Not only Taenia solium and Taenia saginata, but also Taenia asiatica infects humans. The last species is not included in the evaluation of the specificity of the immunodiagnostic techniques for taeniasis/cysticercosis. There is currently no specific immunodiagnostic method for T. asiatica available. Therefore, due to the fact that molecular techniques (the only tool to distinguish the 3 Taenia species) are normally not employed in routine diagnostic methods, the 2 questions concerning T. asiatica (its definite geographic distribution and its ability to cause human cysticercosis), remain open, turning T. asiatica into the most neglected agent of human taeniasis-cysticercosis.
Animals ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods ; Humans ; Neglected Diseases/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Parasitology/methods ; Taenia/*isolation & purification/pathogenicity ; Taeniasis/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*parasitology

The source of human infection with intestinal flukes was surveyed in estuarine fishes, including the dotted gizzard shad, common sea bass, common blackish goby, redlip mullet, black sea bream, and oyster collected from Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea during August and September 2007. Collected fishes and oysters were artificially digested in pepsin-HCl solution and examined under a stereomicroscope. In 36 shads (Konosirus punctatus) and 20 basses (Lateolabrax japonicus) examined, Heterophyopsis continua metacercariae were found in 58.3% and 100%, and their average numbers were 12.0 and 6.3 per infected fish, respectively. In 34 gobies (Acanthogobius flavimanus) examined, metacercariae of H. continua were detected in 79.4%, Stictodora lari in 97.1%, and Acanthotrema felis in 92.1%, and their average numbers were 45.8, 189.3, and 235.3 per infected fish, respectively. In 37 redlip mullets (Chelon haematocheilus), Heterophyes nocens metacercariae were found in 56.8%, Pygidiopsis summa in 94.6%, and Stictodora fuscata in 45.9%, and the average metacercarial densities were 17.4, 31.3, and 35.1 per infected fish, respectively. In 30 black sea breams (Acanthopagrus schlegeli) and 45 oysters (Crassostrea gigas) examined, no metacercariae were detected. From the above results, it has been confirmed that the dotted gizzard shad, common sea bass, common blackish goby, and redlip mullet from Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea are infected with the metacercariae of heterophyid flukes.
Animals ; Fish Diseases/parasitology ; Fishes/*parasitology ; Helminthiasis/parasitology ; Helminthiasis, Animal/epidemiology/parasitology ; Humans ; Intestinal Diseases/parasitology/veterinary ; Intestines/parasitology ; Korea ; Metacercariae/isolation & purification ; Microscopy/methods ; Ostreidae/*parasitology ; Prevalence ; Trematoda/*isolation & purification

To increase public health awareness for prevention of opisthorchiasis caused by eating raw freshwater fish, the distribution and abundance of Opisthorchis viverrini metacercariae (OV MC) was investigated in freshwater fish obtained from 20 provinces in northeastern Thailand between April 2011 and February 2012. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 12,890 fish consisting of 13 species randomly caught from 26 rivers, 10 dams, and 38 ponds/lakes. Fish, were collected in each of the rainy and winter seasons from each province. Fish were identified, counted, weighed, and digested using pepsin-HCl. Samples were examined for OV MC by a sedimentation method, and metacercariae were identified under a stereomicroscope. OV MC were found in 6 species of fish; i.e., Cyclocheilichthys armatus, Puntius orphoides, Hampala dispar, Henicorhynchus siamensis, Osteochilus hasselti, and Puntioplites proctozysron from localities in 13 provinces. Among the sites where OV MC-infected fish were found, 70.0% were dams, 23.7% were ponds/lakes, and 7.7% were rivers. The mean intensity of OV MC ranged from 0.01 to 6.5 cysts per fish (or 1.3-287.5 cysts per kg of fish). A high mean intensity of OV MC per fish (>3 cysts) was found in 5 provinces: Amnat Charoen (6.5 cysts), Nakhon Phanom (4.3), Mukdahan (4.1), Khon Kaen, (3.5) and Si Sa Ket (3.4). In conclusion, OV MC are prevalent in natural cyprinid fish, with the infection rate varying according to fish species and habitats.
Animals ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Cyprinidae/*parasitology ; Fish Diseases/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Metacercariae/*isolation & purification ; Microscopy ; Opisthorchiasis/epidemiology/parasitology/*veterinary ; Opisthorchis/*isolation & purification ; Parasitology/methods ; Prevalence ; Thailand

Carval syndrome is a severe heartworm infection where the worms have migrated to the right atrium and vena cava; this condition is associated with a myriad of clinical signs. Several non-surgical and interventional methods are currently used for mechanical worm removal. However, the success rate and complications related to these methods are heavily dependent on methodology and retrieval devices used. In this study, we developed a catheter-guided heartworm removal method using a retrieval basket that can easily access pulmonary arteries and increase the number of worms removed per procedure. With this technique, we successfully treated four dogs with caval syndrome.
Animals ; Dirofilaria immitis/*growth & development ; Dirofilariasis/*parasitology/*surgery ; Dog Diseases/*parasitology/*surgery ; Dogs ; Female ; Heart Atria/parasitology/surgery ; Heart Catheterization/instrumentation/methods/*veterinary ; Male ; Venae Cavae/parasitology/surgery

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite resulting in human infections and one of the infectious pathogens leading to uveitis and retinochoroiditis. The present study was performed to assess T. gondii infection in 20 ocular patients with chronic irregular recurrent uveitis (20 aqueous humor and 20 peripheral blood samples) using PCR. All samples were analyzed by nested PCR targeting a specific B1 gene of T. gondii. The PCR-positive rate was 25% (5/20), including 5% (1) in blood samples, 25% (5) in aqueous humor samples, and 5% (1) in both sample types. A molecular screening test for T. gondii infection in ocular patients with common clinical findings of an unclear retinal margin and an inflammatory membrane over the retina, as seen by fundus examination, may be helpful for early diagnosis and treatment.
Aqueous Humor/parasitology ; Blood/parasitology ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Recurrence ; Toxoplasma/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Toxoplasmosis, Ocular/*diagnosis/*parasitology ; Uveitis/*parasitology

In vitro cultivation of trematodes would assist studies on the basic biology of the parasites and their hosts. This is the first study to use the yolk of unfertilized chicken eggs as a simple and successful method of ovocultivation and the first time to obtain the adult-stage of the trematode Cymatocarpus solearis Braun, 1899 (Digenea: Brachycoeliidae). Chicken eggs were inoculated with metacercariae from the muscle of the spiny lobster, Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804). The metacercariae were excysted and incubated for 576 hr (24 days) at 38degrees C to obtain the adult stage. Eggs in utero were normal in shape and light brown color. The metacercariae developed into mature parasites that have been identified as the adult-stage found in marine turtles. The adult lobsters collected in Quintana Roo State, Mexico, showed the prevalence of 49.4% and the mean intensity of 26.0 per host (n = 87). A statistical study was performed to determine that no parasitic preference was detected for male versus female parasitized lobsters. Morphometric measurements of the adult-stage of C. solearis obtained in our study have been deposited in the National Helminths Collection of the Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. This study is significant because it is the first time that a digenean of the family Brachycoeliidae has been demonstrated to develop in vitro from metacercariae into adults capable of producing eggs using the yolk of unfertilized chicken eggs. Secondly, this technique allows to obtain the adult stage of C. solearis without the presence of its marine turtle host, allows us to describe the mature parasites, and thus contribute to our understanding of the biology of C. solearis.
Animals ; Culture Media ; Egg Yolk/parasitology ; Parasitology/*methods ; Temperature ; Trematoda/*growth & development

In order to explore the environmental pest management method of Dorysthenes hydropicus, three strains of entomopathogenic nematodes, viz. Heterorhabditis bacteriphora (H06), Steinernema scapterisci (SS), S. carpocapsae (All) were used on larvae of Dorysthenes hydropicus, with treatments of 0, 5 000 and 10 000 nematodes each larva. The result showed that these three strains viz. All, H06 and SS had high lethal effects on the larvae. Lethal rates had dose-effects relationship with inoculation amounts. High dose treatments resulted in high mortalities and led to quick death, especially in the treatment of H06. Treatment of H06 with 10 000 nematodes per larva resulted in 100% mortality after inoculated 4 days. Different strains of these nematodes had various lethal characters, H06 with only one peak mortality, the larvae died quickly after inoculated, while All and SS with 2 peak mortalities, there was a stable stage with low mortality between the 2 peak mortalities. Entomopathogenic nematodes could be used as a hopeful method for controlling of Dorysthenes hydropicus in fields.
Animals ; Larva ; parasitology ; Moths ; growth & development ; parasitology ; physiology ; Nematoda ; physiology ; Pest Control, Biological ; methods

Cryptosporidium can cause gastrointestinal diseases worldwide, consequently posing public health problems and economic burden. Effective techniques for detecting contaminated oocysts in water are important to prevent and control the contamination. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) method has been widely employed recently due to its efficiency, but, it is costly. Sucrose floatation technique is generally used for separating organisms by using their different specific gravity. It is effective and cheap but time consuming as well as requiring highly skilled personnel. Water turbidity and parasite load in water sample are additional factors affecting to the recovery rate of those 2 methods. We compared the efficiency of IMS and sucrose floatation methods to recover the spiked Cryptosporidium oocysts in various turbidity water samples. Cryptosporidium oocysts concentration at 1, 10(1), 10(2), and 10(3) per 10 microliter were spiked into 3 sets of 10 ml-water turbidity (5, 50, and 500 NTU). The recovery rate of the 2 methods was not different. Oocyst load at the concentration < 10(2) per 10 ml yielded unreliable results. Water turbidity at 500 NTU decreased the recovery rate of both techniques. The combination of sucrose floatation and immunofluorescense assay techniques (SF-FA) showed higher recovery rate than IMS and immunofluorescense assay (IMS-FA). We used this SF-FA to detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia from the river water samples and found 9 and 19 out of 30 (30% and 63.3%) positive, respectively. Our results favored sucrose floatation technique enhanced with immunofluorescense assay for detecting contaminated protozoa in water samples in general laboratories and in the real practical setting.
Animals ; Cryptosporidium/*isolation & purification ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique/*methods ; Immunomagnetic Separation/*methods ; *Oocysts ; Parasitology/*methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Water/*parasitology

We compared the efficacy and applicability of a modified formalin-ether concentration technique (M-FECT) to the conventional FECT (C-FECT) and the agar plate culture (APC) method for the detection of Strongyloides stercoralis larvae. For this purpose, we used 600 human fecal specimens collected in an endemic area of southern Thailand. In the M-FECT, we used 2 layers of wire meshes, instead of gauze, to avoid the loss by absorption/adhesion of larvae to the gauze during filtration, and we reduced the exposure time of S. stercoralis larvae in stool samples to formalin. By such simple modifications, the efficacy of M-FECT has become comparable to APC and was much better than that of C-FECT for the diagnosis of strongyloidiasis.
Animals ; Ether ; Feces/parasitology ; Formaldehyde ; Humans ; Parasitology/*methods ; Specimen Handling/*methods ; Strongyloides stercoralis/*isolation & purification ; Strongyloidiasis/*diagnosis ; Thailand

GAP production of medicinal plants needs diseases' green control during their cultivation processes. In this article, The authors summarized the achievements in cultural control and biological control to crops' diseases, taking the characteristics of medicinal plants into account, we put out the notion of the green control to medicinal plants' diseases, and indicated that the green control for medicinal plants' diseases should combine with cultural control, modem phytopathology methods, biological control and essential pesticides, besides, we introduced some suggestions and the prospect, to provide a reference for green control of medicinal plants' diseases in their GAP production.
Agriculture ; methods ; Pest Control, Biological ; methods ; Plant Diseases ; microbiology ; parasitology ; prevention & control ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; growth & development ; microbiology ; parasitology