Avian Haemosporidian blood parasite infections at a migration hotspot in Eilat, Israel

Haemosporidian blood parasites are frequent amongst passerines. Though they often do not cause detectable  consequences to host health, however, their presence or absence and also their prevalence across host  populations may potentially carry meaningful information about the health, stress, body condition and viability of bird individuals or populations. The study of migratory birds captured in Eilat, Israel, allowed us to evaluate the prevalence of blood parasite infections in a wide range of both migrant and resident species in spring (N = 1,950) and autumn (N = 538) of 2004 and 2005. According to blood film microscopy, Haemoproteus spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. were more prevalent in the spring than in the autumn (0.289, 0.082 vs. 0.132, 0.033, respectively), whilst Plasmodium spp. exhibited a slight opposite trend (0.034, 0.056). All other parasites (such as trypanosomes, microfilaria and haemococcidians) were rare. During the spring seasons, prevalences were significantly higher in migrant than in resident species, whilst this difference was only marginally significant in the autumn. Given that Eilat is a migration hotspot for several Palearctic passerine species, the present descriptive study may hopefully serve to set the baseline values for future long-term epidemiological monitoring

Lymphocystis in fish from east African lakes

Lymphocystis is described for the first time from Africa. Lymphocystis infected cells formed clusters on the tails of cichlid fishes from East African lakes. Small rounded inclusion bodies and many large vacuoles were observed in the cytoplasm of the hypertrophied cells

A revised description of Gyrodactylus cichlidarum Paperna, 1968 (Gyrodactylidae) from the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (Cichlidae), and its synonymy with G. niloticus Cone, Arthur et Bondad-Reantaso, 1995

A recent infestation of Gyrodactylus cichlidarum Paperna, 1968 on yolk sac fry of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (L.), in an isolated aquarium system in the UK resulted in high mortalities and provided an opportunity to study this species in greater detail. A tentative identification was made using the measurements and drawings of the ventral bar and hamuli provided in the original description; however, details on the morphology of the marginal hooks were lacking. A comparison of the gyrodactylid material collected from O. n. niloticus with the holotype of G. cichlidarum, the only known available specimen, from Mango tilapia, Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus (L.), confirmed its identity. Proteolytic digestion and image analysis of he opisthaptoral hard parts were used to obtain tissue-free, accurate measurements as part of a complete revised. description of G. cichlidarum. Further, a comparison of G. cichlidarum from both hosts with the holotype and several paratypes of Gyrodactylus niloticus Cone, Arthur et Bondad-Reantaso, 1995 cited as parasitizing captive stocks of Nile tilapia in the Philippines revealed the two species to be synonymous. An 803 bp fragment of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacers I and 2 and the 5.8S was obtained and is provided with the revised description. This is the first DNA sequence from a Gyrodactylus species originating from the African continent. The sequence is very divergent from other species in the genus and only the 5.8S sequence places it unambiguously in the genus Gyrodactylus. In addition to G. cichlidarum, two specimens of another morphological similar species of Gyrodactylus were also found on the UK held stock of O. n. niloticus. These latter specimens, Gyrodactylus sp., differed from G. cichlidarum in having a longer hamulus point with a smaller hamulus aperture and possessing marginal hook sickles that had a shorter shaft with a longer point giving the sickles a more rounded, closed appearanc

Report on ectoparastic infections of fresh water fish in Africa

The extension and improvement of inland fishing, as well as the development of fish culture, is now becoming an important item in development programs designed for African countries. Extensive development of water resources has resulted in the formation of large numbers of small and large water reservoirs, which have also become available for fish culture

Internet Usage by Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Implications to Participatory Medicine and Personalized Healthcare

Online health information and services for patients were suggested to improve symptom management and treatment adherence, thereby contributing to healthcare optimization. This paper aimed to characterize multiple sclerosis (MS) patients Internet usage. Information regarding browsing habits, Internet reliability, and the medical team's attitude to information collected online was obtained by questionnaires from MS patients. Data was compared between nonbrowsers, browsers on MS topics, and browsers on non-MS topics only. From the 96 patients recruited, 61 (63.5%) performed MS-related searches. The most viewed topics were “understanding the disease” and “treatments”. Patients reported that the information helped coping with MS and assured them of the appropriateness of their therapy. Shorter disease duration was correlated with higher Internet activity. Disabled patients were more interested in online interaction with specialists and support groups. This paper suggests that MS patients benefit from online information, and it emphasizes the importance of resources tailored to patients needs

Report and genetic identification of Amyloodinium ocellatum in a sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) broodstock in Portugal

In this paper we report a case of amyloodiniosis in a sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) broodstock in Portugal. Microscopic examination of gill filaments showed the presence of trophonts while histological observation revealed gills epithelial hyperplasia, hypertrophy and lamellar fusion of secondary lamellae. The amplification and sequencing of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene allowed the identification of the parasite as Amyloodinium ocellatum. It was also possible to amplify a partial sequence of ribosomal RNA from a Colpodellid, a predator of protists.This work was supported by DIVERSIAQUA and SAUDE&AQUA projects [MAR2020 16-02-01-FMP-0066 and Mar2020 02.05.01-FEAMP-0009, respectively]. Márcio Moreira has a PhD grant from FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/118601/2016). This study also received Portuguese national funds from FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology through project UID/Multi/04326/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Temporally consistent species differences in parasite infection but no evidence for rapid parasite-mediated speciation in Lake Victoria cichlid fish

Abstract Parasites may have strong eco-evolutionary interactions with their hosts. Consequently, they may contribute to host diversification. The radiation of cichlid fish in Lake Victoria provides a good model to study the role of parasites in the early stages of speciation. We investigated patterns of macroparasite infection in a community of 17 sympatric cichlids from a recent radiation and 2 older species from 2 non-radiating lineages, to explore the opportunity for parasite-mediated speciation. Host species had different parasite infection profiles, which were only partially explained by ecological factors (diet, water depth). This may indicate that differences in infection are not simply the result of differences in exposure, but that hosts evolved species-specific resistance, consistent with parasite-mediated divergent selection. Infection was similar between sampling years, indicating that the direction of parasite-mediated selection is stable through time. We morphologically identified 6 Cichlidogyrus species, a gill parasite that is considered a good candidate for driving parasite-mediated speciation, because it is host species-specific and has radiated elsewhere in Africa. Species composition of Cichlidogyrus infection was similar among the most closely related host species (members of the Lake Victoria radiation), but two more distantly related species (belonging to non-radiating sister lineages) showed distinct infection profiles. This is inconsistent with a role for Cichlidogyrus in the early stages of divergence. To conclude, we find significant interspecific variation in parasite infection profiles, which is temporally consistent. We found no evidence that Cichlidogyrus-mediated selection contributes to the early stages of speciation. Instead, our findings indicate that species differences in infection accumulate after speciation.Peer reviewe

A new filaria of a lizard transmitted by sandflies

A description is given of Madathamugadia wanjii n. sp., a Splendidofilariinae parasite of the gecko Ptyodactylus hasselquistii, on the west bank of the River Jordan and of its life cycle in Phlebotomus duboscqi. The new species is close to M. ivaschkini (Annaev, 1976) n. comb., of Turkmenistan, wich is also transmitted by sandflies (Reznik, 1982). The genus Madathamugadia is now comprised of four species, two from Madagascar and two from the Mediterranean sub-region; it differs from the genus Thamugadia by the presence of a double row of papillae anterior to the cloaca of the male. The larval characters of Splendidofilarinae of lizards confirm the affinity of these parasites to the Splendidofilarinae of birds (Chandlerella and Splendidofilaria); the first group could have arisen from the second by "captures" wich could have occurred in several places