Observations on helminth infections of free-living and captive rheas (Rhea americana) in Brazil

The present work describes helminth infection of eight free-living and 12 captive rheas (Rhea americana) from, respectively, Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul State, and Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil. Captive birds were young and had a high mortality rate, while free-living birds were adult and apparently healthy. Infections were evaluated by post-mortem examination of internal organs and recovery of helminths using standard parasitological procedures. Seven species of nematodes (Sicarius uncinipenis, Torquatoides crotophaga, Deletrocephalus dimidiatus, D. cesarpintoi, Paradeletrocephalus minor, Capillaria venteli and Dicheilonema rheae) and two species of cestodes (Houttuynia struthionis and Chapmania tauricolis) were identified. P. minor, which inhabits the large intestine, was the most common helminth in free-living birds (63.9%). In captive rheas, a mean parasitic load of 173 helminths per host was found. The gizzard of these birds was the most parasitized organ and S. uncinipenis was most common (92.5%). Parasitism of free-living and captive birds and associated pathology are discussed. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B. V.

First report of coenurosis in sheep in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Este trabalho relata o primeiro caso de cenurose no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Essa doença é causada por estágios larvais de Taenia multiceps (Leske, 1780). O animal no qual foi diagnosticado, tinha cerca de 18 meses de idade, oriundo de uma área endêmica no Sul do Brasil, integrante de um grupo de 30 ovinos importados para o Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. O quadro clínico-patológico apresentado é aquele comumente descrito para herbívoros, infectados com o agente, especialmente ovinos. Os sinais clínicos relatados foram: apatia, nistagmo, cegueira intermitente, andar em círculos e pressão da cabeça contra obstáculos. Na necropsia foi observada uma lesão, no subcórtex do hemisfério cerebral direito, caracterizada por um cisto em forma de vesícula, medindo 4 cm de diâmetro, e seu interior preenchido por líquido translúcido com grande número de pequenas esferas brancas, identificadas como protoscolices. Os protoscolices foram identificados como Coenurus cerebralis, e os tecidos do cérebro submetidos complementarmente a exames histopatológicos para descrição da lesão.

Taenia saginata: Differential diagnosis of human taeniasis by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay

Speciation of Taenia in human stool is important because of their different clinical and epidemiological features. DNA analysis has recently become possible which overcomes the problems of differentiating human taeniid cestodes morphologically. In the present study, we evaluated PCR coupled to restriction fragment length polymorphism to differentiate Taenia solium from Taenia saginata eggs present in fecal samples from naturally infected patients. A different Dral-RFLP pattern: a two-band pattern (421 and 100 bp) for T saginata and a three-band pattern (234, 188, and 99 bp) for T solium was observed allowing the two species to be separated.. The lower detection limit of the PCR-RFLP using a non-infected fecal sample prepared with a given number of T saginata eggs was 34 eggs in 2 g stool sediment. The 521 bp mtDNA fragment was detected in 8 out of 12 Taenia sp. carriers (66.6%). of these, three showed a T solium pattern and five a T saginata pattern. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Checklist of helminths from lizards and amphisbaenians (Reptilia, Squamata) of South America

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Ecology of the parasitic endohelminth community of Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (Linnaeus, 1776) (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) from the Aquidauana River, Pantanal, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fauna parasitária de cachara Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (Siluriforme: Pimelodidae) do rio Aquidauana, Pantanal Sul Mato-grossense, Brasil

In this work are presented data for mean abundance, prevalence and mean intensity of infection in 34 specimens of Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, commonly called cacharas. Fish were captured using nets in the Aquidauana river during March, September and November 2003, October 2004 and October 2005. All analyzed fish were infected. Nineteen species of parasites were collected - seven of them were proteocephalid cestodes, three monogeneans, one species of digeneans, three nematodes, one acanthocephalan, one crustacean, one pentastomid and two species of myxosporeans. The first records of Harriscolex kaparari and Megathylacus travassosi in P. fasciatum in the Aquidauana river were observed. Monogeneans featured the highest prevalence (100%), followed by cestodes (91.18%) and nematodes (58.82%).

Pesquisa de ovos de helmintos em lodo de esgoto oriundo de Campo Grande (MS) após tratamento anaeróbico

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FMVZ

Diversidade de helmintos de Notothenia coriiceps Richardson, 1844 da Baía do Almirantado, Ilha do Rei George, Antártica

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fauna parasitária e alterações teciduais em três espécies de peixes dos rios Aquidauana e Miranda, Pantanal Sul Mato-Grossense

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Padrões de infecção por helmintos em comunidades de lagartos do Brasil central

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Lanfrediella amphicirrus gen. nov. sp. nov. Nematotaeniidae (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea), a tapeworm parasite of Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Amphibia: Bufonidae)

The family Nematotaeniidae, tapeworms commonly found in the small intestines of amphibians and reptiles, includes 27 recognised species distributed among four genera: Bitegmen Jones, Cylindrotaenia Jewell, Distoichometra Dickey and Nematotaenia Lühe. The taxonomy of these cestodes is poorly defined, due in part to the difficulties of observing many anatomical traits. This study presents and describes a new genus and species of nematotaeniid parasite found in cane toads (Rhinella marina) from eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The cestodes were collected during the necropsy of 20 hosts captured in the urban area of Belém, Pará. The specimens were fixed and processed for light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. Samples were also collected for molecular analyses. The specimens presented a cylindrical body, two testes and paruterine organs. However, they could not be allocated to any of the four existing nematotaeniid genera due to the presence of two each of dorsal compact medullary testes, cirri, cirrus pouches, genital pores, ovaries and vitelline glands per mature segment. Lanfrediella amphicirrus gen. nov. sp. nov. is the first nematotaeniid studied using Historesin analysis, SEM and 3D reconstruction, and it is the second taxon for which molecular data have been deposited in GenBank.

Helmintos de quirópteros da região Centro-Oeste do estado de São Paulo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Endohelminths in Cichla piquiti (Perciformes, Cichlidae) from the Paraná River, São Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Descrição da fauna parasitária de raias e tubarões marinhos (Elasmobranchii), fauna acompanhante da pesca comercial no litoral Sul e Sudeste do Brasil

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Helminth parasite communities of allopatric populations of the frog Leptodactylus podicipinus from Pantanal, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)