We found unusual digenean intramolluscan stages, sporocysts and cercariae, in gastropods Sulcospira dautzenbergiana (Morelet) (Caenogastropoda: Pachychilidae) from Southern Vietnam and named them Cercaria cattieni 1. These cercariae have a stylet and thus belong to the Xiphidiata. However, such combination of characters as extremely large body size and I-shaped excretory bladder has not been found before in any other xiphidiocercariae. We obtained COI, ITS1, 5.8S + ITS2, and 28S rDNA sequences for C. cattieni 1. The latter allowed us to specify the phylogenetic position of the discovered cercariae: C. cattieni 1 falls within the superfamily Microphalloidea and is most closely grouped to Pachypsolus irroratus (Rudolphi, 1819) (Pachypsolidae), the sea turtle parasite. Information on the family Pachypsolidae is limited. Judging from the molecular phylogeny, C. cattieni 1 might be the larva of the Pachypsolidae, documented for the first time.
Changes in behaviour and cognition have been associated with latent infection from the apicomplexan protozoan Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) in both animal and human studies. Further, neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia have also been associated with latent toxoplasmosis. Previously, we found no association between T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibody (IgG) seropositivity and depression in human adults between the ages of 20 and 39 years (n = 1 846) in a sample representative of the United States collected by the Centers for Disease Control as part of a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from three datasets collected between 1999-2004. In the present study, we used NHANES data collected between 2009 and 2012 that included subjects aged 20 to 80 years (n = 5 487) and used the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) to assess depression with the overall aim of testing the stability of the results of the prior study. In the current study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii was 13%. The percentage of subjects reporting clinical levels of depression assessed with the PHQ-9 was 8%. As before, we found no association between T. gondii IgG seroprevalence and depression (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.81-1.25; p = 0.944) while controlling for sex, educational attainment, race-ethnicity, age, poverty-to-income ratio and cigarette smoking. We also found no positive associations between anti-T. gondii antibody titre and depression (OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.96-1.06; p = 0.868). Moreover, we found no association between T. gondii seroprevalence or antibody titre and suicidal ideation (seroprevalence: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = .85-1.75; p = 0.277, titre: OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.98-1.14; p = 0.177)., Defining depression to also include subjects currently taking antidepressant medication even with non-elevated questionnaires did not find evidence of a positive association between latent toxoplasmosis and depression. In the present study, neither T. gondii seroprevalence nor anti-T. gondii antibody titre was positively associated with depression or suicidal ideation among subjects aged 20 to 80 years., Shawn D. Gale, Andrew N. Berrett, Bruce Brown, Lance D. Erickson, Dawson W. Hedges., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) is an intracellular parasite that can cause ongoing latent infection persisting for the duration of a non-definitive host's life. Affecting approximately one-third of the world's population, latent toxoplasmosis has been associated with neuropsychological outcomes and a previous report suggested an association between latent toxoplasmosis and adult height. Given the large number of people with latent toxoplasmosis and its potential associations with human height, we sought to better understand the association between latent toxoplasmosis and human morphology by evaluating seropositivity for T. gondii and multiple body measures reported in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) and in the more recent continuous NHANES data sets from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for which data on T. gondii are available. In these analyses, latent toxoplasmosis was not associated with any of the body measures assessed in the NHANES datasets even after taking into account interactions between latent toxoplasmosis and testosterone suggesting that in these samples, latent toxoplasmosis is not associated with adult morphology including height., Andrew N. Berrett, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Bruce L. Brown, Dawson W. Hedges., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Specimens of the recently established European round goby (Neogobius melanostomus Pallas, 1811) and, tubenose goby (Proterorhinus marmoratus Pallas, 1811) were collected from different locations in the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair, USA and were examined for parasites. Parasites were observed in 76% of the round gobies and 35% of the tubenose gobies. Four species of parasites in the gobies occur in the Black Sea watershed. Two of them have been reported in North America for the first time: Sphaeromyxa sevastopoli Naidenova, 1970 and Ichthyocotylurus pileatus (Rudolphi, 1802). Three parasite species found in the gobies are endemic to North America and were most likely obtained locally.
Fleas infecting northern white-breasted hedgehogs, Erinaceus roumanicus (Barrett-Hamilton), collected from 2009-2011 in Budapest (Hungary) were studied. A total of 305 white-breasted hedgehogs were captured and 1,251 fleas were collected. The flea community comprised two species, the hedgehog flea Archaeopsylla erinacei (Bouche, 1835) and the dog flea Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis, 1826), although the latter was only found on three hedgehogs. Fleas were found on half of the host specimens (51%; n = 156) where their distribution was strongly aggregated. The sex ratio of A. erinacei was biased towards females and was correlated with host size. Interestingly, the sex ratio of fleas became more equal on heavier hosts. It had been expected that, under high competition, the sex ratio would be female biased because it is known that female ectoparasites dominate on poorer hosts. The body size of a random sample of 200 fleas (100 female and 100 male) was measured under a microscope. The analyses showed directional asymmetry in two features - the distance between the top of the head and the eye, and head length. In this two body traits the left side was significantly greater than right side in both sexes of A. erinacei. Our data shed light on the complex nature of the flea population infecting northern white-breasted hedgehogs in an urban area., Krzysztof Dudek, Gábor Földvári, Viktória Majláthová, Igor Majláth, Krisztina Rigó, Viktor Molnár, Mária Tóth, Łukasz Jankowiak, Piotr Tryjanowski., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Babesia caballi (Nuttal, 1910) is one of the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis which causes economic losses to horse industry in China. There is an urgent need for rapid detection method for B. caballi infection in Xinjiang Province, China. To prepare monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against Bc48 gene of B. caballi (Xinjiang local strains) and establish colloidal gold-immunochromatographic (ICT) assay for diagnosis of the disease, recombinant Bc48 was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli. With purified Bc48 as immunogen in mice, three hybridoma cells named 11F4, 1H2 and 7F4 secreting mAbs against Bc48 of B. caballi were obtained, which showed strong reaction with recombinant Bc48 and Bc48 gene transfected cells. Furthermore, colloidal gold labelled ICT assay based on purified Bc48 recombinant antigen and its mAb was developed. The ICT assay showed high sensitivity and specificity and no cross-reaction with Theileria equi (Laveran, 1901). Total of 56 horse serum samples collected from Xinjiang were tested by ICT and compared with the detection by commercial ELISA kit. The results showed that 32 out of 56 serum samples were positive by ICT and 33 were positive by ELISA. ICT assay had high coincidence (98%) to the reference ELISA kit. mAbs and ICT developed in this study could be provided as an efficient diagnosis tool for infection with B. caballi in horse in Xinjiang area., Panju Wang, Jingjing Song, Ruiqi Song, Mengyuan Zhang, Lijiang Wu, Fangxin Li, Yan Yan, Jiyong Zhou, Bayin Chahan, Min Liao., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In this paper, studies on zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) are reviewed that were performed during the last ten years largely by scientists of the Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine. New data on the taxonomy of Leishmania circulating in populations of Rhombomys opimus, their main host, and the results of field and laboratory studies allowed revision of certain concepts generally accepted in epidemiology and epizootology of ZCL in Central Asia.
Sonic booms or disruptive explosions cause differing response in wildlife. In May 2021, when missiles were fired at urban areas in Israel, we observed the responses of breeding common swifts (Apus apus). In both nests, the initial boom resulted in a startled awakening of the swifts. In one case, a parent engaged in displacement behaviour of feeding the young while in the second case a parent tried to clamber up the walls. Our data support earlier studies that although auditory booms are disruptive, they do not result in nest abandonment or nest failure.
A neotype is designated for Joryma brachysoma (Pillai, 1964). The general morphology and appendages of the female and male stages are illustrated and re-described based on the neotype and several additional fresh specimens collected from the type host Pellona brachysoma Bleeker (=Sardinella brachysoma Bleeker) from nearby the type locality. The present redescription and neotype designation further resolves the taxonomic ambiguity regarding the species identification and conserves the name of J. brachysoma.
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease resulting from infection with the apicomplexan Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908), one of the world's most common parasites in warm-blooded animals, including humans. Sources of infection can be exposed to infected cat faeces, mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, and notably, the consumption of undercooked contaminated meat of intermediate hosts. In Thailand, water buffaloes are highly valued for rice cultivation, traditional culture and meat production. Like several other mammalian species, these animals play a role as reservoirs of T. gondii, thus representing a threat to human health. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in swamp buffaloes was examined in southern and northeastern Thailand. In total, serum samples of 721 water buffaloes were collected from seven provinces (Ubon Ratchathani, Roi Et, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Buri Ram, Sakon Nakhon, and Songkhla) and examined for the presence of T. gondii infection using commercial latex agglutination test kits (TOXOCHECK-MT, Eiken Chemical Co., Tokyo, Japan). Of the 721 animals analysed, 49 (6.8%) were positive for T. gondii. Songkhla province had the highest seroprevalence (14.7%) among the seven provinces covered in this survey. There was a potential risk to local citizens of T. gondii infection identified by the present study, notably in northeastern Thailand, where despite lower seroprevalence consuming raw buffalo meat salad should be restricted to avoid the risk of zoonotic infections.