Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Kvitná 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic; 1Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Zemedelská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic; 2Comenius Museum, Moravian Ornithological Station, Bezrucova 10, 751 52 Prerov, Czech Republic

The proliferative response of splenic T and B cells to nonspecific polyclonal activators (concanavalin A, lipopolysaccharide and pokeweed mitogen), specific circulating antibody level and macrophage metabolic activity were studied in mice reinfected every seven days of the experiment (140 days) with a dose of 50 Toxocara canis eggs per mouse. Significant differences have been found in the proliferative activity of T and B cells, depending on the source of serum used in the culture medium. In vitro incubation of infected mouse lymphocytes in foetal calves serum significantly increased the proliferative activity of both the cell populations to all mitogens on day 14 of experiment. On the contrary, lymphocytes incubated in autologous serum from infected mice showed their proliferative activity suppressed to all mitogens as early as on day 14 of experiment, with inhibition of B cell proliferation persisting throughout the experiment. With incubation of infected mouse lymphocytes in serum from healthy mice, only T cells showed an inhibited response to concanavalin A, persisting on day 28 for the duration of the experiment, while the B cell response to lipopolysaccharide was markedly stimulated on day 42 of experiment. Specific anti-toxocara circulating antibody level was increasing conspicuously from the beginning of the experiment, with the maximum reached on day 56. In the same period, also peritoneal macrophage metabolic activity increased significantly. The results suggest a partial suppression of nonspecific polyclonal activation of T and B cells and the stimulation of macrophage metabolic activity and antibody response of mice after their long-term reinfection.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is one of the most important helmintic diseases in Turkey. In this study ELISA and IFA techniques were used as an initial screening tests to estimate the prevalence of CE in man within the rural areas and also in the urban area of Izmir.  A total of 2055 blood samples were collected from residents of Izmir and surrounding area were processed, and 71 (3.45 %) sero-positive cases were detected. These sero-positive serum samples, and also 150 sero-negative sera, were retested with Indirect haemaglutination (IHA), SDS-PAGE and Western blotting and an Echinococcus antigen with an apparent molecular weight of 8 (or 12) and 116 kDa were identified as diagnostically important for patients of CE in Turkey.  According to our data, prevalence of CE in Izmir and surrounding area was found 291 per 100 000 (6/2055) inhabitants.

J. SOLTYS, 1. TURCEKOVA, *P.H de RYCKE.

Parasitological Institute SAS Kosice, Slovak Republic; *University of Gent, Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Gent, Belgium

The toxic effect of protoscoleces and secondary hydatid cysts fluid of Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus granulosus was studied on mouse C57BL/ 6J peritoneal macrophages (PM) and spleen lymphocytes (Sly). Direct exposure of isolated E. granulosus protoscoleces and hydatid cyst fluid with PM led to the lysis of target cells after 7 and 12 hours, respectively. A 12-hour exposition of E. multilocularis protoscoleces with PM caused an 80 % reduction in viability of the cells. The cytotoxic activity of the E. multilocularis tissue was not observed. The cultures of PM were incubated in the presence of the E. multilocularis and E. granulosus hydatid cysts for 18, 36 hours or 7 days. The level of viabili- ty of PM was closely connected with the time of exposition and the lowest viability of PM was observed after 7 days of cultivation. Medium in which E. multilocularis had been cultured had cytotoxic activity. No toxicity was detected with media in which E. granulosus cysts had been cultured for 18, 36 hours or 7 days. The same interaction of hydatid cyst cultured medium with mouse SLy was not dependent on the time of incubation. The medium of E.granulosus hydatid cysts displayed a lower viability after 12 hours of incubation (ranging from 0 to 28 %) as compared with E. multilocularis (37 to 42 %).

New data are presented on the morphological variability of four hymenolepidid species from wild and domestic geese in Slovakia, namely Tschertkovilepis barrowensis (Schiler, 1952) comb. n., Tschertkovilepis krabbei (Kowalewski, 1895) Czaplinski et Jarecka, 1967, Tschertko- vilepis setigera (Froelich, 1789) Spasskii et Spasskaya, 1954 and Drepanidotaenia lanceolata (Bloch, 1782) Railliet, 1892. On the basis of original findings and data obtained from the literature, the separation of avian hymenolepidids with antiporal position of female gonads into two genera is proposed. Drepanidotaenia Railliet, 1892 is characterised by 8 diorchoid rostellar hooks and numerous internal longitudinal muscle bundles and Tschertko- vilepis Spasskii et Spasskaya, 1954 by 10 diorchoid rostellar hooks and numerous internal muscle bundles. The latter genus, which has recently been synonymized with Microsomacanthus Lopez-Neyra, 1942, is proposed to become valid and to comprise the species: T. setigera (Froelich, 1789) Spasskii et Spasskaya, 1954, T. krabbei (Kowalewski, 1892) Czaplinski et Jarecka, 1967, T. ardeae (Fuhrmann, 1906) comb. n., T. barrowensis (Schiller, 1952) comb. n., T. bilateralis (Linstow, 1905) comb. n., T. signachiana (Kurashvili, 1950) comb. n. and T. teshekpukensis (Dronen, Martin et Taylor, 1994) comb. n. Accordingly, the genus Microsomacanthus is proposed to be characterised by 10 diorchoid rostellar hooks, 8 internal muscle bundles and other characters.

A comprehensive survey of the various forest ecosystems in the Slovak Republic revealed the presence of twenty species of the Family Longidoridae: Longidorus attenuatus, L. carpathicus, L. closelongatus, L. cylindricaudatus, L. elongatus, L. euonymus, L. intermedius, L. iuglandis, L. leptocephalus, L. macrosoma, L. nevesi, L. piceicola, L. picenus, L. silvae, and one unidentified L. sp.; Paralongidorus maximus; Xiphinema dentatum, X. diversicaudatum, X. taylori and X. vuittenezi. Climatic, topographic and soil characteristics of the ecosystems were correlated with the occurrence and geographical distribution of the individual longidorid species.

A protostrongylid nematode Protostrongylus tauricus Schulz et Kadenazii, 1949 was found parasitizing lungs of the European hare Lepus europeus (Pallas, 1778) in Navarra, the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula. The data represent a new geographical record of the parasite referred previously from Central and Eastern Europe.