Modifikasi Larutan Buah Bit (Beta vulgaris l.) sebagai Alternatif Pengganti Zat Warna Eosin 2% pada Pemeriksaan Telur Cacing STH (Soil Transmitted Helminths)

Helminthiasis is one of the infections caused by parasites. World Health Organization (WHO) data in 2018 reported 24% of the world's population was infected by Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH). Worms of this group need soil to be in their infective stage. Eosin 2% is a stain used in the examination of worm eggs. Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is one of the plants widely used as a natural dye. Beetroot contains betacyanin which produces red pigment. This study aimed to identify the feasibility of beetroot as a substitute for eosin to stain worm eggs. This research was true experimental with a static group comparison design. The results showed that the concentration of beetroot solution proportional to the quality of 2% eosin is with a concentration of 95%. Beetroot solution produces color quality with a contrasting background so that the morphology of eggs can be clearly observed. Beetroot extract lasts for 7-day storage at cold temperature.

Influence of Low and High Temperatures on the Development of Haemonchus Contortus and Oesophagostomum Columbianum Larvae in Nigeria

EGGS of Haemonchus contortus and Oesophagostomum columbianum exposed to a constant temperature of 13.8°C at 100% relative humidity developed to the infective third stage larvae within 15 and 18 days respectively. Exposure of eggs for nine hours at 40.6°C and 100% relative humidity was lethal but development to the infective stage was achieved by culturing at 27°C after six hours of exposure at 400C and 100% relative humidity. The normal Nigerian temperature range of 13.8°C [lowest minimum for Obudu Cattle Ranch] to 40.6°C (maximum for Maiduguri) is therefore suitable for survival and development of these stronglyle eggs to the infective stages at any season in the country.

The Control of Zoonotic Soil-Transmitted Helminthoses Using Saprophytic Fungi

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are parasites transmitted through contact with soil contaminated with their infective eggs/larvae. People are infected by exposure to human-specific species or animal species (zoonotic agents). Fecal samples containing eggs of Ascaris suum or Lemurostrongylus sp. were sprayed with spores of the soil saprophytic filamentous fungi Clonostachys rosea (CR) and Trichoderma atrobrunneum (TA). The antagonistic effect was assessed by estimating the viability of eggs and their developmental rate. Compared to the controls (unexposed to fungi), the viability of the eggs of A. suum was halved in CR and decreased by two thirds in TA, while the viability of the eggs of Lemurostrongylus sp. was reduced by one quarter and one third in CR and TA treatments, respectively. The Soil Contamination Index (SCI), defined as the viable eggs that attained the infective stage, reached the highest percentages for A. suum in the controls after four weeks (66%), with 21% in CL and 11% in TA. For Lemurostrongylus sp., the values were 80%, 49%, and 41% for control, CR and TA treatments, respectively. We concluded that spreading spores of C. rosea or T. atrobrunneum directly onto the feces of animal species represents a sustainable approach under a One Health context to potentially reduce the risk of zoonotic STHs in humans.

Ecological plasticity of Echinococcus granulosus Batsch, 1786; Rud., 1801 eggs in the Mountainous Zone of Kabardino-Balkaria

The purpose of the research is to study the ecological plasticity of the eggs of Echinococcus granulosus in the mountainous zone of Kabardino-Balkaria. Materials and methods. In the conditions of biotopes in the foothill zone, we set up experiments to determine the timing of development of the eggs of E. granulosus Batsch, 1786; Rud., 1801. The experiments were carried out using fresh eggs washed from the uterus of the indicated cestode. Egg samples in the amount of 10–15 thousand put on the experimental site monthly from March to November. For this, the eggs of E. granulosus were placed in glass jars, which were then placed on the biological site. To determine the viability of infective elements, samples of soil, water, faeces, hay, silage, and compound feed with parasite eggs were taken daily. In each case, 100 eggs from these samples were examined under a microscope. The possibility of overwintering E. granulosus eggs was studied in the mountainous zone. At the end of November, eggs of E. granulosus were added to samples of soil, water, faeces, hay, silage, and compound feed and left during the winter until March of the next year in the external environment. At the end of the winter period, these samples were examined by ovoscopy methods. The data were processed statistically. Results and discussion. It has been established that the timing of reaching the infective stage by E. granulosus eggs in dog feces samples is in direct proportion to the ambient temperature. In March, at an average air temperature of 3.2 ºС, helminth eggs reach the infective stage in 27 days, in June and August – 7–9 days. In autumn, with a decrease in temperature, the maturation of the eggs of the parasite slows down. In September (20.6 ºС), the maturation of eggs to the infective stage was noted in 12 days, in November (8.0 ºС) – in 21 days. 28.0; 22.6; 37.4; 81.6; 74.2 and 92.6% of E. granulosus eggs, respectively in samples of soil, water, faeces, hay, silage and compound feed, retained their viability during the winter. On the distant pastures of Kabardino-Balkaria at an altitude of 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 m above sea level, 3.2–7.6 times more E. granulosus eggs overwinter in the body of terrestrial mollusks than in the soil, which confirms the fact of their active mechanical participation in the contamination of pastures with infective elements and in the implementation of the epizootic process.

Effect of different temperatures on survival and development of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (Railliet, 1898) larvae

Aim of the study was to get in-depth information on Aelurostrongylus abstrusus first-stage larvae (L1s) survival at different temperatures and to assess the capability of these larvae to develop into the third infective stage (L3s). Faeces of a naturally infected cat were split into two aliquots: the first was divided in subsamples assigned to four groups (F1–F4); from the second aliquot, L1s were extracted by Baermann technique, suspended in water and divided into four groups (W1–W4). Groups were stored at different temperatures (F1/W1 −20 ± 1°C; F2/W2 +4 ± 1°C; F3/W3 +14 ± 1°C; and F4/W4 +28 ± 1°C) and L1s vitality assessed every seven days. The capability of L1s stored in water to develop into L3s in snails was evaluated at the beginning and every 21 days. The L1s of W2 and F2 groups remained viable for a longer period (231 and 56 days, respectively) compared to those of other groups. The capability of L1s to moult into L3s in snails showed a decreasing trend; the group W2's L1s maintained the capability to moult into L3s for the longest time (day 189) compared to the other groups. The time of survival of A. abstrusus L1s is influenced by temperature. However, the species seems to be more resistant to temperature variations than other feline lungworms, and this may explain its wider distribution across Europe.

Larval spirurids in a supralittoral amphipod in the north-east of Russia and the identification of the intermediate host of Antechiniella septentrionalis (Spirurida: Acuariidae), parasitic in a tundra vole

The supralittoral amphipod Traskorchestia ditmari (Derzhavin, 1923) was identified as the intermediate host for Antechiniella septentrionalis Ivanova, Dokuchaev & Spiridonov, 2019, a parasite of the tundra vole Microtus oeconomus and Skrjabinocerca sp. (both Spirurida: Acuariidae) in Magadan Oblast in north-eastern Russia. Joint infection by both larval spirurids was not observed. The infective stage of A. septentrionalis was the encysted larvae, while larvae of Skrjabinocerca sp. were free in the amphipod's coelom. The identity of A. septentrionalis was confirmed using cox1 mtDNA gene analysis, performed on adult stages from a tundra vole and on larvae from amphipods. Possible transmission routes of A. septentrionalis are discussed.