scholarly journals New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) myiasis in feral swine of Uruguay: One Health and transboundary disease implications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martín Altuna ◽  
Paul V. Hickner ◽  
Gustavo Castro ◽  
Santiago Mirazo ◽  
Adalberto A. Pérez de León ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundFeral swine (Sus scrofa) are highly invasive and threaten animal and public health in the Americas. New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is listed by the World Organization for Animal Health as a notifiable infestation because myasis cases affect livestock, wildlife, and humans in endemic areas, and outbreaks can be of high socioeconomic consequence in regions where screwworm was eradicated. However, a knowledge gap exists on screwworm infestation of feral swine in South America where C. hominivorax is endemic. Here, we report infestation with C. hominivorax in feral swine harvested in the Department of Artigas where the Republic of Uruguay shares borders with Brazil and Argentina. MethodsMyiasis caused by the larvae of C. hominivorax were identified in feral swine with the support and collaboration of a local feral swine hunting club over a three-year period in the Artigas Department of Uruguay. Harvested feral swine were examined for the presence of lesions where maggots causing the myiasis could be sampled and processed for taxonomic identification. The sites of myiasis on the body of infested feral swine and geospatial data for each case were recorded. Feral swine sex and relative size were registered along with ambient temperature and precipitation.ResultsMyiases caused by screwworms were recorded in 27 of 618 feral swine harvested. Cases detected in males over 40 kg were associated with wounds that, because of their location, were likely caused by aggressive dominance behavior between adult males. The overall prevalence of screwworm infestation in feral swine was associated with ambient temperature, but not precipitation. Case numbers peaked in the warmer spring and summer months. ConclusionThis is the first report for South America of myasis caused by C. hominivorax in feral swine. In contrast to myasis in cattle that can reach deep into host tissues, screwworms in feral swine tended to cause superficial infestation. Feral swine present challenges to control screwworms in endemic areas. Screwworm populations maintained by feral swine may contribute to human cases in rural areas of Uruguay, which highlights the One Health importance of this invasive species-ectoparasite interaction.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martín Altuna ◽  
Paul V. Hickner ◽  
Gustavo Castro ◽  
Santiago Mirazo ◽  
Adalberto A. Pérez de León ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are highly invasive and threaten animal and public health in the Americas. Screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is listed by the World Organization for Animal Health as a notifiable infestation because myasis cases affect livestock, wildlife, and humans in endemic areas, and outbreaks can be of high socioeconomic consequence in regions where screwworm was eradicated. However, a knowledge gap exists on screwworm infestation of feral swine in South America, where screwworm is endemic. Here, we report infestation with screwworm in feral swine harvested in the Department of Artigas, where the Republic of Uruguay shares borders with Brazil and Argentina. Methods: Myiasis caused by the larvae of screwworm were identified in feral swine with the support and collaboration of a local feral swine hunting club over a three-year period in the Artigas Department of Uruguay. Harvested feral swine were examined for the presence of lesions where maggots causing the myiasis could be sampled and processed for taxonomic identification. The sites of myiasis on the body of infested feral swine and geospatial data for each case were recorded. Feral swine sex and relative size were recorded. Temperature and precipitation for the region were obtained from public sources.Results: Myiases caused by screwworms were recorded in 27 of 618 feral swine harvested. Cases detected in males over 40 kg were associated with wounds that, because of their location, were likely caused by aggressive dominance behavior between adult males. The overall prevalence of screwworm infestation in feral swine was associated with ambient temperature, but not precipitation. Case numbers peaked in the warmer spring and summer months. Conclusions: This is the first report for South America of myasis caused by screwworm in feral swine. In contrast to myasis in cattle that can reach deep into host tissues, screwworms in feral swine tended to cause superficial infestation. The presence of feral swine is a challenge to control screwworms in endemic areas. Screwworm populations maintained by feral swine may contribute to human cases in rural areas of Uruguay, which highlights the One Health importance of this invasive host species-ectoparasite interaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martín Altuna ◽  
Paul V. Hickner ◽  
Gustavo Castro ◽  
Santiago Mirazo ◽  
Adalberto A. Pérez de León ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are highly invasive and threaten animal and human health in the Americas. The screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is listed by the World Organization for Animal Health as a notifiable infestation because myiasis cases affect livestock, wildlife, and humans in endemic areas, and outbreaks can have major socioeconomic consequences in regions where the screwworm has been eradicated. However, a knowledge gap exists on screwworm infestation of feral swine in South America, where the screwworm is endemic. Here, we report screwworm infestation of feral swine harvested in Artigas Department (Uruguay), where the Republic of Uruguay shares borders with Brazil and Argentina. Methods Myiasis caused by the larvae of screwworm were identified in feral swine with the support and collaboration of members of a local feral swine hunting club over a 3-year period in the Department of Artigas. Harvested feral swine were examined for the presence of lesions where maggots causing the myiasis could be sampled and processed for taxonomic identification. The sites of myiasis on the body of infested feral swine and geospatial data for each case were recorded. The sex and relative size of each feral swine were also recorded. Temperature and precipitation profiles for the region were obtained from public sources. Results Myiases caused by screwworms were recorded in 27 of 618 the feral swine harvested. Cases detected in males weighing > 40 kg were associated with wounds that, due to their location, were likely caused by aggressive dominance behavior between adult males. The overall prevalence of screwworm infestation in the harvested feral swine was associated with ambient temperature, but not precipitation. Case numbers peaked in the warmer spring and summer months. Conclusions This is the first report on myiasis in feral swine caused by screwworm in South America. In contrast to myiasis in cattle, which can reach deep into host tissues, screwworms in feral swine tended to cause superficial infestation. The presence of feral swine in screwworm endemic areas represents a challenge to screwworm management in those areas. Screwworm populations maintained by feral swine may contribute to human cases in rural areas of Uruguay, which highlights the importance of the One Health approach to the study of this invasive host species–ectoparasite interaction.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo López-Aguirre ◽  
Nicholas J Czaplewski ◽  
Andrés Link ◽  
Masanaru Takai ◽  
Suzanne J Hand

AbstractThe middle Miocene La Venta bat fauna is the most diverse bat palaeocommunity in South America, with at least 14 species recorded. They include the oldest plant-visiting bat in the New World, and some of the earliest representatives of the extant families Phyllostomidae, Thyropteridae and Noctilionidae. La Venta’s Notonycteris magdalenensis is an extinct member of the subfamily Phyllostominae, a group of modern Neotropical animalivorous and omnivorous bats, and is commonly included in studies of the evolution of Neotropical bats, but aspects of its biology remain unclear. In this study, we used a multivariate dental topography analysis (DTA) to reconstruct the likely diet of N. magdalenensis by quantitatively comparing measures of molar complexity with that of 25 modern phyllostomid and noctilionid species representing all major dietary habits in bats. We found clear differences in molar complexity between dietary guilds, indicating that DTA is potentially an informative tool to study bat ecomorphology. Our results suggest N. magdalenensis was probably an omnivore or insectivore, rather than a carnivore like its modern relatives Chrotopterus auritus and Vampryum spectrum. Also, we reconstructed the body mass of N. magdalenensis to be ∼50 g, which is larger than most insectivorous bats, but smaller than most carnivorous bats. Our results confirm that Notonycteris magdalenensis was probably not a specialised carnivore. It remains to be demonstrated that the specialised carnivory ecological niche was occupied by the same lineage of phyllostomines from at least the middle Miocene. Combining our diet and body mass reconstructions, we suggest that N. magdalenensis exhibits morphological pre-adaptations crucial for the evolution of specialised carnivory.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 958-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria I Meurer ◽  
Liliane J Grando ◽  
Elena RC Rivero ◽  
Carlos ECP Souza ◽  
Carlos B Marcondes

ABSTRACT Introduction The aim of this article is to present a rare case of myiasis caused by Dermatobia hominis. Myiasis is a disease caused by invasion of tissues of animals and humans by larval stages of dipterous (2-winged) flies. There are few reports of oral myiasis in the literature, mostly related to Cochliomyia hominivorax larvae. We present a case of a 53-year-old man with painful swelling of the left lower lip that was confirmed to be myiasis caused by D. hominis. Though more common in tropical and subtropical regions of North and South America, myiasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of subcutaneous masses among residents or travelers in endemic areas. How to cite this article Meurer MI, Grando LJ, Rivero ERC, Souza CECP, Marcondes CB. A Rare Case of Labial Myiasis caused by Dermatobia hominis. J Contemp Dent Pract 2016;17(11):958-961.


Author(s):  
Rinkal Sundriyal Aarti Adhikari ◽  
Siddharth Chaudhary

With increase in the prevalence of diseases mainly the new emerging diseases, finding a cure is like dodging a bullet. Not only this, but the new world also has to fight against emerging drug resistance among pathogens. Overall, the possibility of survival not only depends on combating the diseases by using expensive resources but it now relies more on immunity building. This fact is applicable in the livestock sector as well. The farmer's economy mainly depends upon the production performance of his livestocks. Also, maximum part of his earnings spends on the feed, fodder, feed additives and other production enhancing drugs. But a single sick animal can disturb the entire planning of a small farmer. Hence the main objective of this article is to focus on the herbal ways that could help in the immunomodulation of livestock and thus conserving both time and money of the farmers. Many villagers of India use their heritage and knowledge to defeat the diseases and enhance the productivity of their livestock. On other side, Panchgavya came like a missile against the body ailments of humans. Research product of algae and their use as immunomodulators and production enhancers is now available as a boon in the market. But still there is a lot to search. Overall, relying totally on the drugs for relief, creates loss both in terms of animal health, productivity and farmer's economy. So, prevention via immunomodulators is the best weapon to make our animals healthy and to be wealthy.


BMC Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Concha ◽  
Ying Yan ◽  
Alex Arp ◽  
Evelin Quilarque ◽  
Agustin Sagel ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The New World Screwworm fly (NWS), Cochliomyia hominivorax, is an ectoparasite of warm-blooded animals and a major pest of livestock in parts of South America and the Caribbean where it remains endemic. In North and Central America it was eradicated using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). A control program is managed cooperatively between the governments of the United States and Panama to prevent the northward spread of NWS from infested countries in South America. This is accomplished by maintaining a permanent barrier through the release of millions of sterile male and female flies in the border between Panama and Colombia. Our research team demonstrated the utility of biotechnology-enhanced approaches for SIT by developing a male-only strain of the NWS. The strain carried a single component tetracycline repressible female lethal system where females died at late larval/pupal stages. The control program can be further improved by removing females during embryonic development as larval diet costs are significant. Results The strains developed carry a two-component system consisting of the Lucilia sericata bottleneck gene promoter driving expression of the tTA gene and a tTA-regulated Lshid proapoptotic effector gene. Insertion of the sex-specifically spliced intron from the C. hominivorax transformer gene within the Lshid gene ensures that only females die when insects are reared in the absence of tetracycline. In several double homozygous two-component strains and in one “All-in-one” strain that had both components in a single construct, female lethality occurred at the embryonic and/or first instar larval stages when raised on diet without tetracycline. Laboratory evaluation for phenotypes that are relevant for mass rearing in a production facility revealed that most strains had fitness characteristics similar to the wild type J06 strain that is currently reared for release in the permanent barrier. Testing of an “All in one” strain under mass rearing conditions showed that the strain maintained the fitness characteristics observed in small-scale rearing. Conclusions The early female lethal strains described here could be selected by the NWS Control Program for testing at large scale in the production facility to enhance the efficiency of the NWS eradication program.


Paleobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Camilo López-Aguirre ◽  
Nicholas J. Czaplewski ◽  
Andrés Link ◽  
Masanaru Takai ◽  
Suzanne J. Hand

Abstract With 14 species recorded, the Miocene La Venta bat fauna is the most diverse bat paleocommunity in South America. It includes the oldest plant-visiting bat in the New World and some of the earliest representatives of the extant families Phyllostomidae, Thyropteridae, and Noctilionidae. La Venta's Notonycteris magdalenensis is an extinct member of the subfamily Phyllostominae, a group of modern Neotropical animalivorous bats, and is commonly included in studies of the evolution of Neotropical bats, but aspects of its biology remain unclear. In this study, we used multivariate dental topography analysis (DTA) to reconstruct the diet of N. magdalenensis by quantitatively comparing measures of molar complexity with those of 25 modern noctilionoid species representing all major dietary habits in bats. We found clear differences in molar complexity between dietary guilds, indicating that DTA is potentially an informative tool to study bat ecomorphology. Our results suggest N. magdalenensis was probably an omnivore or insectivore, rather than a carnivore like its modern relatives Chrotopterus auritus and Vampyrum spectrum. Also, we reconstructed the body mass of N. magdalenensis to be ~95 g, larger than most insectivorous bats, but smaller than the largest carnivorous bat (V. spectrum). Our results confirm that N. magdalenensis was not a specialized carnivore. It remains to be demonstrated that the specialized carnivory ecological niche was occupied by the same lineage of phyllostomines from at least the middle Miocene. Combining our diet and body-mass reconstructions, we suggest that N. magdalenensis exhibits morphological pre-adaptations crucial for the evolution of specialized carnivory.


Author(s):  
Andrea Springer ◽  
Antje Glass ◽  
Julia Probst ◽  
Christina Strube

AbstractAround the world, human health and animal health are closely linked in terms of the One Health concept by ticks acting as vectors for zoonotic pathogens. Animals do not only maintain tick cycles but can either be clinically affected by the same tick-borne pathogens as humans and/or play a role as reservoirs or sentinel pathogen hosts. However, the relevance of different tick-borne diseases (TBDs) may vary in human vs. veterinary medicine, which is consequently reflected by the availability of human vs. veterinary diagnostic tests. Yet, as TBDs gain importance in both fields and rare zoonotic pathogens, such as Babesia spp., are increasingly identified as causes of human disease, a One Health approach regarding development of new diagnostic tools may lead to synergistic benefits. This review gives an overview on zoonotic protozoan, bacterial and viral tick-borne pathogens worldwide, discusses commonly used diagnostic techniques for TBDs, and compares commercial availability of diagnostic tests for humans vs. domestic animals, using Germany as an example, with the aim of highlighting existing gaps and opportunities for collaboration in a One Health framework.


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