Volume 51, Issue 1

Neospora caninum is considered a major cause of abortion in cattle. Appropriate techniques for diagnosis of bovine neosporosis, both in vivo and in aborted foetuses, have been developed in the last ten years and some of them are commercially available. For diagnosis in live animals, detection of antibodies in serum or milk has been shown to be the best option both at the herd and the individual level. These techniques are excellent tools to examine N. caninum-associated abortion problems and to adopt some basic herd-control measures. Concerning foetal diagnosis, detection of compatible lesions by histological examination and parasites by PCR in brain (as well as heart and liver) are the best choices. Diagnostic criteria to distinguish foetal infection and Neospora-associated abortion are based not only on the demonstration of the parasite in the foetus but also on the extent and severity of the lesions in the foetus, foetal age and the assessment of neosporosis at the herd level. In the near future, new tools to diagnose infection should help to detect animals with parasite reactivation by testing the immune response to stage-specific antigens and lead to the development of molecular typing methods to characterise different parasite isolates. Finally, uniform diagnostic procedures need to be established between laboratories and countries in order to standardise result interpretation. The role of National or Regional Reference Laboratories is essential in countries or regions where control programmes for the disease are being developed.

Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan parasite, which owes its importance to the fact that it represents the major infectious cause of bovine abortion worldwide. Its life cycle is comprised of three distinct stages: Tachyzoites, representing the proliferative and disease-causing stage, bradyzoites, representing a slowly replicating, tissue cyst-forming stage, and sporozoites, which represent the end product of a sexual process taking place within the intestinal tissue of the final canine host. Tachyzoites are capable of infecting a large variety of host cells in vitro and in vivo, while bradyzoites have been found mainly within the central nervous system. In order to survive, proliferate, and proceed in its life cycle, N. caninum has evolved some amazing features. First, the parasite profits immensely from its ability to interact with, and invade, a large number of host cell types. Secondly, N. caninum exploits its capability to respond to alterations in living conditions by converting into another stage (tachyzoite-to-bradyzoite or vice versa). Thirdly, this parasite has evolved mechanisms that modulate its host cells according to its own requirements, and these must, especially in the case of the bradyzoite stage, involve mechanisms that ensure long term survival of not only the parasite but also of the host cell. These three key events (host cell invasion — stage conversion — host cell modulation) represent potential targets for intervention. In order to elucidate the molecular and cellular bases of these important features of N. caninum, cell culture-based approaches and laboratory animal models are extensively exploited. In this review, we will summarize the present knowledge and achievements related to host cell and parasite cell biology.

Bony fishes (Teleostei) play an important role in the completion of life cycles of helminth parasites in the Antarctica. These fishes may be definitive, second intermediate or paratenic hosts of the helminths. The most species-rich taxon is Digenea. Virtually all of these digeneans use teleosts as definitive hosts. Only one species, Otodistomum cestoides, occurs as the adult stage in skates (Chondrichthyes), with teleosts as its second intermediate host. Among 14 cestode species maturing in fishes only one, Parabothriocephalus johnstoni, occurs in a bony fish, Macrourus whitsoni, whereas the others are parasites of Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes). Antarctic Chondrichthyes are not infected with nematode and acanthocephalan species. Specificity to the intermediate and/or paratenic hosts of the majority of Antarctic helminths is wide, whereas that for definitive hosts is often narrower, restricted to one order or sometimes even to one or two host species. Almost all of 73 helminth species maturing in Antarctic fishes are endemics. Only 4 digenean and one nematode species are cosmopolitan or bipolar.

During a survey of the parasite fauna of the euryhaline notothenioid fish Eleginops maclovinus (Cuvier) caught in brackish water creeks in the Falkland Islands, small white cysts were observed in the mesenteries and on the surfaces of the visceral organs and heart. On dissection these proved to be plasmodia of a species of the myxosporean genus Henneguya. This is the first record of a member of this genus from a marine or euryhaline fish in the south-west Atlantic. A comparison of the spore of our species with other species in the genus convinced us that our species is new. This paper describes it as Henneguya shackletoni sp. nov. after the Shackleton Fund which funded the study.

The adult of Pseudoleptobothrium aptychotremae Young, 1967 (Monogenea, Microbothriidae) is redescribed from the dermal denticles of the southern fiddler ray, Trygonorrhina fasciata (Rhinobatidae) collected off Adelaide, South Australia. This is a new host and locality record. The anatomy of the larva is described from observations of live larvae and the presence of six needle-like spicules in the larval haptor is confirmed. The development of P. aptychotremae is also described.

Dolichorchis lacombeensis sp. nov., a digenean parasite of the gut of the cocoi heron, Ardea cocoi (L.), is described as a new species from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. This new species most closely resembles D. buteii and D. tregenna in the distribution of the vitelline follicles, which reach the intestinal bifurcation in the forebody. D. buteii can be distinguished from D. lacombeensis sp. nov. by the distribution of the vitelline follicles in the hindbody, which are concentrated in midline, by the presence of a sphincter in genital pore and by the size of holdfast organ and posterior testis, which are larger, (240–400 × 176–240 and 315–464 × 240–410 µm, respectively). D. tregenna differ from the new species by their larger measurements (pseudosuckers’ length 90–100, pharynx 52–90 × 50–70 and eggs 89–104 × 48–68 µm).

Development and morphology of the scolex and mode of attachment of Wenyonia virilis Woodland, 1923, a caryophyllaeid cestode from the silurid Nile fish Synodontis schall (Bloch et Schneider, 1801), were studied by means of light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Scolex and genital primordia changes through four stages of juvenile development are described. Longitudinal ridges do not appear on the scolex until the cestode has well defined genital primordia. This is in stark contrast to other caryophyllidean genera in which the basic morphology of the adult scolex becomes evident at the procercoid stage in the oligochaete intermediate host. The scolex of the adult has 13 to 19 prominent longitudinal ridges and deep furrows that come together at the apex to form an apical ring, a protrusible terminal introvert within the apical ring that forms a deep apical pouch when fully retracted, and a central group of Faserzellen. The scolex of W. virilis appears similar to the rugomonobothriate scolex of another African caryophyllid, Monobothrioides chalmersius (Woodland, 1924). Comparisons are made with other caryophyllideans having a scolex with a terminal structure: Monobothrium Diesing, 1863, Djombangia Bovien, 1926 and Caryoaustralus Mackiewicz et Blair, 1980. The terminal introvert may be responsible for attachment in early juvenile stages, but may be supplemented by the longitudinal ridges and furrows later in development. Host tissue appears to be drawn into these furrows that function as weak organs of attachment. We could not determine how the introvert of adult worms functions in attachment. At the site of attachment, the mucosa showed necrosis and degeneration and the submucosa exhibited vacuolization and infiltration with lymphocytes and leucocytes.

Morphological data for Acanthocephaloides propinquus (Arhythmacanthidae) from gobiid fishes from the northwestern Black Sea are presented. Individuals from the Black Sea differ from the descriptions based on Mediterranean specimens in having 4–5 proboscis hooks per row in the former and 5–6 in the latter. The size of the cuticular spines is rejected as a diagnostic character for A. propinquus because their length varies in a wide range (3.0–7.5 µm). The diagnostic characters for identifying A. propinquus include the presence of small culticular spines, the testes located in the central part of the body and an acanthor having a single hooklet lacking a root.

Three new species of the feather mite genus Pteroherpus Gaud, 1981 are described from the bulbuls (Passeriformes, Pycnonotidae) in Africa: Pteroherpus nicator sp. nov. from Nicator gularis Hartlaub et Finsch, 1870, P. pyrrhuri sp. nov. from Pyrrhurus scandens (Swainson, 1837), and P. trinoton sp. nov. from Phyllastrephus terrestris Swainson, 1837.

A study of some antiparasitic properties of several homoallylamines and related tetrahydroquinolines and quinolines, previously described, was carried out using in vitro activity assays against the epimastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi and against Trichomonas vaginalis. Unspecific cytotoxicity against murine macrophages was also studied. Although the antichagasic and trichomonacidal activities are not comparable to those of the standard drugs, nifurtimox and metronidazole, some of the compounds exhibit an interesting specific antiparasitic activity.

Cysticercosis (CC) is a polymorphous disease, which makes its diagnosis difficult. This study had the objective of evaluating the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory criteria in human CC. An epidemiological questionnaire was applied, and indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and ELISA-IgG were utilized together with computerized tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging on 90 patients with clinical signs suggestive of neurocysticercosis (NCC). Most patients had previously lived under deficient basic sanitary conditions. The imaging techniques showed that 92.2% of the cysticerci were in the cerebral parenchyma, 5.5% had a ventricular location, 1.1% were periventricular and 1% was ocular. The cysticerci were observed to be predominantly in the inactive phase. Seropositivity to the IFAT and/or ELISA was shown by 32.2% (29/90). Of the 29 seropositive patients, 72.4% presented cysticerci in the inactive form, and of the 61 seronegative patients, 78.7% also presented cysticerci in the inactive form. There was no correlation between active CC and seropositivity, since 72.4% of the seropositive patients presented calcified cysticerci. The results demonstrated that imaging techniques contributed significantly to elucidate the laboratorial diagnosis and to evaluate the stage of cysticercus development.