkuð örugglega landlægar, óvist er um fjórar en af hinum sautján hafa menn sennilega smitast erlendis. Í greininni er gefið stutt yfirlit yfir allar þessar tegundi

Lýs og mítlar á íslenskum nautgripum

The aim of the present study was to survey lice and mite species infesting cattle in Iceland and to evaluate their prevalence on farms, prevalence and site preferences on the animals and correlation with dermatological symptoms. The survey included two separate investigations, a combing study including 50 calves and 50 dairy cows, and a study of skin samples including 27 bullocks and 28 dairy cows. The animals came from farms in Southwest Iceland. In the combing study five preselected areas on each animal were combed. Two lice species were found, the chewing louse Bovicola bovis and the sucking louse Solenopotes capillatus. Lice were found at 7 of 10 farms. B. bovis was found at 50% and S. capillatus at 40% of the farms and both species occurred at 20% of the farms. Lice were found on 40% of the calves and 4% of the cows. B. bovis was found on 28% of the calves and 2% of the cows. S. capillatus was detected on 16% of the calves and 2% of the cows. B. bovis was most prevalent on back and rump, less prevalent on the head, neck and tail and was not detected on the front leg. S. capillatus was most prevalent on the neck, then head and front leg, and was least prevalent on the posterior back and rump and on the tail. Minor dermatological signs were seen on two cows and three calves. In the study of skin samples, samples were taken from five preselected sites of the animals. In this study the hair follicle mite Demodex bovis was found in the skin of the neck of one bullock (1.8%). No macroscopic skin disorders were observed on the samples.Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að athuga hvaða ytri sníkjudýr finnast á íslenskum nautgripum, kanna tíðni þeirra á búum, sýkingartíðni og staðsetningu á gripunum og tengsl við sjúkdómseinkenni. Rannsóknin skiptist í kembirannsókn (50 kálfar og 50 mjólkurkýr) og húðsýnarannsókn (27 geldneyti og 28 mjólkurkýr). Bú voru valin af handahófi á Suðvesturlandi. Í kembirannsókninni voru fimm fyrirfram ákveðin svæði á hverjum grip kembd. Tvær lúsategundir fundust, naglúsin Bovicola bovis og soglúsin Solenopotes capillatus. Lýs fundust á 7 af 10 búum. Á 50% búa fundust naglýs og á 40% búanna soglýs. Báðar tegundir fundust á 20% búanna. Lýs fundust á 40% kálfanna og á 4% kúnna. Naglúsin fannst á 28% kálfanna og 2% kúnna. Soglúsin fannst á 16% kálfa og á 2% kúa. Fjöldi naglúsa samanlagt á kembdum svæðum á gripum með lýs var 1-18 og fjöldi soglúsa 1-11. Naglúsin fannst oftast á baki og lend, en sjaldnar á haus, hálsi og hala, og ekki á framfæti. Soglúsin fannst oftast á hálsi, svo á haus og á framfæti, en sjaldnar á baki, lend og hala. Aðeins minniháttar ummerkja, sem tengja mætti lúsasýkingum, varð vart á húð þriggja kálfa og tveggja kúa. Í húðsýnarannsókninni voru sýni tekin af fimm fyrirfram ákveðnum stöðum á gripunum. Í þeirri rannsókn fannst hársekkjamítillinn Demodex bovis á hálsi á einum grip (1,8%). Ekki voru nein ummerki sjáanleg um húðbreytingar af völdum mítla

Infections caused by the coccidian Cryptosporidium in humans in Iceland

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn Skoða/Opna(view/open)Infections caused by the coccidian Cryptosporidium in humans in Iceland. At the Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur, Reykjavik, routine parasitological examinations of stool samples from humans are performed. Searching for Cryptosporidium has been included in these examinations since 1986. Among 1215 persons of all age examined from the beginning of 1986 through June 1989, most of whom had gastrointestinal symptoms, 9 (0.7%) were found to be infected with Cryptosporidium. The diagnosis was based on the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in faecal samples using the formalin - ether/ethylacetat concentration method. For verification these samples were stained by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique. Six of the patients were children and three were adults. All patients had symptoms of gastroenteritis and eight of them were hospitalized at the time of diagnosis. In seven cases Cryptosporidium was the only pathogen found. One of the adults was receiving immunosuppressive treatment and another adult was later diagnosed with Crohn's disease. In all the children Cryptosporidium was diagnosed during the months of June-September and in the adults during October-December. Only one of the patients had recently travelled abroad. Five of the six children came from rural districts but the sixth acquired symptoms abroad. Three of the infected children came from the same rural district during the summer of 1987 possibly indicating a local source of infection. The data indicate that Cryptosporidium sp. is endemic in Iceland. The source of infection is not known. Studies on the prevalence of Cryptosporidium in animals in Iceland have not yet been performed.Um áramótin 1985/86 var farið að gefa sérstakan gaum að gródýrinu Cryptosporidium í mannasaursýnum sem send eru til sníkjudýrarannsókna að Tilraunastöð Háskólans í meinafræði að Keldum. Frá þeim tíma og fram á mitt ár 1989 hafa verið rannsökuð saursýni úr 1215 einstaklingum. Til þessa hafa fundist 9 tilfelli af Cryptosporidium. Sennilega er sníkjudýrið landlægt

Transcriptional responses in Parascaris univalens after in vitro exposure to ivermectin, pyrantel citrate and thiabendazole

Background: Parascaris univalensis a pathogenic parasite of foals and yearlings worldwide. In recent years,Parascarisspp. worms have developed resistance to several of the commonly used anthelmintics, though currently the mechanisms behind this development are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the transcriptional responses in adultP. univalensworms afterin vitroexposure to different concentrations of three anthelmintic drugs, focusing on drug targets and drug metabolising pathways.Methods: Adult worms were collected from the intestines of two foals at slaughter. The foals were naturally infected and had never been treated with anthelmintics. Worms were incubated in cell culture media containing different concentrations of either ivermectin (10(-9) M, 10(-11) M, 10(-13) M), pyrantel citrate (10(-6) M, 10(-8) M, 10(-10) M), thiabendazole (10(-5) M, 10(-7) M, 10(-9) M) or without anthelmintics (control) at 37 degrees C for 24 h. After incubation, the viability of the worms was assessed and RNA extracted from the anterior region of 36 worms and sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 system.Results: All worms were alive at the end of the incubation but showed varying degrees of viability depending on the drug and concentration used. Differential expression (Padj &lt; 0.05 and log2 fold change >= 1 or &lt;= - 1) analysis showed similarities and differences in the transcriptional response after exposure to the different drug classes. Candidate genes upregulated or downregulated in drug exposed worms include members of the phase I metabolic pathway short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase superfamily (SDR), flavin containing monooxygenase superfamily (FMO) and cytochrome P450-family (CYP), as well as members of the membrane transporters major facilitator superfamily (MFS) and solute carrier superfamily (SLC). Generally, different targets of the anthelmintics used were found to be upregulated and downregulated in an unspecific pattern after drug exposure, apart from the GABA receptor subunitlgc-37, which was upregulated only in worms exposed to 10(-9) M of ivermectin.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first time the expression of lgc-37 and members of the FMO, SDR, MFS and SLC superfamilies have been described inP. univalensand future work should be focused on characterising these candidate genes to further explore their potential involvement in drug metabolism and anthelmintic resistance

Tick species (Ixodia) identified in Iceland

Eight species of ticks of the family Ixodidae have been identified in Iceland; Ixodes uriae, I. caledonicus, I. ricinus, I. hexagonus, I. cf scapularis, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Dermacentor variabilis and Hyalomma aegyptium. Ticks of the family Argasidae have not been found. I. uriae is indigenous and common in seabird colonies in Iceland. I. caledonicus has been found on stationary birds and therefore also considered to be indigenous. I. ricinus has been found all over the country on humans, other mammals and birds and is carried by migratory birds to the country in the spring but it is uncertain if it is indigenous. I. hexagonus has been reported once. The remaining four species were all found under circumstances that suggest incidental findings.Átta tegundir stórmítla (ticks) hafa verið greindar á Íslandi; Ixodes uriae (lundamítillinn, lundalúsin), I. caledonicus (norræni fuglamítillinn), I. ricinus (skógarmítillinn), I. cf scapularis (dádýramítillinn), Ixodes hexagonus (broddgaltamítillinn), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (brúni hundamítillinn), Dermacentor variabilis (ameríski hundamítillinn) og Hyalomma aegyptium (skjaldbökumítillinn). I. uriae er landlægur og algengur í sjófuglabyggðum á Íslandi. I. caledonicus hefur fundist á staðfuglum og því einnig talinn landlægur. I. ricinus hefur fundist víða um land á mönnum, öðrum spendýrum og fuglum og berst með farfuglum til landsins en óvíst er hvort hann er landlægur. Greint hefur verið frá I. hexagonus einu sinni. Hinar fjórar tegundirnar hafa fundist við aðstæður sem benda til þess að þar hafi slæðingar verið á ferðinni

A Recent Whole-Genome Duplication Divides Populations of a Globally Distributed Microsporidian

The Microsporidia are a major group of intracellular fungi and important parasites of animals including insects, fish, and immunocompromised humans. Microsporidian genomes have undergone extreme reductive evolution but there are major differences in genome size and structure within the group: some areprokaryote-like in size and organisation (&lt;3 Mb of gene-dense sequence) whilst others have more typically eukaryotic genome architectures. To gain fine-scale, population-level insight into the evolutionary dynamics of these tiny eukaryotic genomes, we performed the broadest microsporidian population genomic study tod ate, sequencing geographically isolated strains of Spraguea, a marine microsporidian infecting goosefish worldwide. Our analysis revealed that population structure across the Atlantic Ocean is associated with a conserved difference in ploidy, with American and Canadian isolates sharing an ancestral whole genome duplication that was followed by widespread pseudogenisation and sorting-out of paralogue pairs. Whilst past analyses have suggested de novo gene formation of microsporidian-specific genes, we found evidence for the origin of new genes from noncoding sequence since the divergence of these populations. Some ofthese genes experience selective constraint, suggesting the evolution of new functions and local host adaptation. Combining our data with published microsporidian genomes, we show that nucleotidecomposition across the phylum is shaped by a mutational bias favouring A and T nucleotides, which is opposed by an evolutionary force favouring an increase in genomic GC content. This work reveals ongoing dramatic reorganisation of genome structure and the evolution of new gene functions in modern microsporidians despite extensive genomic streamlining in their common ancestor