Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum) as a Cause of Asymptomatic Liver Mass

Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum) is a parasitic nematode of rodents, rarely infecting humans. An asymptomatic Israeli adult male with extensive travel history was diagnosed with a liver mass on routine post-thymectomy follow-up. Imaging and computer tomography (CT) guided biopsy were inconclusive. Surgical excision revealed an eosinophilic granuloma with fragments of a nematode suspected to be C. hepatica. Molecular methods verified the diagnosis, and the patient was treated empirically. This is the first case of hepatic capillariasis described in Israel, and the first to be diagnosed using molecular methods.

Enzootic Hepatic Capillariasis (Calodium hepaticum) in Street Rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Marseille City, France

Hepatic capillariasis is a rare and neglected zoonosis affecting wild and synanthropic small rodents. It is caused by infection with Calodium hepaticum in liver. Despite the worldwide distribution of the host Rattus norvegicus (brown or street rats) in the urban area, the epidemiological status of this parasitosis remains unknown. In the present study, we examined a total of 27 brown rats from the city centre and a garden (four km from the city centre) of Marseille, France. All rats were autopsied and 52% showed the presence of C. hepaticum eggs in the liver. This result draws general attention to public health risks, since street rats are living near the human population.

HELMINTHS OF WOLF IN THE VORONEZH RESERVE AND ADJACENT TERRITORIES

The wolf is the largest predatory mammal in the Central Black Soil region of Russia. The close trophic relationships of the wolf with wild ungulates and other animals play an important role in the formation of the modern predator helminth fauna. Helminthological materials from the wolf have been collected in the Voronezh Reserve and in adjacent natural areas for a long-term period (1981–2018). The modern fauna of the helminths of the wolf of the Voronezh Reserve contains 16 species. The main taxonomic groups of helminths (trematodes, cestodes, and nematodes) in the wolf are represented unevenly. The maximum number of helminth species is registered among nematodes – 12 species (Aonchothe caputorii, Eucoleus aerophilus, E. boehmi, Pearsonema plica, Calodium hepaticum, Trichinella nativa, Toxocara canis, Toxaskaris leonina, Uncinaria stenocephala, Crenosoma vulpis, Molineus patens, Dirofilaria repens). We have identified three species of cestodes (Dypilidium caninum, Taenia hydatigena, T. krabbei) and one species of trematodes (Alaria alata). The highest infection rates were registered for A. alata: the extensiveness of invasion (EI) is 92.3%, the intensity of invasion is 149.7 specimens, an abundance index is 138.2 specimens. High rates of wolf invasion by certain nematode species were revealed: E. boehmi (69.2%); P. plica (46.2%); E. aerophilus (38.5%); C. hepaticum (15.4%) and nematode T. nativa (27.9%). More than ten species of helminths of the wolf are of significant epidemiological and epizootological importance for this area.