HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:59-66, 2002

Immune responses in mice immunized with Toxocara canis antigens

E. Dvoroznakova, Z. Boroskova, O. Tomasovicova

Immune responses of mice immunized with excretory-sec-retory (ES) and somatic (S) antigens of Toxocara canis were compared. Both ES and S antigens were administered in two doses with incomplete Freund’s adjuvant and sub-sequently mice were exposed to infection with 1000 T. ca-nis eggs. The proliferative response of spleen T- and B-lymfocytes, the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, the concentrations of cytokines IFN-g, IL-5 and dynamics of anti-Toxocara antibodies were detected. In comparison with infected mice, only the immunization with ES antigen increased the proliferative activity of T- and B- cells and delayed the reduction of splenic CD4+ T- helper cells. In contrast, immunization with S antigen indu-ced a shorter, but more intensive, proliferation of T- and B- cells and decreased number of CD4+ T cells was restored back to the physiological values. Immunization with either ES or S antigen markedly enhanced the numbers of cyto-toxic CD8+ T- cells. In comparison with S antigen, ES an-tigen induced less of CD8+ T- cells during the entire expe-riment. The immunization with both antigens and subse-quent infection induced a predominant Th2 response with-in the first two weeks of the experiment. Later, the ES anti-gen has switched type of response to a Th1. In comparison with ES antigen, S antigen induced generally higher quan-tities of antigen specific antibodies (IgM and IgG₁). The protective effect of immunization with ES antigen was 52.1 % in brain and 29.0 % in muscles. Immunization with S antigen resulted in a 44.2 % reduction of larvae in brain and 16.0 % in muscles. The results suggest that immunization with ES antigen accelerated the cell mediated immune responses and en-hanced the ability of immunocompetent cells to reduce the number (48.5 %) of Toxocara larvae as early as in the first two weeks after infection. In contrast, immunization with S antigen increased the specific antibody response, but its positive effect on cellular immunity was shorter and a significant reduction in the number of migrating larvae was detected only in brain. In contrast with S antigen, ES anti-gen appears to be more immunogenic and present the more efficient way to protect against larval toxocarosis.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:67-70, 2002

Control of fascioloidosis (Fascioloides magna Bassi, 1875) in red and roe deer

D. Rajsky, J. Corba¹, M. Varady¹, M. Spakulova¹, R. Cabadaj²

Regional Veterinary and Food Administration, 929 01 Dunajská Streda, Slovak Republic; ¹Parasitological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01 Košice, Slovak Republic; ²University of Veterinary Medicine, 041 81 Košice, Slovak Republic; E-mail: corba@saske.sk

Summary

The efficacy of rafoxanide in doses of 15 mg.kg^-1 (Rafendazol premix) applied in medicated food was studied in red deer and roe deer naturally infected with the giant liver fluke Fascioloides magna. The assessment was based on necropsy findings in livers of hunted animals. During the six-year period (1996-2001) application of medicated food containing rafoxanide reduced the mean number of living flukes in livers of red deers from an average of 76.4 (max. in 1995 before treatment) to an average of 2.2 flukes in the year 2001. The successful treatment was associated with improved body condition of infected animals. In roe deer, due to the small number of hunted animals, the results were notsignificant. Since the rapid spread of fascioloidosis in wild ruminants in countries bordering the river Danube, a new coordinated approach is required for control of this imported helminth disease.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:71-75, 2002

Dicrocoelium dendriticum infection in sheep: faecal egg count, gall bladder egg count, gall bladder fluke count, total fluke count

S. Rehbein, T. Lindner¹, S. Kokott²

Merial GmbH, Kathrinenhof Research Center, Walchenseestr. 8-12, 83 101 Rohrdorf, Germany, E-mail: steffen.rehbein@merial.com; ¹Institute of Parasitology, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; ²Chair of Animal Hygiene, Technical University Munich, Weihenstephaner Berg 3, 85354 Freising (Weihenstephan), Germany

Summary

The relationship between faecal egg, gall bladder egg, gall bladder fluke counts and number of Dicrocoelium dendriticum was examined in naturally infected 59 lambs and 51 ewes. Faeces were collected once at slaughter for egg counting using a modified McMaster method and sedimentation technique. The flukes isolated from gall bladder and liver were counted. Correlations between faecal egg and total fluke counts (r = 0.5971; P < 0.01), gall bladder egg and total fluke counts (r = 0.3634; P < 0.01) and gall bladder fluke and total fluke counts (r = 0.5795; P < 0.01) were demonstrated by Spearman’s correlation coefficient. However, reliable linear regression equations could not be established for all relations and each age class of sheep. This may be due to the variability of the egg output caused by discontinous emptying of the bile into the intestine, due to the detection limit of the counting techniques, and factors like host age.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:77-85, 2002

Vertical transport of Ascaris suum eggs, bacteria and chemical pollutants from livestock slurry through the soil horizon

I. Papajova, P. Juris, A. Laukova¹, D. Rataj², Z. Vasilkova, D. Ilavska²

Parasitological Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, Košice, Slovak Republic; E-mail: papaj@saske.sk; ¹Institute of Animal Physiology Slovak Academy of Sciences, Šoltesovej 4-6, Košice, Slovak Republic; ²Grassland and Mountain Agriculture Research Institute, Research Station, Poprad, Slovak Republic

Summary

The study was conducted with the aim to observe the potential transport of Ascaris suum eggs, selective bacteria, as well as chemical pollutants from contaminated animal liquid excrements through the rendzine type soil horizon, what may, at higher concentrations, be the cause of the environmental pollution. When animal slurry applied on rendzine soil type was contaminated with propagative stages of endoparasites the microorganisms’ vertical penetration into deeper soil horizons was very low. Most of the eggs remained in the superficial layer and vegetation, where they may pose a hazard not only for polygastric animals, but also for other non-specific hosts. With application of untreated animal slurry on rendzine soil type the bacterial species as Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp. Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas and relatively high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus penetrated into deeper soil layers. This may cause the pollutions of soil, ground water and eutrophication of watercourses, which may in case of increased rainfall present a threat to quality of drinking or service water.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:87-90, 2002

Comparative analysis of the helminthocenoses of the otter (Lutra lutra) and polecat (Mustela putorius) in Belarus

E.I. Anisimova

Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Akademycheskaja str., 27, Minsk – 220072, Belarus, E-mail: sid@biobel.bas-net.by

Summary

A total of 60 otters and 101 polecat were processed by the standard helminthological methods. Our results are evidence of the considerable difference in the infestation of the two species of mustelids. The level of infestation of the mustelid populations mainly relates their ecological niches, which determine different probability to be more intensively infested by higher diversity of helminths. Research has shown that the more various ecosystems were inhabited by a mustelid species and its food spectra were wider, the more intensively the mustelid species was infested.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:91-97, 2002

Institute of Food Research and Analysis, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; E-mail: mpduran@usc.es

Summary

We have recently reported a study of the digenean intestinal parasites of 956 eels captured in the estuarine bays (rias) of Arousa (477 eels) and Ferrol (479 eels) in the northwest Iberian Peninsula. Here we report a study of the non-digenean parasites of the same host individuals. A total of 17 species were detected: 4 protozoans (Trypanosoma granulosum, Eimeria anguillae, Myxidium giardi and Myxobolus sp.), 1 monogenean (Pseudodactylogyrus anguillae), 4 cestodes (Proteocephalus macrocephalus, Bothriocephalus sp., Grillotia sp. and Tetraphyllidea gen. sp.), 5 nematodes (Cucullanus heterochrous, Spinitectus inermis, Contracaecum sp. L₃, Cystidicolidae gen. sp. L₃ and Capillariidae gen. sp.), 2 acanthocephalans (Acanthocephaloides propinquus, Acanthocephalus clavula), and 1 arthropod (Gnathia maxillaris). Only M. giardi, A. propinquus and G. maxillaris showed significant differences between estuaries in prevalence, mean intensity and/or mean abundance. Only five were freshwater species (T. granulosum, P. anguillae, P. macrocephalus, A. clavula, and S. inermis), and only M. giardi and E. anguillae are known to be pathogenic to eels.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:99-102, 2002

Johnstonmawsonia porichthydis n. sp. (Nematoda: Rhabdochonidae) from Porichthys porosissimus (Pisces: Batrachoidiformes)

R. D. Tanzola, G. Gigola

Cátedra de Patología de Organismos Acuáticos de Interés Comercial. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Universidad Nacional del Sur. (8000) Bahía Blanca, República Argentina. E-mail: rtanzola@criba.edu.ar

Johnstonmawsonia porichthydis n. sp. is described and il-lustrated from the batrachoidid Porichthys porosissimus. It differs from known species in the number of caudal papil-lae, relative size and shape of spicules, egg size, position of the vulva and the anterior part of the digestive tract. The pa-rasite were recovered in the lumen of pancreatic ducts. This is the first record of the genus Johnstonmawsonia in the Southwestern Atlantic.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:103-110, 2002

Redescription and systematic status of Brachydistomum ventricosum (Rudolphi, 1809) comb. n. (Trematoda: Dicrocoeliidae) parasiting passeriform birds

J. SITKO, J. OKULEWICZ¹

Comenius Museum, Moravian Ornithological Station, Horní nám. 1, 751 52 Pøerov, Czech Republic, e-mail : jsitko@ volny cz¹Department of Biology, University of Medicine, Mikulicza-Radeckiego 9, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland

Summary

The morphometrical variability of 373 specimens of Brachydistomum ventricosum (Rudolphi, 1808) was studied. Brachylecithum emberizae (Yamaguti, 1941), B. mosquensis (Skryabin et Isaitchikov,1927), Lutztrema sinense Faust, 1960, Platynosomum illeciens sensu Ablasov and Thibithenko (1960), P. kirgisensis Panin et Tokobaev, 1974, P. macrorchis (Faust, 1960) and P. tuvensis Krasnolobova et Timofeeva, 1968 are considered to synonyms of Brachydistomum ventricosum.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:111-118, 2002

Marta Spakulova

Parasitological Institute SAS, Hlinkova 3, 040 01 Košice, Slovak Republic; e-mail: spakulma@saske.sk

Summary

The article overviews some basic terms of systematics and taxonomy and briefly recounts both the broadly accepted and recently constructed species concepts. Additionally, the traditional and molecular methods most frequently used for the delineation of helminth species are listed. A multidisciplinary approach to helminth taxonomy is advocated, with the emphasis on the fundamental importance of comparative population-based morphology. A discrepancy between the biological species, in the sense of “ multidimensional aggregate of natural populations (Mayr, 1999)” , and a rigorous linking to a scientific name based on a single type specimen (according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) is illustrated. Problems can arise provided the morphologically similar sibling species are described. Otherwise, they can be distinguished using biological and molecular characters but morphologically identical name-bearing type specimens are deposited in museum collections.

HELMINTHOLOGIA, 39, 2:119-120, 2002

Xiphinema spp. in vineyards of Istra Peninsula in Croatia

M., Ivezic, E., Raspudic, F., Lamberti¹, DJ., Pribetic²

Univ. of J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek, Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek, Trg sv. Trojstva 3, 31000 Osijek, Croatia, E-mail: mivezic@suncokret.pfos.hr; ¹Institute Nematologia Agraria, via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy, ²Institute for Agriculture and Tourism, C.Hugues 8, 52440 Poreè, Croatia

Summary

Sixty-one vineyards have been analyzed for presence of Xiphinema spp. on different localities of Istra Peninsula. Xiphinema spp. were found in 37.70 % of the samples. Of all examined vineyards, Xiphinema index Thorne and Allen, 1950 was present in 8.20 %, Xiphinema pachtaicum (Tulaganov, 1938) Kirjanova, 1951 in 16.39 % and Xiphinema spp. in 13.11 %.