Aspidoderid Nematodes from Bolivian Armadillos, with the Description of a New Species of Lauroia (Heterakoidea: Aspidoderidae)

One nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) and 1 yellow armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) were necropsied in the field during an expedition to collect parasites of mammals in Bolivia. A total of 205 Aspidodera binansata Railliet and Henry, 1913 (Heterakoidea: Aspidoderidae), and 40 specimens of Lauroia bolivari n. sp. (Heterakoidea: Aspidoderidae) were recovered from the cecum and large intestines of D. novemcinctus and E. sexcinctus. Aspidodera esperanzae Fujita et al., 1995, is proposed as a junior synonym of A. binansata based on the structure of the cordons on the hood. Lauroia bolivari n. sp. has an undercut cephalic cap and unequal spicules. It differs from other species in the genus in the shape of the cephalic cap and from Lauroia travassosi Proença, 1938, in the relative proportion of the spicules. This is the first record of a member of Lauroia Proença, 1938, for Bolivia

Onchocerciasis (river blindness) – more than a century of research and control

This review summarises more than a century of research on onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and its control. River blindness is an infection caused by the tissue filaria Onchocerca volvulus affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue and eyes and leading to blindness in a minority of infected persons. The parasite is transmitted by its intermediate hosts Simulium spp. which breed in rivers. Featured are history and milestones in onchocerciasis research and control, state-of-the-art data on the parasite, its endobacteria Wolbachia, on the vectors, previous and current prevalence of the infection, its diagnostics, the interaction between the parasite and its host, immune responses and the pathology of onchocerciasis. Detailed information is documented on the time course of control programmes in the afflicted countries in Africa and the Americas, a long road from previous programmes to current successes in control of the transmission of this infectious disease. By development, adjustment and optimization of the control measures, transmission by the vector has been interrupted in foci of countries in the Americas, in Uganda, in Sudan and elsewhere, followed by onchocerciasis eliminations. The current state and future perspectives for control, elimination and eradication within the next 20–30 years are described and discussed. This review contributes to a deeper comprehension of this disease by a tissue-dwelling filaria and it will be helpful in efforts to control and eliminate other filarial infections

XLIV.—A new Siamese Nematode of the genus Falcaustra

Volume: 6Start Page: 408End Page: 41