Dirofilaria spp. And angiostrongylus vasorum: Current risk of spreading in central and northern europe

In the past few decades, the relevance of Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens, causing cardiopulmonary and subcutaneous dirofilariosis in dogs and cats, and of Angiostrongylus vasorum, causing canine angiostrongylosis, has steadily increased in Central and Northern Europe. In this review, a summary of published articles and additional reports dealing with imported or autoch-thonous cases of these parasites is provided for Central (Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Lux-emburg, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland) and Northern (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) Europe. Research efforts focusing on Dirofilaria spp. and A. vasorum have varied by country, and cross-border studies are few. The housing conditions of dogs, pet move-ments, the spread of competent vectors, and climate change are important factors in the spread of these nematodes. Dogs kept outside overnight are a major factor for the establishment of Dirofilaria spp. However, the establishment of invasive, diurnal, synanthropic, competent mosquito vectors such as Aedes albopictus may also influence the establishment of Dirofilaria spp. The drivers of the spread of A. vasorum remain not fully understood, but it seems to be influenced by habitats shared with wild canids, dog relocation, and possibly climatic changes; its pattern of spreading appears to be similar in different countries. Both Dirofilaria spp. and A. vasorum merit further monitoring and research focus in Europe

Richness, origin and structure of an Eimeria community in a population of Eastern cottontail

The composition and structure of a community of Eimeria was investigated in a population of Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) introduced into Italy. Eight Eimeria species were found, of which all but 1 had North American origins and were presumably introduced into Italy together with imported cottontails. The success of cottontails in spreading microparasites is probably related to their massive release for hunting purposes. Nearly all cottontails were infected with at least 1 Eimeria species, with bimonthly prevalence ranging from 0–6·3% (E. leporis) to 42·9–89·3% (E. environ). Bayesian model averaging and multivariate techniques were used to investigate the relationships between the occurrence of each parasite and the structure of the relative community. Among the host parameters, only sex was found to be associated with the prevalence of E. honessi, while the rest of the parameters were only weakly correlated with prevalence and species richness. This indicates that individual phenotypic host characteristics are probably less important than environmental factors in determining levels of parasite prevalence and diversity. The community of Eimeria species was probably structured by competition, with less species co-occurrence than expected under a null hypothesis. This was made evident by the low co-occurrence of E. environ and E. neoirresidua with E. poudrei, E. honessi, and E. maior

Natural infection with two genotypes of Cryptosporidium in red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

We investigated the genotypes of Cryptosporidium infecting red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris L.) in two areas of the Western Alps in Italy. Examination of 141 faecal samples from 70 red squirrels revealed oocysts of Cryptosporidium in 17 animals (24.3%). Based on 18S rRNA gene sequencing, two genotypes of Cryptosporidium species were found: 15 squirrels were positive for the Cryptosporidium ferret genotype and 2 for the Cryptosporidium chipmunk genotype I. The occurrence and intensity of Cryptosporidium infection did not differ between the study areas or sex. More than 85% of the positive animals were adults; however no difference was found between Cryptosporidium infection in the juvenile and adult age groups. Oocysts of the Cryptosporidium ferret genotype measured 5.5 \ub1 0.3 7 5.2 \ub1 0.2 \u3bcm (shape index 1.06) and the Cryptosporidium chipmunk genotype I 5.8 \ub1 0.3 7 5.4 \ub1 0.3 \u3bcm (shape index 1.07). Neonatal and adult CD1 and BABL/c mice inoculated with 1 7 103 fresh oocysts of both genotypes did not produce detectable infection

Internal and External Parasitic Infections of Pet Reptiles in Italy

In captive reptiles, parasites may represent a serious health and management problem and may include zoonotic species. In the present study, prevalence of ecto and endoparasitic infections and associated main clinical signs were evaluated in pet reptiles living in Italy. To these aims, faecal samples collected from 120 captive reptiles of 27 different species, including 63 household pet and 57 pet store reptiles, were analysed macroscopically and microscopically for the isolation and identification of endoparasites. All animals, the terrariums and water containers were examined also for ectoparasite arthropods. Recovered arthropods were preserved in 80% ethanol and microscopically identified. Data were statistically analysed. Overall, about 72.5% of examined animals were found positive with prevalence rates of 45% and of 27.5% for endo and ectoparasites, respectively. Pet shop animals were more frequently infected by endoparasites, while ectoparasites were more prevalent in household animals. Isolated endoparasites included protozoa (Entamoeba sp., Balantidium sp., Isospora jaracimrmani and Caryospora corallae) and nematodes (ascarids, pinworms and strongylid nematodes), while ectoparasites included the mites Ophionyssus natricis, Hirstiella stamii and Hirstiella diolii and the tick Amblyomma latum. This study is the first report of H. stamii, H. diolii and A. latum in Italy. Results showed that pathogenic and potential zoonotic parasites are common among pet reptiles and highlight the role of veterinarians for the control of pet reptile parasitic diseases and the prevention of introducing exotic reptile parasitic specie

Experimental transmission of Leishmania (Mundinia) parasites by biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

Leishmania parasites, causative agents of leishmaniasis, are currently divided into four subgenera: Leishmania, Viannia, Sauroleishmania and Mundinia. The recently established subgenus Mundinia has a wide geographical distribution and contains five species, three of which have the potential to infect and cause disease in humans. While the other Leishmania subgenera are transmitted exclusively by phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), natural vectors of Mundinia remain uncertain. This study investigates the potential of sand flies and biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to transmit Leishmania parasites of the subgenus Mundinia. Sand flies (Phlebotomus argentipes, P. duboscqi and Lutzomyia migonei) and Culicoides biting midges (Culicoides sonorensis) were exposed to five Mundinia species through a chicken skin membrane and dissected at specific time intervals, post bloodmeal. Potentially infected insects were also allowed to feed on ear pinnae of anaesthetized BALB/c mice and the presence of Leishmania DNA was subsequently confirmed in the mice using polymerase chain reaction analyses. In C. sonorensis, all Mundinia species tested were able to establish infection at a high rate, successfully colonize the stomodeal valve and produce a higher proportion of metacyclic forms than in sand flies. Subsequently, three parasite species, L. martiniquensis, L. orientalis and L. sp. from Ghana, were transmitted to the host mouse ear by C. sonorensis bite. In contrast, transmission experiments entirely failed with P. argentipes, although colonisation of the stomodeal valve was observed for L. orientalis and L. martiniquensis and metacyclic forms of L. orientalis were recorded. This laboratory-based transmission of Mundinia species highlights that Culicoides are potential vectors of members of this ancestral subgenus of Leishmania and we suggest further studies in endemic areas to confirm their role in the lifecycles of neglected pathogens. Copyright: © 2021 Becvar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited