scholarly journals Larval development of the cat lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in the tropical freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVA-MARIA ZOTTLER ◽  
MANUELA SCHNYDER

SUMMARYAelurostrongylus abstrususis a worldwide occurring lungworm affecting felids. This metastrongyloid nematode has an indirect lifecycle relying on slugs and snails as intermediate hosts. In the present study the development of first-stage (L1) to third-stage larvae (L3) in the tropical freshwater pulmonate snailBiomphalaria glabratawas assessed. A total of 306 snails were individually exposed to 300A. abstrususL1, which were obtained from a naturally infected stray cat. The species was confirmed by biomolecular analysis. Second stage larvae (L2) and L3 were first isolated by artificial digestion of snails in the second and fourth week post exposure (wpe), respectively. From 8 wpe onwards, all larvae had developed into L3. Snails remained infected for up to 26 wpe. Only 0.4% of the L1 had pursued their development into L3, indicating low suitability of this artificial intermediate host for production of infectiveA. abstrususL3.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Robbins ◽  
Gary Conboy ◽  
Spencer Greenwood ◽  
Roland Schaper

Abstract Background Metastrongyloid parasites Angiostrongylus vasorum and Crenosoma vulpis infect wild and domestic canids and are important pathogens in dogs. Recent studies indicate that gastropod intermediate hosts infected with various metastrongyloids spontaneously shed infective third-stage larvae (L3) into the environment via feces and mucus under laboratory conditions. Shed L3 retain motility up to 120 days, but whether they retain infectivity was unknown. Methods To assess the infectivity of shed L3, the heart/lungs of six red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were obtained from trappers in Newfoundland, Canada. Lungs were examined for first-stage larvae (L1) by the Baermann technique. A high number of viable A. vasorum L1 and a low number of C. vulpis L1 were recovered from one fox; these were used to infect naïve laboratory-raised Limax maximus. L3 recovered from slugs by artificial digestion were fed to two naïve purpose-bred research beagles (100 L3/dog). L1 shed by these two dogs was used to infect 546 L. maximus (2000–10,000 L1/slug). L3 shedding was induced by anesthetizing slugs in soda water and transferring them into warm (45 °C) tap water for at least 8 h. Shed L3 recovered from slugs were aliquoted on romaine lettuce in six-well tissue culture plates (80–500 L3/well) and stored at 16 °C/75% relative humidity. Four naïve research beagles were then exposed to 100 L3/dog from larvae stored for 0, 2, 4, or 8 weeks, respectively, after shedding. Results All four dogs began shedding C. vulpis L1 by 26–36 days post-infection (PI). All four dogs began shedding A. vasorum L1 by 50 days PI. Conclusions L3 infectivity for the definitive host was retained in both metastrongyloids, indicating the potential for natural infection in dogs through exposure from environmental contamination. As an additional exposure route, eating or licking plant or other material(s) contaminated with metastrongyloid L3 could dramatically increase the number of dogs at risk of infection from these parasites. Graphic Abstract


2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (1b) ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. M. S. Banevicius ◽  
E. M. Zanotti-Magalhães ◽  
L. A. Magalhães ◽  
A. X. Linhares

Some terrestrial mollusks are natural hosts of Angiostrongylus costaricensis. In the laboratory, this nematode can be maintained in certain planorbids, which are aquatic mollusks and intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni. Mollusks can be infected with Angiostrongylus costaricensis by ingestion of or active penetration by the first-stage larvae. In this work we assessed the ability of Biomphalaria glabrata to attract first-stage larvae of A. costaricensis. Movement of the nematode larvae towards the mollusks was observed after 15 min, 30 min and 1 h. B. glabrata did not attract the first-stage larvae of A. costaricensis in any of the three intervals. The susceptibility of two populations of Biomphalaria tenagophila to infection by A. costaricensis was also determined. One population was genetically selected for the susceptibility to S. mansoni while the other was not. Third-stage larvae were recovered from the snails 30 days after exposure of the two populations to 120 first-stage larvae. All the mollusks were infected. However, a significantly higher number of third-stage larvae were recovered in mollusks not genetically selected.


2014 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 755-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.R. Mozzer ◽  
A.L. Coaglio ◽  
R.M. Dracz ◽  
V.M.A Ribeiro ◽  
W.S. Lima

AbstractAngiostrongylus vasorum is a parasitic nematode that infects the heart and pulmonary artery and its branches of domestic and wild canids. The parasite can use several species of terrestrial and aquatic molluscs as intermediate hosts, although susceptibility varies. Pomacea canaliculata is a mollusc found in lakes, swamps and rivers in South America. In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility, parasite growth, oviposition and larval development of 282 P. canaliculata infected with 500 A. vasorum first-instar larvae (L1). From day 5 post-infection (pi) to day 30 pi, seven specimens per day were sacrificed to recover the larval instars. We compared 50 egg masses from infected and uninfected molluscs to determine the number of eggs per clutch, the hatching rate and the growth of the molluscs. The percentage of recovered larvae ranged from 39.17% to 67.5%. First-stage larvae (L1) were found until day 19 pi, second-stage larvae (L2) were found from days 11 to 25 pi, and third-stage larvae (L3) were recovered only after day 19 pi. Infected snails exhibited the most eggs during spawning, although the rate of hatching and shell size were lower in the infected snails compared with controls. This is the first report of an experimental infection of P. canaliculata with A. vasorum, and the results confirm the non-specificity of the nematode in relation to the intermediate host and indicate the importance of epidemiological surveys of this parasite and mollusc.


1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Kearney ◽  
Frederick F. Gilbert

Terrestrial gastropods were collected within the 1220-ha Himsworth Game Preserve in central Ontario during 1974 to determine their abundance and habitat preference. Collections from systematically arranged plots occurred 23 May to 4 June, 6 July to 14 July, and 26 August to 5 September. In all 16 498 gastropods were collected; 4351, in the first, 5622 in the second, and 6525 in the third collection period. Sixteen species were represented with Discus cronkhitei and Zonitoides arboreus accounting for 69.3% of the specimens. Deroceras laeve and Pallifera dorsalis were the most common slugs. Gastropods (excluding slugs) showed a significant preference for mixed forest and a significant aversion to open habitat types during all collection periods. Slugs were significantly less abundant in mixed forest and more abundant in open habitat types during the third collection period.Eight of the 16 species collected (80.1% of the specimens) have previously been identified as intermediate hosts of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis. However, only 19 third-stage larvae of P. tenuis were obtained from the 16450 gastropods digested in pepsin. It is proposed that Zonitoides arboreus in association with Betula papyrifera may be important components in the transmission of P. tenuis to cervids on the Himsworth Game Preserve.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e4171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Euan R.O. Allan ◽  
Michael S. Blouin

Schistosomiasis is a detrimental neglected tropical disease that is transmitted by Planorbid snails. Understanding the transmission and control of this disease requires an extensive understanding of these intermediate hosts, which is only achieved by the effective rearing and study of species such asBiomphalaria glabrata. This species is the intermediate host forSchistosoma mansoniin the New World, and is also the main model for studying schistosomes in mollusks. Antibiotics are used routinely inB. glabratatissue culture, and occasionally on live snails. Here we show that standard doses of three common antibiotics (penicillin, streptomycin and gentamicin) drastically diminish the activity of healthyB. glabrata, but that treated snails recover rapidly when placed in fresh water. Ampicillin treated snails did not show altered activity. We suggest that researchers keep these apparent toxicities in mind if a need for antibiotic treatment of live Planorbid snails arises.


Author(s):  
Rafael Lucyk MAURER ◽  
Carlos GRAEFF-TEIXEIRA ◽  
José Willibaldo THOMÉ ◽  
Luís Antônio CHIARADIA ◽  
Hiroko SUGAYA ◽  
...  

Angiostrongylus costaricensis is a nematode parasitic of rodents. Man may become infected by ingestion of the third stage larvae produced within the intermediate hosts, usually slugs from the family Veronicellidae. An epidemiological study carried out in a locality in southern Brazil (western Santa Catarina State) where these slugs are a crop pest and an important vector for A. costaricensis has documented for the first time the natural infection of Deroceras laeve with metastrongylid larvae. This small limacid slug is frequently found amid the folds of vegetable leaves and may be inadvertently ingested. Therefore D. laeve may have an important role in transmission of A. costaricensis to man.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. McCarthy

The potential influence of second intermediate host species on the infectivity of metacercarial cysts of Echinoparyphium recurvatum to the definitive host Anas platyrhynchos was examined experimentally. Echinoparyphium recurvatum metacercarial cysts were obtained from the following experimentally infected second intermediate hosts 14 days post expsoure to cercariae: Lymnaea peregra; Physa fontinalis; L. stagnalis;Planorbis planorbis; Biomphalaria glabrata; tadpoles of the amphibian Rana temporaria. Metacercarial cysts from each of these hosts were fed, in doses of 50 cysts per individual, to separate groups composed of between four and eight, 3-day-old A. platyrhynchos ducklings. All A. platyrhynchos were necropsied 15 days post-infection and the number, size, and reproductive status of E. recurvatum worms in the intestine was recorded. Analyses of variance on the number (transformed log (x + 1)) and size of worms revealed no significant differences in worms originating from metacercariae formed in the different second intermediate hosts (worm number P > 0.05, and worm size P > 0.05). All worms recovered were found to be gravid. It is therefore concluded that the species of second intermediate host utilized does not influence the infectivity of the metacercarial cyst of E. recurvatum, nor the subsequent establishment and reproductive status of the parasite in A. platyrhynchos.


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