Helminths

The objective of the current research project was to document the prevalent helminths of dairy animals of Nestle milk collection areas of Punjab (Pakistan). For this purpose, seven high milk-producing areas of Punjab province including Farooqa, Kot Adu, Dunya Pur, Layyah, Mor Mandi, Shorkot and Jalapur were selected. The animals were randomly selected and screened for parasitic eggs through standard coprological examination procedures. The helminth species found prevalent in the study areas included; Ascaris vitulorum, Fasciola hepatica, Haemonchus contortus, Bunostomum phlebotomum, Ostertagia circumcinta, Oesophagostomum radiatum, and Trichostrongylus spp. The possible determinants associated with the prevalence of these parasites were also studied in this project. The results of this study provided a basic epidemiological data for planning a wide scaled helminth control program in the above-mentioned high producing areas of Pakistan.

The suitability of using helminth communities as bioindicators of environmental quality of the Yucatan coastal lagoons status was tested on the checkered puffer (Spheroides testudineus) in four coastal lagoons along the Yucatan coast. The concentration of chemical pollutants in sediments, water quality parameters, helminth infracommunity characteristics, as well as fish physiological biomarkers, including EROD (7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase) and catalase activities, were measured. Results from sediment analyses demonstrated the presence of hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls at varying concentrations, some of which exceeded the Probability Effect Level (PEL). Significant negative associations among organochlorine pesticides, infracommunity characteristics and fish physiological responses were observed in most of the lagoons. Results suggest that EROD activity and parasite infracommunity characteristics could be useful tools to evaluate the effects of chemical pollutants on the fish host and in the environment. Importantly, certain parasites appear to influence biomarker measurements, indicating that parasites should be considered in ecotoxicological studies.

Background: Helminth parasites cause untold morbidity and mortality to billions of people and livestock. Anthelmintic drugs are available but resistance is a problem in livestock parasites, and is a looming threat for human helminths. Testing the efficacy of available anthelmintic drugs and development of new drugs is hindered by the lack of objective highthroughput screening methods. Currently, drug effect is assessed by observing motility or development of parasites using laborious, subjective, low-throughput methods.

The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of total, single and multiple intestinal worm infections among the primary school children in Nairobi City. A cross-sectional descriptive study was used to determine the status of intestinal worm infections whose subjects were drawn from eight city administrative divisions. Proportional random sampling method to select forty five (45) schools out of 320 public, private and non-formal schools was used. Using the school enrolment register for standard 3 and 4, fifty (50) pupils per school were selected to participate in the study. Quantitative data from the study subjects were collected by use of a structured questionnaire. In addition, stool specimens were collected from each study subject and examined by Kato-Katz laboratory method. The four intestinal worms investigated constituted a total prevalence of 12.9%. This prevalence was found to be lower than that in two other previous studies. A. lumbricoides had the highest...

Ninety-eight Mexican free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana, collected from 4 locations in Mexico between November 1996 and June 1998, were examined for metazoan parasites. Twenty-one parasitic taxa belonging to 3 phyla (Plathyhelminthes, Nematoda, and Arthropoda) were recovered including 5 helminth taxa (3 digenean, 1 cestode, and 1 nematode) and 16 arthropod taxa (12 mite, 2 tick, and 2 insect). The digenean Ochoterenatrema labda was the most prevalent and abundant helminth in collections from the states of Puebla, Zacatecas, and Durango. Urotrema scabridum and Dicrocoelium rileyi reached the highest values of prevalence and mean abundance of infection in Nuevo León state. Among arthropod taxa recovered, Chiroptonyssus robustipes was the most prevalent and abundant parasite in all 4 localities, and its nymphal stage was the most abundant form recovered. In total, 10 new host and 43 locality records are presented.

Background
The peak shift model predicts that the age-profile of a pathogen's prevalence depends upon its transmission rate, peaking earlier in populations with higher transmission and declining as partial immunity is acquired. Helminth infections are associated with increased immunoglobulin E (IgE), which may convey partial immunity and influence the peak shift. Although studies have noted peak shifts in helminths, corresponding peak shifts in total IgE have not been investigated, nor has the age-patterning been carefully examined across populations. We test for differences in the age-patterning of IgE between two South American forager-horticulturalist populations and the United States: the Tsimane of Bolivia (n = 832), the Shuar of Ecuador (n = 289), and the U.S. NHANES (n = 8,336). We then examine the relationship between total IgE and helminth prevalences in the Tsimane.

Methodology/Principal Findings
Total IgE levels were assessed in serum and dried blood spots and age-patterns examined with non-linear regression models. Tsimane had the highest IgE (geometric mean = 8,182 IU/ml), followed by Shuar (1,252 IU/ml), and NHANES (52 IU/ml). Consistent with predictions, higher population IgE was associated with steeper increases at early ages and earlier peaks: Tsimane IgE peaked at 7 years, Shuar at 10 years, and NHANES at 17 years. For Tsimane, the age-pattern was compared with fecal helminth prevalences. Overall, 57% had detectable eggs or larva, with hookworm (45.4%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (19.9%) the most prevalent. The peak in total IgE occurred around the peak in A. lumbricoides, which was associated with higher IgE in children <10, but with lower IgE in adolescents.

Conclusions
The age-patterning suggests a peak shift in total IgE similar to that seen in helminth infections, particularly A. lumbricoides. This age-patterning may have implications for understanding the effects of helminths on other health outcomes, such as allergy, growth, and response to childhood vaccination.

The morphological based taxonomy of highly derived parasite groups is likely to poorly reflect their evolutionary relationships. The taxonomy of the monogenean family Capsalidae, which comprises approximately 180 species of flatworm parasites that predominantly attach to external surfaces of chondrichthyan and teleost fishes, is based mainly on six morphological characters. The phylogenetic history of the family is largely unknown. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of 47 species in 20 genera from eight of the nine subfamilies, from nucleotide sequences of three unlinked nuclear genes, 28S ribosomal RNA, Histone 3 and Elongation Factor 1 a. Our phylogeny was well corroborated, with 75% of branches receiving strong support from both Bayesian posterior probabilities and maximum likelihood bootstrap proportions and all nodes showed positive partitioned likelihood support for each of the three genes. We found that the family was monophyletic, with the Gyrodactylidae and Udonellidae forming the sister group. The Capsalinae was monophyletic, however, our data do not support monophyly for the Benedeniinae, Entobdellinae and Trochopodinae. Monophyly was supported for Capsala, Entobdella, Listrocephalos, Neobenedenia and Tristoma, but Benedenia and Neoentobdella were polyphyletic. Comparisons of the distribution of character states for the small number of morphological characters on the molecular phylogeny show a high frequency of apparent homoplasy. Consequently the current morphological classification shows little correspondence with the phylogenetic relationships within the family.

he purposes of the study were to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal protozoan and helminthic infections among "refuge" dogs and cats in Pathum Thani and Nakhon Pathom provinces, using direct/simple smear (SS) and formalin-ether concentration techniques (FECT), and to evaluate the recovery efficiency and reliability of SS compared with FECT. Fifty samples each from dogs and cats in Pathum Thani Province, and 100 samples each from dogs and cats in Nakhon Pathom Province, were collected. All fecal samples were subjected to the two techniques, processed in duplicate, and examined for gastrointestinal parasites. In Pathum Thani refuge, the overall prevalence rates among the dogs by SS were 8.0% and 4.0%, and by FECT 10.0% and 8.0%; among the cats, the rates by SS were 34.0% and 34.0%, and by FECT 82.0% and 78.0%. In Nakhon Pathom refuge, the rates among the dogs by SS were 7.0% and 6.0%, and by FECT 28.0% and 20.0%; among the cats by SS the rates were 24.0% and 22.0%, and by FECT 48.0% and 46.0%. Toxocara cati was the most prevalent helminth among cats in Pathum Thani refuge, whereas hookworm infections were highest in both dogs and cats in Nakhon Pathom refuge. The infection intensity among all dogs and cats in both refuges was considered light. All positive fecal samples detected by SS were also detected by FECT. The recovery rate for SS was 25.0% (7/28) to 80.0% (4/5), compared with FECT. In the Pathum Thani observation, the reliability of SS for detecting parasitic infections in dogs and cats was statistically poor (κ = -0.5 and 0.38), while the reliability of FECT for dogs was excellent (κ = 0.88) and cats fair to good (κ = 0.50). The agreement between SS and FECT for overall parasitic infections was poor (κ = 0.31 and 0.20). In the Nakhon Pathom observation, the reliability of SS for detecting parasitic infections among dogs and cats was excellent (κ = 0.92 and 0.94); FECT was also excellent (κ = 0.62 and 0.84). The agreement between SS and FECT for overall parasitic infections among dogs was poor (κ = 0.32), whereas among cats it was fair to good (κ = 0.51). The results indicate that if the sample size of the animals is large enough (n = 100) and the prevalence of parasitic infections is not too low (≥ 24%), SS was statistically reliable and was fair-to-good in agreeing with FECT, although the recovery rate was about 50% lower.

The halogenated salicylanilides are a large group of compounds developed mainly for their antiparasitic activity in animals. Several halogenated salicylanilides with potent antiparasitic activity have been synthesised of which only closantel, niclosamide, oxyclozanide, rafoxanide and resorantel are commercially available. Closantel and rafoxanide, which represent the most important drugs in the group, are used extensively for the control of Haemonchus spp. and Fasciola spp. infestations in sheep and cattle and Oestrus ovis in sheep in many parts of the world. Niclosamide is used extensively for its anticestodal activity in a wide range of animals. Antiparasitic activity of the halogenated salicylanilides has also been demonstrated against a large number of other internal parasites, in particular haematophagous helminths, and external parasites including ticks and mites, in a variety of animal species. Several cases of toxicity and mortality have been reported for closantel and rafox...

This paper discusses the prevalence and intensity of infection of endoparasites in conventionally maintained Short Hair guinea pigs colonies from a breeding (A) and an experimental (B) facilities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It also evaluates the efficacy of the methods of prevention adopted by both facilities. The search of parasites was performed by direct examination of intestinal mucosa and its contents, WHEATLEY's trichrome method and coproparasitological examinations by Ritchie's and Kinyoun's techniques. The prevalences of endoparasites found throught direct examination of intestinal mucosa and its contents were: Balantidium sp. (78%), Cyathodinium sp. (68%), Eimeria caviae (38%), Paraspidodera uncinata (34%) and Giardia muris (24%). The prevalences of endoparasites found throught Ritchie's and Kinyoun's techniques in facility A were: E. caviae (74%), Balantidium sp. (68%), Cyathodinium sp. (68%) and Cryptosporidium sp. (5%). In facility B: E. caviae (58%), Balantidium sp. (42%), Cyathodinium sp. (25%) and G. muris (8%) were found. The high prevalences in both facilities suggest that the efficacy of the sanitary barriers adopted in the prevention of parasitic infections should be revised.

The three main soil-transmitted helminth infections, ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm, are common clinical disorders in man. The gastrointestinal tract of a child living in poverty in a less developed country is likely to be parasitised with at least one, and in many cases all three soil-transmitted helminths, with resultant impairments in physical, intellectual, and cognitive development. The benzimidazole anthelmintics, mebendazole and albendazole, are commonly used to remove these infections. The use of these drugs is not limited to treatment of symptomatic soil-transmitted helminth infections, but also for large-scale prevention of morbidity in children living in endemic areas. As a result of data showing improvements in child health and education after deworming, and the burden of disease attributed to soil-transmitted helminths, the worldwide community is awakening to the importance of these infections. Concerns about the sustainability of periodic deworming with benzimi...

The presence of worms in cytological smears is occasionally reported, although various other structures exist that may be confused with such parasites. We present eight worm-like artifacts observed in routine Papanicolaou smears. Recognition of these structures is important to avoid overvaluation or confusion with true worms. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006;34:636–639. © 2006 Wiley–Liss, Inc.

Fascioliasis, caused by liver fluke species of the genus Fasciola, has always been well recognized because of its high veterinary impact but it has been among the most neglected diseases for decades with regard to human infection. However, the increasing importance of human fascioliasis worldwide has re-launched interest in fascioliasis. From the 1990s, many new concepts have been developed regarding human fascioliasis and these have furnished a new baseline for the human disease that is very different to a simple extrapolation from fascioliasis in livestock. Studies have shown that human fascioliasis presents marked heterogeneity, including different epidemiological situations and transmission patterns in different endemic areas. This heterogeneity, added to the present emergence/re-emergence of the disease both in humans and animals in many regions, confirms a worrying global scenario. The huge negative impact of fascioliasis on human communities demands rapid action. When analyzi...

Polymers at Interfaces provides a comprehensive and timely addition to the short list of key references on the topic indicated by this book's title. Before this work, the definitive review of research on polymer interfaces was D. H. Napper's Polymeric Stabilization of Colloidal Dispersions, published in 1983. Polymers at Interfaces should now find a place on the shelf next to Napper's classic. Chemists, physicists, chemical engineers, and anyone else having an interest in the use of adsorbed or grafted polymers to modify interfacial properties will find this book to be very useful. The properties of polymer solutions have been studied by physical chemists for many years, leading to better understanding in areas such as solution polymerization and biological macromolecules. Many more technological applications involve polymers that have been adsorbed or grafted from solution at solid-liquid or liquid-liquid interfaces. Examples include adhesion and lubrication, biological membranes, and stabilization and flocculation of many types of colloidal suspensions and emulsions. The technological importance of polymers at interfaces has stimulated continuing research activity devoted to both experimental characterization and theoretical prediction of the structure of interfacial regions containing adsorbed or grafted polymers, not to mention the kinetics of polymer adsorption, dynamics of polymers tethered at interfaces, the energetics of interacting polymer interfaces, and the effects of polymer interfaces on colloidal stability, rheology, and other bulk suspension properties. The authors of Polymers at Interfaces come from two of the foremost schools in the area of surface and colloidal physical chemistry. Gerard Fleer, Martien Cohen Stuart, and the late Jan Scheutjens, all from Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands, are perhaps best known for their theoretical framework for describing polymers at interfaces, known colloquially as "Scheutjens-Fleer" or SF theory. Terry Cosgrove and Brian Vincent, from the University of Bristol, have over two decades of experience in experimental characterization of polymers at interfaces. These stereotypes hide the fact that the Wageningen and Bristol groups have made significant contributions to both the theoretical and experimental sides of this topic. Considering their past accomplishments, a compendium of reviews of the various authors' research results would have served nicely. Fortunately, the authors have surpassed expectations through a collective effort that integrates the contributions of all into a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Readers will appreciate the consistent

This study reviews the effects of parasites of fresh water fish hosts. Like other living organisms, fish harbour parasites either external or internal which cause a host of pathological debilities in them. The parasites live in close obligate association and derive benefits such as nutrition at the host’s expense, usually without killing the host. They utililize energy otherwise available for the hosts growth, sustenance, development, establishment and reproduction and as such may harm their hosts in a number of ways and affect fish production. The common parasites of fishes include the unicellular microparasites (viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoans). The protozoans i.e. microsporidians and mixozoans are considered in this review. The multicellular macroparasites mainly comprised of the helminthes and arthropods are also highlighted. The effects of parasites on their fish hosts maybe exacerbated by different pollutants including heavy metals and hydrocarbons, organic enrichment of sediments by domestic sewage and others such as parasite life cycles and fish population size.

Helminths are parasitic worms. They are the most common infectious agents of humans in developing countries and produce a global burden of disease that exceeds better-known conditions, including malaria and tuberculosis. As we discuss here, new insights into fundamental helminth biology are accumulating through newly completed genome projects and the nascent application of transgenesis and RNA interference technologies. At the same time, our understanding of the dynamics of the transmission of helminths and the mechanisms of the Th2-type immune responses that are induced by infection with these parasitic worms has increased markedly. Ultimately, these advances in molecular and medical helminth biology should one day translate into a new and robust pipeline of drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines for targeting parasitic worms that infect humans.

Compared with most animal phyla, the Nematomorpha, also known as hair worms, is a relatively understudied metazoan phylum. Although nematomorphs make up only 1 of 3 animal phyla specializing solely on a parasitic life style, little attention has been focused on this enigmatic group scientifically. The phylum contains two main groups. The nectonematids are parasites of marine invertebrates such as hermit crabs. The gordiids are parasites of terrestrial arthropods, such as mantids, beetles, and crickets. Members of both of these groups are free-living as adults in marine and freshwaters respectively. In recent years, large strides have been made to understand this group more fully. New information has come from collection efforts, new approaches in organismal biology, modern techniques in microscopy and molecular biology. This review will focus on the advances made in four main areas of research: (1) morphology, (2) taxonomy and systematics, (3) life cycle and ecology and (4) host beh...

The identification of protozoan and metazoan parasites is traditionally carried out using a series of classical keys based upon the morphology of the whole organism. However, in stained tissue sections prepared for light microscopy, taxonomic features will be missing, thus making parasite identification difficult. This work highlights the characteristic features of representative parasites in tissue sections to aid identification. The parasite examples discussed are derived from species affecting finfish, and predominantly include parasites associated with disease or those commonly observed as incidental findings in disease diagnostic cases. Emphasis is on protozoan and small metazoan parasites (such as Myxosporidia) because these are the organisms most likely to be missed or mis-diagnosed during gross examination. Figures are presented in colour to assist biologists and veterinarians who are required to assess host/parasite interactions by light microscopy.

Water-related parasitic diseases are directly dependent on water bodies for their spread or as a habitat for indispensable intermediate or final hosts. Along with socioeconomic development and improvement of sanitation, overall prevalence is declining in the China. However, the heterogeneity in economic development and the inequity of access to public services result in considerable burden due to parasitic diseases in certain areas and populations across the country. In this review, we demonstrated three aspects of ten major water-related parasitic diseases, i.e., the biology and pathogenicity, epidemiology and recent advances in research in China. General measures for diseases control and special control strategies are summarized.

The three main soil-transmitted helminth infections, ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm, are common clinical disorders in man. The gastrointestinal tract of a child living in poverty in a less developed country is likely to be parasitised with at least one, and in many cases all three soil-transmitted helminths, with resultant impairments in physical, intellectual, and cognitive development. The benzimidazole anthelmintics, mebendazole and albendazole, are commonly used to remove these infections. The use of these drugs is not limited to treatment of symptomatic soil-transmitted helminth infections, but also for large-scale prevention of morbidity in children living in endemic areas. As a result of data showing improvements in child health and education after deworming, and the burden of disease attributed to soil-transmitted helminths, the worldwide community is awakening to the importance of these infections. Concerns about the sustainability of periodic deworming with benzimidazole anthelmintics and the emergence of resistance have prompted eff orts to develop and test new control tools.

H. Hoste). oped countries some trends exist which limit the use of chemical inputs in livestock production in order to take into consideration objectives such as reduced environmental consequences and the certified quality of animal products. Whatever will be the future changes in objectives for animal production, it can be assumed that infections of the gastrointestinal tract with parasitic nematodes (GINs) will remain highly prevalent in both temperate and tropical areas and will represent a major threat for livestock 0304-4017/$ -see front matter

A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was carried out in Harare to assess pet ownership and public awareness with regard to pet zoonoses. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information on pet ownership, health and welfare of pets, pet owners' knowledge and awareness of pet zoonoses with particular emphasis on hookworms and roundworms. The results demonstrated that the proportion of pet owners who knew helminths as zoonoses in dogs (21.3%) and cats (1.1%) was low compared to rabies (95.7%) with ancylostomosis (4.3%) and toxocariosis (2.1%) being the specific parasitic zoonoses known to occur in dogs and toxoplasmosis (2.1%) in cats. More than 50% of the pet owners indicated that veterinarians never discussed the potential hazards of zoonoses or discussed it only when asked and 33% indicated that veterinarians initiated discussion of the subject whenever zoonoses were diagnosed in pets. Over 90% of the pet owners indicated that veterinarians should discuss zoonoses with them. Further investigations are necessary to determine the current prevalence of intestinal nematode infections in dogs and cats in the various regions of the country.

The interest in novel methods of controlling helminth infections in ruminants is driven primarily by the development of parasite resistance to currently available anthelmintics. While the purpose of anthelmintics is to achieve high efficacy, i.e. >90% reduction of adult and/or larval parasites in the target host animal, the purpose of novel parasite control methods is rather to assist in maintaining parasite infections below the economic threshold. The ability to maintain parasite levels below the economic threshold is related not only to the efficacy of the control method, but also to the epidemiology of the parasites, climatic conditions, the livestock management program, and integration in a sustainable parasite control program. Because of this fundamental difference, novel parasite control methods need to be evaluated using efficacy criteria different from that adopted for anthelmintics. Although the efficacy of novel parasite control methods may be demonstrated in classic dose-confirmation studies, the impact on livestock production parameters can only be evaluated when tested on-farm. In this paper, the rationale for evaluating novel methods differently from anthelmintics is reviewed, potential performance expectations are presented, and four novel parasite control methods (vaccines, nematophagous fungi, condensed tannins, and immunonutrition) are assessed based on the potential performance criteria. #

Cette enquête a été entreprise pour évaluer l'impact de la réutilisation agricole des eaux usées brutes, en particulier le risque fécal parasitaire en rapport avec les helminthes. Elle a concerné 214 sujets, âgés en moyenne de 28,6 ± 19,4 ans, 52,8 % de sexe féminin et 47,2 % de sexe masculin, appartenant à deux douars utilisant les eaux usées brutes en agriculture, et 119 sujets, âgés en moyenne de 31,8 ± 19,5 ans, 50,4 % de sexe féminin et 49,6 % de sexe masculin, appartenant à un douar témoin n'utilisant pas les eaux usées. Ces trois douars sont situés aux alentours de la ville de Settat, Maroc. Chaque personne consentante a bénéficié d'un examen clinique complet avec recueil de renseignements anamnestiques, d'un examen somatique et de trois prélèvements de selles trois jours consécutifs. La prévalence des helminthes au niveau de la population exposée est de 4,7 %, elle est nulle au niveau de la population témoin. Cette différence est statistiquement significative. Ainsi, au niveau de la population exposée, environ 1 personne sur 20 est parasitée alors qu'au niveau de la population non exposée aucune personne n'est parasitée. La prévalence est légèrement plus élevée chez les personnes de sexe masculin. Du point de vue âge, ce sont les âges extrêmes qui sont les plus touchés, essentiellement les enfants entre 3 et 14 ans et les personnes âgées de 60 ans et plus. Ascaris lumbricoïdes est l'helminthe le plus fréquemment mis en évidence, avec une prévalence de 4,2 %. L'utilisation des eaux usées brutes en agriculture est responsable d'un risque accru d'helminthiase. Des mesures préventives s'imposent en insistant sur l'éducation sanitaire et le traitement adéquat des eaux usées.

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Despite the increasing knowledge of the immunobiology and epidemiology of parasitic helminths of the gastrointestinal system and the cardiorespiratory system, complications arising from infections of animals and humans with these parasites are a major clinical and economic problem. This has been attributed to the high incidence of these parasites, the widespread emergence of multi-drug resistant parasite strains and the lack of effective vaccines. Efforts to develop and produce vaccines against virtually all helminths (with the exception of Dictyocaulus viviparus and some cestode species) have been hindered by the complexity of the host-parasite relationship, and incomplete understanding of the molecular and immune regulatory pathways associated with the development of protective immunity against helminths. Novel genomic and proteomic technologies have provided opportunities for the discovery and characterisation of effector mechanisms and molecules that govern the host-parasite int...

We extend particular thanks to Maria Yazdanbakhsh (Leiden University) for interactive discussions and concepts, and generous help with material for figures. Summary: Immune regulation by parasites is a global concept that includes suppression, diversion, and conversion of the host immune response to the benefit of the pathogen. While many microparasites escape immune attack by antigenic variation or sequestration in specialized niches, helminths appear to thrive in exposed extracellular locations, such as the lymphatics, bloodstream, or gastrointestinal tract. We review here the multiple layers of immunoregulation that have now been discovered in helminth infection and discuss both the cellular and the molecular interactions involved. Key events among the host cell population are dominance of the T-helper 2 cell (Th2) phenotype and the selective loss of effector activity, against a background of regulatory T cells, alternatively activated macrophages, and Th2-inducing dendritic cells. Increasingly, there is evidence of important effects on other innate cell types, particularly mast cells and eosinophils. The sum effect of these changes to host reactivity is to create an anti-inflammatory environment, which is most favorable to parasite survival. We hypothesize therefore that parasites have evolved specific molecular strategies to induce this conducive landscape, and we review the foremost candidate immunomodulators released by helminths, including cytokine homologs, protease inhibitors, and an intriguing set of novel products implicated in immune suppression.

The use of anthelmintics is strongly limited in organic farming. This may induce a change in the intensity (no of worms) and diversity (proportions of species) of helminth infection. Helminths remain a major preoccupation in organic sheep farming: high levels of infection have been recorded on several farms and helminth diversity is always higher. The helminth infection in milk cattle of northern Europe is controlled and diversity is higher in organic farms, as recorded in sheep. The role of helminth diversity on intensity is still unclear. Grazing management is one of the means to controlling helminths. The use of safe pastures for calves and sheep after weaning is one of the major components of control. The use of alternate or mixed grazing is common for cattle in northern countries but is uncommon for sheep in France. Grazing management is not sufficient to controlling infection in sheep and conventional anthelmintic treatments are performed. Additionally, alternative treatments are used. The alternative therapies based on phytotherapy or homeopathy are largely recommended in organic farming but do not have any demonstrated efficacy. More research is needed to evaluate such therapies.

Fecal samples from the hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus (15 samples) and E. roumanicus (44 samples) collected in the Poznań region of Poland were examined. Endoparasites were isolated using Sheather&#39;s flotation technique. The prevalence of parasitic infections in all hedgehogs examined was 74.6% (E. europaeus--73.3%; E. roumanicus--75.0%). Two species of parasites occurred in both species of hosts: Aonchotheca erinacei (60% and 80%) and Eucoleus aerophilus (6.7% and 15.9%). Brachylaima erinacei was found only in E. europaeus (33.3%) while Physaloptera sp. (13.6%) and Crenosoma striatum (4.6%) only in E. roumanicus. The intensity of infection varied from 1 to 371 eggs/1g of feces in E. europaeus and from 1 to 194 eggs/1g of feces in E. roumanicus. In both sexes the majority of infections were of low intensity, high intensity infections occurring only sporadically. No zoonotic species of endoparasites were recorded in these samples.

Systematic revision is made of the six dactylogyridean genera (Monogenea) described on African, Levantine and Malagasy cichlid fi shes: Urogyrus Bilong Bilong, Birgi & Euzet, 1994 (including one species); Enterogyrus Paperna, 1963 (including eight species); Insulacleidus Rakotofi ringa & Euzet, 1983 (including three species); Onchobdella Paperna, 1968 (including eight species); Scutogyrus Pariselle & Euzet, 1995 (including six species) and Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (including 71 species). Validities of species are discussed. Diagnoses and illustrated determination keys are given for all taxa. RÉSUMÉ Révision systématique des Monogènes Dactylogyridea parasites de poissons Cichlidae en Afrique, au Proche-Orient et à Madagascar. Les auteurs font la révision systématique des six genres de Monogènes Dactylogyridea connus pour être parasites des poissons Cichlidae en Afrique, au Proche-Orient et à Madagascar : Urogyrus Bilong Bilong, Birgi & Euzet, 1994 (comprenant une espèce) ; Enterogyrus Paperna, 1963 (comprenant huit espèces) ; Insulacleidus Rakotofi ringa & Euzet, 1983 (comprenant trois espèces) ; Onchobdella Paperna, 1968 (comprenant huit espèces) ; Scutogyrus Pariselle & Euzet, 1995 (comprenant six espèces) et Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (comprenant 71 espèces). La validité de toutes les espèces est discutée. Les diagnoses et des clés d'identifi cation illustrées sont données pour tous les taxons.

Parasitic zoonoses of ferrets, rabbits, rodents, reptiles, pet birds, and nonhuman primates are reviewed. Included in discussion are ectoparasites, Dirofilaria, Toxocara, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Balantidium, Entamoeba histolytica, Hymenolepis, pentastomids, and helminths including those that cause sparganosis. Arthropod vectors found on reptiles which may transmit zoonotic disease are listed. Diagnostic tests and treatment regimens are covered. Copyright 9 1996 by W. B. Saunders Company.

The authors report on a 6-year-old girl with biliary ascariasis after surgical treatment of a choledochal cyst and biliarydigestive tract reconstruction by Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. A precise diagnosis can be obtained by ultrasonography. Surgical treatment is required when clinical and endoscopic treatments fail. In countries in which this disease is endemic, biliary ascariasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cholangitis after surgery for hepaticojejunostomy.

During a 4-year-period, more than 500 ostriches and several rheas, all born in European countries and raised in Spain and Portugal, have been analyzed for the presence of ectoparasites and endoparasites. A total of 29 parasite species have been found, most of them of the gastrointestinal tract. Some of the helminth species found may represent spureous parasitosis, as only the eggs (of an ascarid and a trematode) were found in some samples. From the organisms identified, the ectoparasites (lice-Struthiolipeurus rheae, S. nandu; mites-Dermoglyphus pachycnemis, Gabucinia bicaudata), helminths (cestoda-Houttuynia struthionis-and nematoda-Libyostrongylus sp., Codiostomum struthionis-) and the ciliate Balantidium struthionis are known as ratite specific parasites. Capillaria eggs and larvae were also found; there are no previous records of this parasite from ostriches, and the data available do not allow to do a temptative specific diagnosis. Among protozoa, most of the species now found are described for the first time in ratites. They include organisms also found in other birds (Trichomonas gallinae, Tetratrichomonas gallinarum, Chilomastix gallinarum, Spironucleus meleagridis and Pleuromonas jaculans), and organisms whose specific status cannot be established until further analysis are performed (Cryptosporidium sp., Eimeria sp. and/or Isospora sp., Entamoeba sp. of the one-nucleate and of the eight-nucleate mature cyst groups, Endolimax sp., Iodamoeba sp., Monocercomonas sp., Retortamonas sp., Giardia sp., Blastocystis sp. and euglenids).

The reuse of domestic and industrial wastewater in urban settings of the developing world may harm the health of people through direct contact or via contaminated urban agricultural products and drinking water. We assessed chemical and microbial pollutants in 23 sentinel sites along the wastewater and faecal sludge management and reuse chain of Kampala, Uganda. Water samples were examined for bacteria (thermotolerant coliforms (TTCs), Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp.) and helminth eggs. Physico-chemical parameters were determined. Water, sediment and soil samples and edible plants (yams and sugar cane) were tested for heavy metals. Water samples derived from the Nakivubo wetland showed mean concentrations of TTCs of 2.9 × 10 5 colony-forming units (CFU)/ 100 mL. Mean E. coli was 9.9×10 4 CFU/100 mL. Hookworm eggs were found in 13.5 % of the water samples. Mean concentrations of iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) were 21.5, 3.3 and 0.14 mg/L, respectively. In soil samples, we found a mean lead (Pb) concentration of 132.7 mg/L. In yams, concentrations of Cd, chromium (Cr) and Pb were 4.4, 4.0 and 0.2 mg/L, Environ Monit Assess (2015) 187:475 while the respective concentrations in sugar cane were 8.4, 4.3 and 0.2 mg/L. TTCs and E. coli in the water, Pb in soil, and Cd, Cr and Pb in the plants were above national thresholds. We conclude that there is considerable environmental pollution in the Nakivubo wetland and the Lake Victoria ecosystem in Kampala. Our findings have important public health implications, and we suggest that a system of sentinel surveillance is being implemented that, in turn, can guide adequate responses.