ASSESSMENT OF THE PRESENCE OF Toxocara EGGS IN SOILS OF AN ARID AREA IN CENTRAL-WESTERN ARGENTINA

With the aim of studying the contamination of soils with eggs of Toxocara spp. in an arid area in the central-western region of Argentina, 76 soil samples were collected from 18 towns belonging to six provinces of central-western Argentina. They were processed by the centrifugal flotation method. No eggs of Toxocara spp. were found. It can be concluded that the negative results are directly related to the characteristics of the environment and climate present in the studied area. The finding of eggs in soils depends on several factors: the presence of canine or feline feces, the hygienic behavior of pet owners, the presence of stray animals without veterinary supervision, the weather and environmental conditions, and laboratory techniques used; and all these circumstances must be considered when comparing the results found in different geographical regions. In order to accurately define the importance of public spaces in the transmission of infection to humans, it is important to consider the role of backyards or green spaces around housing in small towns, where the population is not used to walking pets in public spaces, and in such cases a significant fraction of the population may acquire the infection within households.

OCCURRENCE OF Calodium hepaticum (BANCROFT, 1893) MORAVEC, 1982 EGGS IN FECES OF DOGS AND CATS IN LAGES, SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL

This study aims to report the incidence of Calodium hepaticum among dogs and cats, pets or stray animals, captured by the Zoonosis Control Center (CCZ) in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Fecal samples from 108 pet dogs and eight pet cats, and from 357 stray dogs and 97 stray cats, captured by CCZ, were analyzed within the period from July 2010 to November 2012. Coproparasitological exams were performed by techniques of sedimentation, centrifuge-flotation, and simple flotation. Among 465 fecal samples from dogs and 105 from cats, the overall spurious infections for C. hepaticum eggs were 1.05%. For dogs, this positivity was 0.43% and for cats it was 3.81%. The two positive dogs were stray and out of the four cats, three were stray and one was a pet. Although the occurrence of C. hepaticum eggs was low, these data reveal the existence of infected rodents, especially in public places, since, out of the six infected animals, five (83.33%) were stray. These results are discussed and analyzed with an emphasis on the risk to public health.

Environmental contamination by Toxocara sp eggs in public areas of Salvador, Bahia state, Brazil

A survey ofparasite eggs and cysts in soil and dog feces collected in public places of 23 boroughs of Salvador, a city in the Northeast of Brazil, was performed. High degree of contamination by Toxocara sp eggs was observed in all boroughs studied; other parasites found included: Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworms, whipworms and protozoan cysts. Parks andpublic gardens were more contaminated than streets and beachesfor all parasites, including Toxocara sp.

Antigens of worms and eggs showed a differentiated detection of specific IgG according to the time of Schistosoma mansoni infection in mice

INTRODUCTION: The correlation between the immunological assay and the antibody titer can offer a tool for the experimental analysis of different phases of the disease. METHODS: Two simple immunological assays for Schistosoma mansoni in mice sera samples based on specific IgG detection for worms soluble antigens and eggs soluble antigens were standardized and evaluated in our laboratory. Fifty mice were used in negative and positive groups and the results obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) assays were compared with the number of worms counted and the IgG titers at different times of infection. RESULTS: Data showed that ELISA using adult worm antigens (ELISA-SWAP) presented a satisfactory correlation between the absorbance value of IgG titers and the individual number of worms counted after perfusion technique (R²=0.62). In addition, ELISA-SWAP differentially detected positive samples with 30 and 60 days post infection (p=0.011 and 0.003, respectively), whereas ELISA using egg antigens (ELISA-SEA) detected samples after 140 days (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: These data show that the use of different antigens in immunological methods can be used as potential tools for the analysis of the chronological evolution of S. mansoni infection in murine schistosomiasis. Correlations with human schistosomiasis are discussed.

Aedes aegypti eggs oviposited on water surface collected from field ovitraps in Nova Iguaçu City, Brazil

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Aedes aegypti eggs can be collected from the water surface. METHODS: Aedes aegypti oviposition from 97 field ovitraps was studied. RESULTS: Of the 16,016 eggs collected, 11,439 were obtained from paddles in ovitraps and 4,577 from water. Further, 89 (91.8%) traps contained eggs on water and 22 (22.7%) traps contained eggs only on water. CONCLUSIONS: In field traps, Aedes aegypti females usually oviposit some eggs on water surface suggesting that they might also oviposit on water of some natural breeding, and this possibility needs to be investigated. Eggs oviposited on water need to be considered for collecting trap data.

Eggs and eggshells of Crocodylomorpha from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

Crocodylomorph eggs are relatively poorly known in the fossil record when compared with skeletal remains, which are found all over the world, or when compared with dinosaur eggs. Herein are described crocodiloid eggshells from the Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation of Portugal, recovered from five sites: Cambelas (clutch), Casal da Rola, Peralta (eggshell fragments), and Paimogo North and South (three partial crushed eggs and eggshell fragments). The clutch of Cambelas, composed of 13 eggs, is the only sample not found in association with dinosaur eggshells. Morphological characters of the eggshells described herein, such as shell units and microstructure, are consistent with the crocodiloid morphotype. As such, this material is assigned to the oofamily Krokolithidae, making them the oldest known crocodylomorph eggs so far and the best record for eggs of non-crocodylian crocodylomorphs. Two new ootaxa are erected, Suchoolithus portucalensis oogen. et oosp. nov, for the clutch of Cambelas, and Krokolithes dinophilus, oosp. nov., for the remaining eggshells. The basic structure of crocodilian eggshells has remained stable since at least the Late Jurassic. Additionally, the findings suggest previously unknown biological associations with contemporary archosaurs, shedding light on the poorly understood egg morphology, reproduction strategies and paleobiology of crocodylomorphs during the Late Jurassic.

Oviposition behaviour of Gryon gallardoi (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae) on eggs of different ages of Spartocera dentiventris (Hemiptera, Coreidae)

The oviposition behaviour of Gryon gallardoi (Brèthes, 1914) on eggs of Spartocera dentiventris Mendonça Jr. (Berg, 1884) of different ages (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12 days) was investigated. Groups of 12 eggs of each age were exposed to single females of G. gallardoi, and the oviposition behaviour was recorded under a stereomicroscope for two hours. Ten replicates were used for each age. In order to identify the moment the parasitoid egg was released inside the host, 1-day old eggs of S. dentiventris were exposed to G. gallardoi females, and the oviposition was interrupted at intervals of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and 160s after ovipositor insertion had initiated. Five behavioural steps were recorded: drumming, ovipositor insertion, marking, walking and resting. The average drumming and ovipositor insertion times increased with the host age (P<0.01). Ovipositor insertion usually occurred next to the longitudinal extremities of the host eggs. Marking took on average 19.5 ± 0.7s, and as walking and resting, was not affected by host age. Self-parasitism behaviour was observed in only 13.8 ± 2.3% of the eggs, being more evident with increasing patch depletion (reduction in non-parasitized eggs in the egg group, P<0.01), again with no variation due to changes in host egg age. For all ages tested, self-parasitized host eggs were less frequently contacted and accepted than non-parasitized ones (P<0.01). The parasitoid egg was released 137.0 ± 3.7s after ovipositor insertion. Spartocera dentiventris egg condition can lead to parasitoid behavioural changes, especially during the process of host choice and discrimination.

The finding of eggs of Diphyllobothrium in human coprolites (4.100-1.950 BC) from Northern Chile

Twenty six coprolites from an archaeological site in the province of Iquique, northern Chile, were examined for parasites. Coprolites were found in two excavation units, I and II (Tiliviche site), dated respectively at 5,900 B.C. to 4,110 B.C. and 4,110 B.C. to 1,950 B.C., and identified as of human origin. Only at the unit II coprolites containing helminth eggs identified as Diphyllobothrium pacificum were found. The presence of this tapeworm, a parasite of the American Sea Lion, in human coprolites, points to a diet which included marine fishes and provides information on the antiquity of infection by Diphyllobothrium pacificum. It is interesting to note that Baer (1969) suggests the presence of this tapeworm in pre-Columbian populations when diagnosing the first human cases in today's population in Peru.

The finding of Enterobius vermicularis eggs in pré-Columbian human coprolites

Enterobius vermicularis eggs were found in human coprolites collected in the archaeological site of Caserones, Tarapaca Valley, Chile, dating from 400 BC to 800 AD. The human pinworm had already been found in other pre-historic archaeological sites in America, and its introduction in this continent is discussed.

Food availability affects the maternal transfer of androgens and antibodies into eggs of a colonial seabird.

Mothers can improve the quality of their offspring by increasing the level of certain components in their eggs. To examine whether or not mothers increase deposition of such components in eggs as a function of food availability, we food-supplemented black-legged kittiwake females (Rissa tridactyla) before and during egg laying and compared deposition of androgens and antibodies into eggs of first and experimentally induced replacement clutches. Food-supplemented females transferred lower amounts of androgens and antibodies into eggs of induced replacement clutches than did non-food-supplemented mothers, whereas first clutches presented no differences between treatments. Our results suggest that when females are in lower condition, they transfer more androgens and antibodies into eggs to facilitate chick development despite potential long-term costs for juveniles. Females in prime condition may avoid these potential long-term costs because they can provide their chicks with more and higher quality resources.