Parasites and pathology of the respiratory tracts of native and feral mammals in Australia - a review (original) (raw)
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Zoonotic parasites of selected exotic animals
Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 1996
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.
Mammal Study, 2005
We summarized the data from the past three TTC (now IMC) meetings to examine the potential trends in presentation of parasites of mammals at the meeting. The lists include titles and authors of papers given in symposia, poster sessions, and oral presentations related to diseases, zoonoses, parasites, and causative agents of diseases of sylvatic mammals. Our analysis shows that there has been an increase in the number of papers (from 2.8% in 1997 to 5.1% in 2005) presented at the International Mammalogical Meetings. We also show that there are potentially more than 27,000 species of parasites (broadly defined) currently inhabiting the more than 5,400 species of extant mammals. To understand ecological biodiversity, it is necessary to know the complete mammal, including both ecto-and endosymbionts, and the systematics of the mammal itself.
The vector biology and microbiome of parasitic mites and other ectoparasites of rodents
2021
Background: Rodents have become increasingly recognised as hosts of ectoparasites and reservoirs of numerous vector-borne bacterial zoonoses including scrub typhus (Orientia spp.), bartonellosis (Bartonella spp.), Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi complex), and plague (Yersinia pestis). While these diseases are emerging or re-emerging worldwide, the epidemiology and ecology is often poorly described outside Europe and North America, adversely affecting timely surveillance. Objectives: This study aimed to define the taxonomic diversity and bacterial microbiome of ectoparasites collected from wild rodents in the Asir Region of southwestern Saudi Arabia, with a main focus on chigger mites (family Trombiculidae), the vectors of scrub typhus. The distribution of non-pathogenic bacterial symbionts in ectoparasites that might impact disease transmission was also explored, including in a preliminary study on a laboratory colony of the tropical rat mite, Ornithonyssus bacoti. Methods: Wild rodents were trapped in scrubland across one site on the slopes of the Asir Mountains in 2016 (Alous village) and three sites in 2017 (Alous, Alogl and Wosanib). Rodents were euthanized prior to examination and all ectoparasites were collected and stored in absolute ethanol. A 10% subsample of ectoparasites was selected from each rodent for mounting in Berlese fluid and morphometric examination. Following DNA extraction, the v4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified by PCR, and amplicons were sequenced using Illumina technology. Specific PCRs were used to confirm the presence and strain of selected bacterial pathogens and symbionts. For the O. bacoti colony, the mite microbiome was profiled using Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies alongside conventional culture on solid media. Results: A total of 8,270 ectoparasites were obtained from 74 rodent specimens belonging to five species (Acomys dimidiatus, Myomyscus yemeni, Mus musculus, Rattus rattus and Meriones rex), comprising 6,774 chigger mites and 1,496 other ectoparasites. Based on the morphology of the scutum, chiggers were assigned to subgenera and provisionally into 19 species, including four newly described species: Schoutedenichia asirensis sp. nov., Schoutedenichia saudi sp. nov., Microtrombicula microscuta sp. nov., and Microtrombicula muhaylensis sp. nov. Fifteen species were for the first time recorded in Saudi Arabia and ii on new host species. The site with the highest mean chigger infestation (97.05%) was Alous, and the host species with the greatest mean infestation rate (60.81%) was the Eastern spiny mouse (A. dimidiatus). Three flea species, two louse species and two gamasid mite species were identified with high confidence; whereas immature ticks of the genera Rhipicephalus and Haemaphysalis were allocated to three and two molecular clades, respectively. Potentially pathogenic bacteria detected in ectoparasites included Orientia chuto and a Coxiella burnetii-like organism in chiggers, Bartonella acomydis in fleas, and organisms related to Ehrlichia ewingii and Anaplasma spp. in ticks. Symbiotic bacteria with putative mutualistic or parasitic phenotypes were present in fleas (Wolbachia clade B, Candidatus Cardinium and Spiroplasma ixodetis), lice (Candidatus Legionella polyplacis), ticks (Coxiellaand Francisella-like endosymbionts), and chiggers (Wolbachia and Candidatus Cardinium) as first records for Saudi Arabia. In the O. bacoti colony, the mite microbiome included Staphylococcus, Proteus and Bacillus, while Alcaligenes faecalis was isolated from mites infected with filarial worms. Conclusions: This is the first survey of rodent ectoparasite diversity and zoonotic bacterial pathogens performed in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. The chigger diversity in the region is especially high, and the presence of Orientia and Coxiella spp. in these mites should be investigated further to determine if they might be vectors of scrub typhus and/or involved in transmission of Q-fever. Other potential pathogens (Anaplasma and Ehrlichia) were detected in ticks; whereas all ectoparasite groups, including chiggers, contained putative symbionts. In O. bacoti mites, the detrimental impact of filarial infection might be associated with A. faecalis. iii Author's Declaration The following describes the contributions of other individuals to the work presented in this thesis alongside my own.
We present data on pulmonary infection rates by parasites in the lizards Tropidurus hispidus Spix, 1825 and T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825) living sympatrically in the Chapada do Araripe mountain Range, northeastern Brazil. We found no parasite pulmonary infection in T. semitaeniatus. However, two pulmonary parasite species were found in the T. hispidus hosts, the pentastomid Raillietiella mottae Almeida, Freire and Lopes, 2008 and the nematode Rhabdias sp. Overall prevalence was 5%. Prevalence of R. mottae was 2.5% and corresponded to only one parasite on each infected host. Prevalence of Rhabdias sp. was 2.5% and the range of infection was 1-2 parasites per host. This represents the first record of Rhabdias infecting lizards of the family Tropiduridae in the Neotropical region. Furthermore, we present a comparison of parameters of infection by pulmonary parasites including some recent studies in Brazil.
Parasites from farmed ostriches (Struthio camelus) and rheas (Rhea americana) in Europe
Veterinary Parasitology, 2002
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).
Nematode parasites of the cardiopulmonary system of livestock and pet animals have been receiving attention due to the pathogenic effects they produce in the course of the infection. However, parasitism in wild animals by metastrongilid nematodes has been neglected, resulting in potential risk to wildlife. Heterostrongylus heterostrongylus is the etiological agent of bronchial pneumonia in the black-eared opossum, Didelphis aurita, a widely distributed marsupial frequently reported to inhabit areas from wild environments to peri-urban spaces. In this study, we reassessed the taxonomy of H. heterostrongylus, describing and comparing morphology of L 1 and L 3 larvae and adult worms with closely related angiostrongilids, and inferring phylogenetic affinities within the family Angiostrongylidae; we also detailed histopathological reactions under natural infection. Ultrastructural morphology and light microscopy confirmed cephalic structures with well-developed trilobed lips, patterns of caudal bursa rays, spicules shape, terminal anal aperture and presence of the ventral protuberance in L 3 larvae, characteristics present for the family Angiostrongylidae. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses, based on the partial small subunit (SSU) 18S rRNA gene, suggested that H. heterostrongylus and Didelphostrongylus hayesi are closely related. Pathological analyses agreed with previous findings, showing that cardiopulmonary parasitism provokes verminous pneumonia and mucous bronchiolitis with hypertrophy of the smooth bronchiolar muscle. These data confirmed that H. heterostrongylus represents a pulmonary pathogen in D. aurita, produces severe pathological effects, and may represent risk to domestic and wild animals.