scholarly journals Review of experimental and natural invertebrate hosts of sealworm (Pseudoterranova decipiens) and its distribution and abundance in macroinvertebrates in eastern Canada

2001 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J Marcogliese

Experimental and natural invertebrate intermediate hosts of sealworm (Pseudoterranova decipiens) as well as transmission experiments of sealworm from invertebrates to fish are reviewed and summarized. Experimental hosts include copepods, mysids, cumaceans, isopods, amphipods, decapods, annelids, and molluscs. Invertebrates collected from eastern Canada between 1989 and 1995 were checked for nematode infections by microscopic examination of dissected animals or enzymatic digestion of bulk samples. Third-stage larval sealworm were found in mysids (Neomysis americana, Mysis stenolepis) from Passamaquoddy Bay, the Bras d’Or Lakes, inshore Cape Breton, Sable Island and Sable Island Bank. Infected amphipods (Amphiporeia virginiana, Americorchestia megalophthalma, Gammarus spp.) were found only on Sable Island. Typical infection rates in macroinvertebrates were 1-4/1000. No sealworm infections were found in approximately 18,000 amphipods examined from Sable Island Bank, the site of the most heavily infected fishes in eastern Canada. In Wallace Lake, a brackish pond on Sable Island, infection rates were much higher in mysids than in amphipods. Estimates of rates of transmission of sealworm from invertebrates to fish were derived from infection levels in Wallace Lake and feeding experiments involving sticklebacks and invertebrate prey. It is concluded that mysids may be much more important than amphipods in transmitting sealworm to fish hosts.

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 2212-2222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena N. Measures

In Guelph Lake, a man-made reservoir in Ontario, Canada, prevalence of larval Eustrongylides tubifex in pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens) was 12.9% and mean intensity ranged from 1 to 1.8. Larvae were encapsulated on the mesentery of fish. Pumpkinseed and yellow perch were the important fish hosts in Guelph Lake as most larvae in these fish were alive. In contrast, 40% of larvae in rock bass were dead and calcified. Third- and fourth-stage larvae from naturally infected fish are described. Larvae in the three species of fish elicited a granulomatous inflammatory reaction. Attempts to transfer third-stage larvae from experimentally infected oligochaetes and third-stage larvae from naturally infected fish to laboratory-reared pumpkinseed were unsuccessful. Fourth-stage larvae from naturally infected fish were transferred successfully to pumpkinseed. Eutropic lakes such as Guelph Lake are particularly suitable enzootic areas because of the abundant populations of tubificid intermediate hosts and the presence of fish hosts such as pumpkinseed and perch. The advanced stage and development of larvae (to the fourth stage) in fish likely represents an adaptation for a parasite that occurs in a migratory host such as Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser), which frequent Guelph Lake for only about 1 month in spring and fall.


1995 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Scholz ◽  
M.C.F. Pech-Ek ◽  
R. Rodriguez-Canul

AbstractField study on the biology of Crassicutis cichlasomae Manter, 1936 (Digenea: Homalometridae) was carried out in a small swamp in a limestone factory near Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. Aquatic snails, Littorina (Littoridinopsis) angulifera, harbouring C. cichlasomae rediae, cercariae and metacercariae, served both as the first and second intermediate hosts. Feeding experiments confirmed the conspecificity of metacercariae from naturally infected snails with adults from naturally infected fish. Gravid C. cichlasomae worms were obtained from experimentally infected fish 19 days post exposure at 22–24°C. Examination of fish from the swamp in Mitza and other localities in the Yucatan Peninsula showed that the cichlids Cichlasoma urophthalmus and C. meeki were definitive hosts of C. cichlasomae. There was no pronounced preference of C. cichlasomae adults for the site of their location in the intestine of the definitive host; a slightly higher proportion (41%) of worms was only found in the anterior third of the gut. The time of miracidium development varied from 18.5 to 27.5 days; different temperature (20.1–35.7°C) or light/darkness regimes influenced only slightly the rate of embryonic development, with shorter development times at higher temperature (34.8–35.7°C) and constant darkness and/or light. With the exception of the sporocyst, all developmental stages are described and figured.


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


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.


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.


Parasitology ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona A. Donnelly ◽  
C. C. Appleton

Cercarial transmission of Schistosoma mansoni and S. mattheei was monitored in two small rivers near Durban, South Africa. The seasonal patterns recorded corresponded to those already documented for these parasites. Tn the case of S. mansoni, however, this was interrupted at the height of the transmission season. The reason for this was believed to be very low oxygen concentrations in the snail habitat due to unusually extensive growth of the plant Ludwigia stolonifera over the water. The failure of the spring rains, which would normally have flushed the system is seen as contributing to this phenomenon. Infection rates in the snail intermediate hosts were low ( > 10%). A preponderance of male worms of both schistosome species was noted.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Scholz

The life cycles of species of Proteocephalus Weinland, 1858 (Cestoda: Proteocephalidea) parasitizing fishes in the Palearctic Region are reviewed on the basis of literary data and personal experimental observations, with special attention being paid to the development within the intermediate and definitive hosts. Planktonic crustaceans, diaptomid or cyclopid copepods (Copepoda), serve as the only intermediate hosts of all Proteocephalus species considered. A metacestode, or procercoid, develops in the body cavity of these planktonic crustaceans and the definitive host, a fish, becomes infected directly after consuming them. No previous reports of the parenteral location of metacestodes within the second intermediate host as it is in the Nearctic species P. ambloplitis have been recorded. Thus, the life cycles of Proteocephalus tapeworms resemble in their general patterns those of some pseudophyllidean cestodes such as Eubothrium or Bothriocephalus, differing from the latter in the presence of a floating eggs instead of possessing an operculate egg from which a ciliated, freely swimming larva, a coracidium, is liberated. The scolex of Proteocephalus is already formed at the stage of the procercoid within the copepod intermediate host; in this feature, proteocephalideans resemble caryophyllidean rather than pseudophyllidean cestodes. The morphology of procercoids of individual species is described with respect to the possibility of their differentiation and data on the spectrum of intermediate hosts are summarized. Procercoids of most taxa have a cercomer, which does not contain embryonic hooks in contrast to most pseudophyllidean cestodes. The role of invertebrates (alder-fly larvae — Megaloptera) and small prey fishes feeding upon plankton in the transmission of Proteocephalus tapeworms still remains unclear but these hosts are likely to occur in the life cycle. Data on the establishment of procercoids in definitive hosts, morphogenesis of tapeworms within fish hosts, and the length of the prepatent period are still scarce and new observations are needed. Whereas extensive information exists on the development of P. longicollis (syns. P. exiguus and P. neglectus), almost no data are available on the ontogeny of other taxa, in particular those occurring in brackish waters (P. gobiorum, P. tetrastomus). The morphology of P. cernuae and P. osculatus procercoids from experimentally infected intermediate hosts is described for the first time.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Wharton ◽  
O. Aalders

AbstractAnisakis third stage larvae utilize a variety of fish as intermediate hosts. Uncooked fish are rendered safe for human consumption by freezing. Larvae freeze by inoculative freezing from the surrounding medium but can survive freezing at temperatures down to -10°C. This ability may be aided by the production of trehalose, which can act as a cryoprotectant, but does not involve recrystallization inhibition. Monitoring of fish freezing in commercial blast freezers and under conditions which simulate those of a domestic freezer, indicate that it can take a long time for all parts of the fish to reach a temperature that will kill the larvae. This, and the moderate freezing tolerance of larvae, emphasizes the need for fish to be frozen at a low enough temperature and for a sufficient time to ensure that fish are safe for consumption.


1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Marcogliese

Amphipods (Gammarus oceanicus) and mysids (Neomysis americana) were collected from three brackish ponds on Sable Island, 290 km east of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Thirteen nematodes were recovered from 3950 mysids subjected to enzymatic digestion. Four of the nematodes were identified as larval sealworm (Pseudoterranova decipiens). The remaining nematodes belong to two species: Paracuaria adunca and Cosmocephalus obvelatus (Acuarioidea). This is the first record of N. americana as an intermediate host for P. decipiens. It is also the first report of a mysid as intermediate host for either of the acuarioid nematodes and the first evidence of these two nematodes undergoing part of their life cycles in brackish or marine conditions. No nematodes were observed in 2364 amphipods or 1462 mysids examined microscopically, but unidentified metacercariae were found in 1.9% of the amphipods.


1955 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Mackerras ◽  
DF Sandars

Adult Angiostrongylus cantonensis live in the pulmonary arteries. Unsegmented ova are discharged into the blood stream, and lodge as emboli in the smaller vessels. First-stage larvae break through into the respiratory tract, migrate up the trachea, and eventually pass out of the body in the faeces. Slugs (Agriolimax laevis) act as intermediate hosts. Two moults occur in the slug, and third-stage larvae appear about the 17th day. The larvae remain within the two cast skins until freed in the stomach of the rat by digestion. They then pass quickly along the small intestine as far as the lower ileum, where they leave the gut and become blood-borne. They congregate in the central nervous system, and have been found there 17 hr after ingestion. The anterior portion of the cerebrum is the most favoured site, and here the third moult takes place on the sixth or seventh day and the final one between the 11th and 13th days. Young adults emerge on the surface of the brain from the 12th to 14th day, and spend the next 2 weeks in the subarachnoid space. From the 28th to 31st days they migrate to the lungs via the venous system, passing through the right side of the heart to their definitive site in the pulmonary arteries. The prepatent period in the rat usually lies between 42 and 45 days.


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