Folia Parasitologica - Latest articles

Effects of three kinds of Chinese herbs on growth performance, oocysts output and gut microbiota in growing lambs with coccidiosis

Yanfeng He, Zhanming Wang, Shijie Li, Pan Chen, Kaili Liu, Manman Li, Yingmin Wang, Aftab Shaukat, Muhammad Abdullah, Senyang Li, Shucheng Huang, Fuchun Jian

Folia Parasitologica 71:009 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.009  

Coccidiosis is a protozoan intestinal disease that reduces the production of the sheep industry and causes large economic losses for sheep. Although chemically synthesised drugs are routinely employed to treat coccidiosis in sheep, the anticoccidial drug resistance and drug residues in edible meat have prompted an urgent search for alternatives. Herein, the anticoccidial properties of diclazuril, a conventional anticoccidial drug, and Allium sativum, Houttuynia cordata and Portulaca oleracea were assessed. Forty 45-day-old lambs naturally infected with Eimeria spp. were selected and randomly divided into five groups. The...

Impact of latent toxoplasmosis on pneumonic and non-pneumonic COVID-19 patients with estimation of relevant oxidative stress biomarkers

Doaa A. Hamdy, Ragaey A. Eid, Heba Abdel-Tawab, Mohamed A. El-Badry, Abdelrahman M. Abdallah, Wegdan M. Abd El Wahab

Folia Parasitologica 71:008 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.008  

Susceptibility to COVID-19, the most devastating global pandemic, appears to vary widely across different population groups. Exposure to toxoplasmosis has been proposed as a theory to explain the diversity of these populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between latent toxoplasmosis and COVID-19 and its probable correlation with markers of oxidative stress, C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin. In a case-control study, blood samples were collected from 91 confirmed (48 non-pneumonic; NP, and 43 pneumonic; P) COVID-19 patients and 45 healthy controls. All participants were tested for IgG anti-Toxoplasma...

Some trematodes including three new species from freshwater fishes of Venezuela

František Moravec, Antonín Prouza

Folia Parasitologica 71:007 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.007  

The present paper comprises a systematic survey of trematodes found in 13 species of freshwater fishes in Venezuela collected in 1992, 1996 and 2001. The following 15 trematode species were recorded: Adults: Genarchella venezuelaensis sp. n., Thometrema dissimilis sp. n., Megacoelium spinicavum Thatcher et Varella, 1981, Doradamphistoma bacuense Thatcher, 1999, Crassicutis cichlasomae Manter, 1936, Parspina carapo Ostrowski de Núñez, Arredonto et Gil de Pertierra, 2011, Phyllodistomoides hoplerythrini sp. n. Larvae (metacercariae): Clinostomatopsis sorbens (Braun, 1899), Clinostomum...

Heterocheilus floridensis sp. n. (Nematoda: Heterocheilidae) from the West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus (Trichechidae, Sirenia) in Florida, USA

František Moravec, Micah D. Bakenhaster, Seifu Seyoum, Michael D. Tringali

Folia Parasitologica 71:006 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.006  

Morphological data are used to describe a new nematode species, Heterocheilus floridensis sp. n. (Heterocheilidae) from the digestive tract of the Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris (Harlan) (Trichechidae, Sirenia) from Florida, USA. Examination by light and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the new species differs from the related Heterocheilus tunicatus Diesing, 1839 mainly by having dentigerous ridges on the inner surface of the lips, a median unpaired papilla located anterior to the cloaca, and a considerably larger body size. Sequence data for subunits I and II of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase...

Henneguya (Cnidaria: Myxobolidae) species infecting Oligosarcus jenynsii (Characiformes: Characidae) in a Neotropical shallow lake from Argentina: morphological and molecular characterisation

María Alejandra Rossin, Delfina María Paula Cantatore, Martina Lisnerová, Verónica Taglioretti, Astrid Sibylle Holzer

Folia Parasitologica 71:005 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.005  

Two previously undescribed myxozoan species, Henneguya sardellae sp. n. and H. margaritae sp. n., found infecting connective tissues of the Neotropical characid fish Oligosarcus jenynsii (Günther) from Argentina are morphologically and molecularly characterised. Mature spores of H. sardellae sp. n. are ellipsoid, with two, straight and visibly fused caudal appendages cleaved at its blunt terminal end; measuring 33.5 ± 1.2 (30.9-35.5) μm in total length, spore body 17.5 ± 0.6 (16.3-18.6) µm, 7.8 ± 0.4 (7.0-8.8) µm wide and 6.9 ± 0.2 (6.6-7.2) µm thick, with two elongated, unequally-sized...

Post-therapeutic cure criterion in chronic Chagas disease using Trypanosoma cruzi chimeric proteins

Tycha Bianca Sabaini Pavan, Leonardo Maia Leony, Wayner Vieira de Souza, Emily Ferreira Santos, Ramona Tavares Daltro, Natália Erdens Maron Freitas, Larissa Carvalho Medrado Vasconcelos, Fernanda Lopes Habib, Ângelo Antônio Oliveira Silva, Paola Alejandra Fiorani Celedon, Daniel Dias Sampaio, Nilson Ivo Tonin Zanchin, Silvia Andrea Longhi, Fred Luciano Neves Santos

Folia Parasitologica 71:004 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.004  

Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, 1909. Causative treatment can be achieved with two drugs: benznidazole or Nifurtimox. There are some gaps that hinder progress in eradicating the disease. There is no test that can efficiently assess cure control after treatment. Currently, the decline in anti-T. cruzi antibody titres is assessed with conventional serological tests, which can take years. However, the search for new markers of cure must continue to fill this gap. The present study aimed to evaluate the decline in serological titres using chimeric proteins after treatment with benznidazole in...

New species of Echinobothrium van Beneden, 1849 (Cestoda: Diphyllidea) from Indo-Pacific maskrays (Neotrygon Castelnau) off Australia and Borneo

Sara Dallarés, Roman Kuchta

Folia Parasitologica 71:003 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.003  

Four new diphyllidean species of the genus Echinobothrium van Beneden, 1849 are described from Indo-Pacific maskrays (Neotrygon Castelnau, Dasyatidae). Echinobothrium giraffaeous sp. n. from Neotrygon leylandi (Last) off northern Australia, Echinobothrium ivanovae sp. n. from Neotrygon orientalis Last, White et Serét off Borneo, and Echinobothrium bethae sp. n. from Neotrygon varidens (Garman) off Borneo are distinguished from all but one of the 33 valid species of the genus by the possession of the outermost A hooks with an extended base into which the bases of the...

Comprehensive molecular characterisation of the complete mitogenome of Ergasilus tumidus and phylogenetic relationships of Copepoda inferred from mitogenomes

Yan Huang, Jin-Mei Feng, Wei Liu, Bin-Lian Sun, Xi-Ji Shu, Wen-Xiang Li, Gui-Tang Wang, Cong-Jie Hua

Folia Parasitologica 71:002 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.002  

Although parasitic copepods of the genus Ergasilus von Nordmann, 1832 are globally distributed parasites of fish, their phylogenetic relationships with other Copepoda are not clear, and the characteristics of their mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are not thoroughly understood. The objective of this study was to address these knowledge gaps by sequencing the complete mitogenome of Ergasilus tumidus Markevich, 1940. The complete mitogenome (GenBank Acc. No. OQ596537) was 14,431 bp long and it comprised 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNAs, two tRNAs, and two control regions (CRs). Phylogenetic analyses, conducted using concatenated...

Manual for the study of tapeworms (Cestoda) parasitic in ray-finned fish, amphibians and reptiles

Lenta Chervy

Folia Parasitologica 71:001 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.001  

Based on long-term and often frustrating experiences with the poor quality of tapeworms (Cestoda) collected throughout the world for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, and considering the increasing obstacles to obtaining new material, a simple, easy-to-use and illustrated methodological guide (manual) is provided. It focusses mainly on key steps in examining hosts, collecting cestodes from poikilothermous vertebrates except elasmobranchs, i.e., from ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii), amphibians and 'reptiles' (a paraphyletic group comprising all sauropsids except birds), and fixing them for subsequent morphological and molecular study. It is proposed...

Infection pattern of Echinorhynchus salobrensis (Acanthocephala) in congeneric species of piranha from a Neotropical floodplain region

Guilherme Pomaro Casali, João Otávio Santos Silva, Atsler Luana Lehun, Lidiany Doreto Cavalcanti, Gabriela Michelan, Eloiza Muniz Capparros, Ricardo Massato Takemoto

Folia Parasitologica 70:022 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.022  

Acanthocephalans are obligate endoparasites characterised by the presence of a proboscis with hooks, which are used to adhere and perforate the intestinal wall of their hosts. Individuals of Echinorhynchus salobrensis Machado Filho, 1948 have been reported parasitising the piranhas Serrasalmus maculatus Kner and Serrasalmus marginatus Valenciennes in the upper Paraná River floodplain. Serrasalmus marginatus is considered non-native at this site, and its establishment occurred after the closure of the Itaipu Hydroelectric, which flooded a natural geographic barrier that separated two ecoregions in the Paraná River. Since...

Acanthocephalans of marine and freshwater fishes from Taiwan with description of a new species

Olga Lisitsyna, Daniel Barčák, Martina Orosová, Chia-Kwung Fan, Mikuláš Oros

Folia Parasitologica 70:021 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.021  

During an ichthyoparasitological survey in 2017-2019, six species of acanthocephalans were found among Taiwan's freshwater (Cypriniformes: Xenocyprididae, Cyprinidae) and marine fishes (Scombriformes: Scombridae, Trichiuridae; Anabantiformes: Channidae; Carangaria/misc: Latidae): Micracanthorhynchina dakusuiensis (Harada, 1938), Rhadinorhynchus laterospinosus Amin, Heckmann et Ha, 2011, Pallisentis rexus Wongkham et Whitfield, 1999, Longicollum sp., Bolbosoma vasculosum (Rudolphi, 1819), and one new species, Micracanthorynchina brevelemniscus sp. n. All species are morphologically characterised and illustrated...

Parasitic manipulation or side effects? The effects of past Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia spp. infections on human personality and cognitive performance are not mediated by impaired health

Jaroslav Flegr, Jana Ullmann, Jan Toman

Folia Parasitologica 70:020 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.020  

Bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. and even more the protist Toxoplasma gondii Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908, are known to affect the behaviour and mental health of their animal and human hosts. Both pathogens infect a significant fraction of human population, both are neurotropic and survive in the host's body for a long time. While latent infections were thought to be clinically asymptomatic, recent studies suggest otherwise, revealing adverse effects on human health. It was hypothesised that the specific behavioural effects of these pathogens may be side effects of general health impairments in infected individuals. This hypothesis was...

First report and molecular characterisation of Rhabdochona hospeti Thapar, 1950 (Thelazioidea: Rhabdochonidae) from tor barb, Tor tor (Hamilton) (Cyprinidae), in Assam, India

Keisham Lebanan, Phougeishangbam Rolish Singh, Naorem Mohilal

Folia Parasitologica 70:019 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.019  

Tor barbs, Tor tor (Hamilton), a cyprinid fish collected from Barak Valley, Assam, India were examined for helminth parasites. A nematode species of the genus Rhabdochona Railliet, 1916 (Rhabdochonidae) was found in the intestine of the fish specimens. The morphology of these nematodes was characterised by the presence of a funnel shaped prostom, head with four submedian sublabia, four cephalic papillae, long and slender posterior glandular oesophagus in both sexes, presence of 14 caudal papillae and two unequal spicules with pointed proximal tips in male specimens, and prominent post-equatorial vulval position, posteriorly directed vagina,...

Redescription of Illiosentis cetratus Van Cleave, 1945 (Acanthocephala: Illiosentidae) from Menticirrhus undulatus (Girard) in California, with notes on Illiosentis furcatus from Peru

Omar M. Amin, Anshu Chaudhary, Hridaya S. Singh

Folia Parasitologica 70:018 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.018  

Illiosentis Van Cleave et Lincicome, 1939 initially included two species: Illiosentis furcatus Van Cleave et Lincicome, 1939 found in the West Atlantic from Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA to northern Argentina and Illiosentis cetratus Van Cleave, 1945 with restricted distribution in the Pacific coast of southern California. We are reporting I. furcatus from Peru for the first time and describe a population of I. cetratus from the California corbina, Menticirrhus undulatus (Girard), from southern California. The proboscis hook formula was 14 longitudinal rows for I. furcatus of 18-23 hooks each...

Tetraspanins from the liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini stimulate cholangiocyte migration and inflammatory cytokine production

Apisit Ruangsuwast, Michael J. Smout, Paul J. Brindley, Alex Loukas, Thewarach Laha, Sujittra Chaiyadet

Folia Parasitologica 70:017 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.017  

The liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini (Poirier, 1886) (Digenea) secretes extracellular vesicles (EVs) bearing CD63-like tetraspanins on their surface. Fluke EVs are actively internalised by host cholangiocytes in the bile ducts, where they drive pathology and promote neoplasia through induction of cellular proliferation and secretion of inflammatory cytokines. We investigated the effects of tetraspanins of the CD63 superfamily by co-culturing recombinant forms of the large extracellular loop (LEL) of O. viverrini tetraspanin-2 (rLEL-Ov-TSP-2) and tetraspanin-3 (rLEL-Ov-TSP-3) with non-cancerous human bile duct (H69)...

European ground squirrels Spermophilus citellus (Linnaeus) do not share identical Cryptosporidium spp. with North American ground squirrels

Jana Ježková, Nikola Holubová, Jana Kvičerová, Jan Matějů, Bohumil Sak, Martin Kváč

Folia Parasitologica 70:016 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.016  

Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1910 is one of the most common protistan parasites of vertebrates. The results of this study provide the first data on Cryptosporidium diversity in the European ground squirrel Spermophilus citellus (Linnaeus). A total of 128 faecal samples of European ground squirrels from 39 localities in the Czech Republic were analysed for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. by microscopy and PCR/sequence analysis of small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU) and the actin gene. While the microscopical examination did not reveal the presence of any Cryptosporidium oocysts, eight samples from six localities were...

Molecular characterisation of three species of Coitocaecum (Digenea: Opecoelidae) infecting Clinus superciliosus (Clinidae) in South Africa, with description of Coitocaecum brayi sp. n.

Anja Vermaak, Nico J. Smit, Olena Kudlai

Folia Parasitologica 70:015 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.015  

The genus Coitocaecum Nicoll, 1915 is part of the most speciose digenean family, the Opecoelidae Ozaki, 1925, which is found globally in both freshwater and marine fishes. Fifteen opecoelid species have been reported from marine fishes in South Africa, yet only one species of Coitocaecum has been described from this region: Coitocaecum capense Bray, 1987. During an explorative study of the digeneans of the endemic, intertidal fish Clinus superciliosus (Linnaeus) from the Saldanha Bay area, Cape Town harbour, Hermanus, the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park and Chintsa East in South Africa, a total...

Genetic characterisation of four Lamproglena spp. (Copepoda, Lernaeidae) from Africa and the first mitochondrial data

Quinton M. Dos Santos, Nehemiah M. Rindoria, Annemariè Avenant-Oldewage

Folia Parasitologica 70:014 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.014  

Females of species of Lamproglena von Nordmann, 1832 are parasitic on the gills of teleost fishes and the 38 nominal species are based on mainly morphological data. Only four of these species have been genetically characterised and no mitochondrial data are available for the genus. The present study aimed to provide representative ribosomal DNA (rDNA) data for two additional species of Lamproglena from Africa: Lamproglena clariae Fryer, 1956 and Lamproglena hoi Dippenaar, Luus-Powell et Roux, 2001, alongside mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for these and two other African species, Lamproglena hemprichii...

ERRATUM: Prevalence and molecular subtyping of Blastocystis sp. in rabbits in Henan, Central China

Changwei Su, Xuefang Mei, Xia Feng, Fuqiang Zhang, Pei Wang, Bo He, Fuyang Xu, Zishan Yang, Xiaowei Tian, Zhenchao Zhang, Xiangrui Li, Shuai Wang

Folia Parasitologica 70:013 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.013  

Diversity analysis of the endosymbiotic bacterial community in field-collected Haemaphysalis ticks on the tropical Hainan Island, China

Yajun Lu, Siqi Yang, Qiuyu Zhao, Chuanfei Yuan, Qianfeng Xia

Folia Parasitologica 70:012 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.012  

Ticks are important vectors of various pathogens that cause infectious diseases in humans. Endosymbiotic bacteria have been explored as targets for tick and tick-borne disease control. However, the tick bacterial community on Hainan Island, which is the largest tropical island in China and has an environment favourable to ticks, has not yet been studied. In this study, we surveyed the bacterial community of ticks collected from grass in one village in Haikou. A total of 20 ticks were morphologically and molecularly identified as Haemaphysalis spp. The tick bacterial 16S rRNA hypervariable region amplicon libraries were sequenced on an Illumina...

Seals, fish, humans and parasites in the Baltic: ecology, evolution and history

Kurt Buchmann

Folia Parasitologica 70:011 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.011  

Evolutionary and ecological processes affecting the interactions between hosts and parasites in the aquatic environment are at display in the Baltic Sea, a young and ecologically unstable marine ecosystem, where fluctuating abiotic and biotic factors affect the parasitofauna in fish. The dynamic infections of Baltic cod, a subpopulation of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua Linnaeus), with third stage anisakid nematode larvae of Pseudoterranova decipiens (Krabbe, 1878) and Contracaecum osculatum (Rudolphi, 1802) have increased following a significant increase of the Baltic grey seal Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius) population...

Parasite communities of the golden snapper Lutjanus inermis (Perciformes: Lutjanidae): inter-annual variations during strange climatic events

Juan Violante-González, Princessa J. Villalba-Vasquez, Scott Monks, Carlos Valencia-Cayetano, Nataly G. Santos-Bustos, Shirley S. Salas-Villalobos, Dolores I. Carpio-Hernández, Francisco Valente-Alarcón

Folia Parasitologica 70:010 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.010  

Strange oceanographic events such as El Niño and La Niña may have indirect effects on the local transmission processes of intestinal parasites due to the reduction or increase in populations of potential intermediate or definitive hosts. A total of 713 individuals of Lutjanus inermis (Peters) were collected over an 8-year period (October 2015 to July 2022) from Acapulco Bay, Mexico. Parasite communities in L. inermis were quantified and analysed to determine if they experienced interannual variations in species composition and structure as a result of local biotic and abiotic factors influenced by oceanographic events, such...

A global survey of tapeworms (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae) of 'true' frogs (Amphibia: Ranidae), including a tabulated list of all proteocephalids parasitising amphibians

Tomáš Scholz, Alain de Chambrier, Olena Kudlai, Vasyl V. Tkach, Chris T. McAllister

Folia Parasitologica 70:009 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.009  

Proteocephalid tapeworms of frogs of the family Ranidae ('true' frogs) are reviewed with emphasis on their species diversity, host specificity and geographical distribution. New molecular data (nuclear lsrDNA and mitochondrial COI sequences) are presented for tapeworms of four species of ranid frogs in North America, including the poorly known Ophiotaenia saphena Osler, 1931 of Rana clamitans Latreille and R. catesbeiana (Shaw), which is redescribed using new material from Arkansas, USA. Tapeworms of R. sphenocephala (Cope) and R. pipiens Schreber, the latter previously identified as O. saphena,...

First report of Spirometra (Eucestoda; Diphyllobothriidae) naturally occurring in a fish host

Renzo Vettorazzi, Walter Norbis, Sergio R. Martorelli, Graciela García, Néstor Ríos

Folia Parasitologica 70:008 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.008  

Spirometra Faust, Campbell et Kellogg, 1929 is a genus of cestodes belonging to the family Diphyllobothriidae. To date, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals are known second intermediate hosts of these parasites; humans can also be infected (the zoonotic disease is known as sparganosis or spirometrosis). Although the number of phylogenetic studies on Spirometra spp. has increased worldwide in recent years, there are few in South America. Specifically in Uruguay, molecular studies have shown that tapeworms of S. decipiens (Diesing, 1850) complexes 1 and 2 are present in this country. In this study, we characterised the larvae of Spirometra...

Detection, identification and genotyping of Borrelia spp. in ticks of Coastal-Karst and Littoral-Inner Carniola regions in Slovenia

Jana Šušnjar, Tjaša Cerar Kišek, Katja Strašek Smrdel, Eva Ružić-Sabljić, Katja Adam, Vladimir Ivović

Folia Parasitologica 70:007 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.007  

The density and spread of tick vector species have increased throughout Europe in the last 30 years, leading to an increase of Lyme borreliosis cases, including in Slovenia. The aim of this study was to isolate Borrelia strains and determine the prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato and B. miyamotoi in adults of Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus) collected in 2019 in the two regions of the country (Coastal-Karst and Littoral-Inner Carniola) by cultivation and PCR. We isolated B. burgdorferi s.l. by culture method in 28/559 (5%) ticks from both regions. Culture-negative samples (531/559, i.e., 95%) were additionally tested...

Andryoides gen. n. and morphological key features in cestodes of the family Anoplocephalidae sensu stricto (Cyclophyllidea) in mammals

Voitto Haukisalmi

Folia Parasitologica 70:006 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.006  

As presently defined, the tapeworm genus Andrya Railliet, 1895 (Cyclophyllidea: Anoplocephalidae sensu stricto) includes the type species A. rhopalocephala (Riehm, 1881) in hares of the genus Lepus Linnaeus (Leporidae) in western Eurasia and four species in cricetid (Neotominae, Sigmodontinae) and octodontid rodents in North and South America. The host range of Andrya is puzzling, because it is the only genus of anoplocephalid (s. s.) cestodes parasitising both rodents and lagomorphs. The present morphological analysis shows that the American species of Andrya share multiple consistent features, in which...

Evidence of transplacental transmission of equine piroplasms Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in an Italian breed mare

Leticia E. Bartolomé del Pino, Aranzazu Meana, Maurizio Zini, Antonella Cersini

Folia Parasitologica 70:005 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.005  

Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a vector borne disease caused by apicomplexans protists Babesia caballi (Nuttal et Strickland, 1910) and Theileria equi (Laveran, 1901). Carrier mares may transmit the infection transplacental resulting in neonatal piroplasmosis or abortions. This event has been described for T. equi by several authors over the world, but no evidence for B. caballi has been reported in Europe. In this study, vertical transmission for both parasites in an Italian breed mare has been confirmed using molecular and microscopic tools. Transplacental transmission is an underestimated problem mainly in endemic areas...

A large-scale study on the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans in Iran

Reza Kalantari, Mahsa Esmaeilifallah, Rasool Jafari, Hossein Mirhendi Esfahani, Hossein Yousofi Darani

Folia Parasitologica 70:004 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.004  

It is estimated that nearly one-third of the world's human population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908). Human infection is commonly asymptomatic, multifaceted, and can manifest in severe pathological forms in congenital toxoplasmosis and immunocompromised individuals. This study attempted to recognise the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in Iranian residents referred to medical laboratories for toxoplasmosis tests throughout the country. This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 2015 to 2019 on individuals referred to diagnostic laboratories in 26 provinces, and these laboratories sent...

Secretion of extracellular vesicles during ontogeny of the tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus

Hynek Mazanec, Nikol Bušková, Zdenko Gardian, Roman Kuchta

Folia Parasitologica 70:003 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.003  

We provide the first ultrastructural evidence of the secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) across all parasitic stages of the tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus (Müller, 1776) (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) using a laboratory life cycle model. We confirmed the presence of EV-like bodies in all stages examined, including the hexacanth, procercoids in the copepod, Macrocyclops albidus (Jurine, 1820), plerocercoids from the body cavity of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, and adults cultivated in artificial medium. In addition, we provide description of novel tegumental structures potentially involved...

Additional data on Spinitectus petterae (Nematoda: Rhabditida) from Clarias gariepinus (Siluriformes: Clariidae) in the Vaal River system: conserved morphology or high intraspecific genetic variability?

Lucinda Austin, Quinton Marco Dos Santos, Annemariè Avenant-Oldewage

Folia Parasitologica 70:002 (2023) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2023.002  

Two species of Spinitectus Fourment, 1884 have been recorded from southern Africa, namely Spinitectus polli Campana-Rouget, 1961 and Spinitectus petterae Boomker, 1993, both from the Limpopo River system. Spinitectus petterae was described from North African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), whereas S. polli infects squeakers, Synodontis spp. During parasitological surveys in the Vaal River system (Orange River catchment), Spinitectus specimens were collected from C. gariepinus. These systems are adjacent but not connected. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the specimens collected...