9,149 research outputs found
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LIFE CYCLE OF CYSTIDICOLA FARIONIS (NEMATODA: CYSTIDICOLIDAE), PARASITE OF SALMONIDS SPREADING IN ITALY
No full textA parasitological survey has been carried out in wild and farmed salmonids from northern Italy in order to clarify the current diffusion
of the swimbladder nematode Cystidicola farionis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), reported since 2006 in wild salmonids from Adige river
in the Bolzano province. 314
315
P
ARASSITI
DELLA
FAUNA
ACQUATICA
P
ARASSITI
DELLA
FAUNA
ACQUATICA
POSTER 06
POSTER 06
XXVIII Congresso Nazionale SoIPa, Roma 24-27 giugno 2014
XXVIII Congresso Nazionale SoIPa, Roma 24-27 giugno 2014
P06.3
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LIFE CYCLE OF CYSTIDICOLA FARIONIS (NEMATODA: CYSTIDICOLIDAE),
PARASITE OF SALMONIDS SPREADING IN ITALY
Cavazza G.
[1]
,
Gustinelli A.
*
[1]
, Menconi V.
[1]
, Caffara M.
[1]
, Fioravanti M.L.
[1]
[1]
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna ~ Bologna ~ Italy
INTRODUCTION:
A parasitological survey has been carried out in wild and farmed salmonids from northern Italy in order to clarify the current diffusion
of the swimbladder nematode Cystidicola farionis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), reported since 2006 in wild salmonids from Adige river
in the Bolzano province. From July 2012 to September 2013 a total of 103 trouts have been examined, in particular 99 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss),
6 wild from Adige river in Bolzano province, 63 and 30 rainbow trout from a farm in Vicenza province (F1) and a farm (F2) located
in Trento province, respectively; and 4 wild brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) from Adige river in Bolzano province. All the fish were
weighted, measured and then subjected to parasitological examination, with more attention to swim bladder. Parasites were isolated,
rinsed in deionized water, fixed in 70% ethanol and clarified by Amman’s lactophenol for morphological studies. Prevalence values (%),
Mean Intensity (MI) and Abundance (A) have been calculated according to Bush et al., 1997, J.Parasitol., 83: 575-583. Sixty-four (64.6%) out of 99 rainbow trout were positive for nematodes (MI=13.4,A=8.64); 35 (55.5%) out of 63 fish (MI=12.6, A=7)
from F1, 26 (86.6%) out of 30 (MI=14.7, A=12.7) from F2 and 3 (50%) out of 6 (MI=53, A=26,5) from the wild. Only 1 (25%) out of
the 4 wild brown trout were parasitized by 31 nematodes. All the parasites were identified as Cystidicola farionis. In F1, 4 samples of
parasite amphipods described as intermediate host of C. farionis, have been collected upstream and within the tanks by a plankton
net. Amphipods were transported alive to the laboratory and then examined for the presence of larval nematodes at the dissection
microscope. The larvae were isolated, fixed in 5% buffered formalin and submitted to morphological study. A total of 4505 amphipods,
all identified as Echinogammarus spp., have been examined. One hundred-four larvae referable mainly to third stage, L3 of C. farionis
were found (MI=1.22, ranging from 1 to 5 larvae/amphipod) in 85 (1.9%) amphipods. A slightly higher positivity (2.1%) for C. farionis
larvae has been observed inside the farm compared to upstream (1.7%), and the highest prevalence value (8.4%) has been observed in
the month of October. In Europe the occurrence of C. farionis is documented in several northern and central European countries, including the European
part of Russia, but its report in Italy is quite recent (Gustinelli et al., 2008, Ittiopatologia, 5:87-97). On the basis of this study C. farionis
spread from Adige river to other water systems involving also trout farms with a potential impact on their commercial value. Infected
farms show common features such as a not-intensive management, with particular reference to low biomass density and integrative
feeding, leading the fish to feed on natural preys as amphipods and allowing the development of C. farionis life cycle.
The increasing presence of C. farionis in Italian salmonid species confirms its stable introduction in both freshwater wild and farming
environments and give a strong warning on the hazard of the introduction of not-monitored fish and their exotic parasites that could
become a risk factor on national scale
Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis Due to Dirofilaria immitis: The First Italian Case Confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis, with a Systematic Literature Review
No full textDirofilariasis is a zoonosis caused by nematodes of the genus Dirofilaria.Dirofilaria immitis is cosmopolitan as regards its distribution in animals, being responsible for human pulmonary dirofilariasis in the New World. However, human infections by Dirofilaria immitis are exceptional in Europe, and the previously reported Italian cases of pulmonary dirofilariasis were due to Dirofilaria repens. We performed a systematic literature review of the Italian cases of human dirofilariasis due to Dirofilariaimmitis according to the PRISMA guidelines. We also report the first autochthonous case of human pulmonary dirofilariasis due to Dirofilariaimmitis, confirmed by polymerase chain reaction analysis. The patient was a 60-year-old man who lived in the Po river valley and had never traveled abroad; on histological examination, the 2-cm nodule found in his right upper lung was an infarct due to a parasitic thrombotic lesion. Only one other autochthonous (but conjunctival) case due to Dirofilariaimmitis (molecularly confirmed) was previously found in the same geographic area. Climatic changes, the increasing movements of animal reservoirs and vectors, and new competent carriers have expanded the geographic distribution of the Dirofilaria species, increasing the risk of human infections. Our report demonstrates that at least some pulmonary Italian cases of human dirofilariasis are due to Dirofilaria immitis, as in the New World
Dirofilarial human cases in the Old World, attributed to Dirofilaria immitis: A critical analysis
No full textAIMS: To review 28 cases of human dirofilariasis reported in the last 30 years in the Old World and attributed, by their respective authors, to Dirofilaria immitis or a species of Dirofilaria other than D. repens. METHODS AND RESULTS: Each case was analysed by examining the published accounts or by discussions with the authors, who were interviewed whenever possible. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these analyses we conclude that there is as yet no proof demonstrating with certainty that Old World D. immitis plays a pathogenic role in humans. It remains to be explained why D. immitis causes pulmonary infections in humans in the Americas while, in the Old World, this location appears, instead, to be always associated with D.repens, even though the former species is at times more frequent than the latter both in dogs and in the vectors. To explain this apparently different pathogenic power, two hypotheses are proposed: (i) there are perhaps twin populations with different genotypes on the two sides of the Atlantic, with different infective capacity for man and dog; (ii) the infective capacity to humans of the parasite could be modified, only in the Old World, by some unidentified factor, possibly inherent to the vector, that affects the complex mechanism of the vector-parasite relationship, affecting the survival of the larvae
Parassiti del pesce spada (Xiphias gladius)d'interesse ispettivo e igienico-sanitario
No full textL’elevato valore commerciale del pesce spada (Xiphias gladius), grande teleosteo pelagico diffuso in areali marini temperati, tropicali e sub-tropicali, ha destato in passato grande interesse soprattutto per quanto concerne lo studio degli aspetti biologici ed ecologici che ne regolano i comportamenti migratori e riproduttivi e possono quindi rappresentare strumenti utili ad impostare piani di sfruttamento “sostenibile” degli stock di pesca nei diversi areali geografici.
Per quanto concerne gli studi sulla fauna parassitaria di questa specie ittica, la maggior parte dei lavori ha riguardato in passato segnalazioni a carattere sporadico/occasionale di reperti parassitari trovati in corso di esame ispettivo in sede di mercato o ricerche più strutturate volte a identificare quegli agenti parassitari che possono comportare problematiche di carattere ispettivo-annonario e/o igienico-sanitario
FRESHWATER FISH-BORNE PARASITIC ZOONOSES IN ITALY
No full textFish-borne parasitic zoonoses have aroused an increasing interest in Italy over recent years for the changing of culinary habits towards
an increasing consumption of raw/undercooked/marinated fish, in association with the expansion of international commercial trade
in fishery products, globalization and migration flows across world, all factors which have driven to an increased risk of acquiring fish-
borne zoonoses. Several zoonotic helminths can be transmitted through consumption of raw and/or undercooked fish products to
humans, since fishes actively participate to biological cycles of heteroxenous parasites that involve man as definitive or accidental host,
causing different degrees of pathology. Although currently WHO include, with regard to zoonotic fish helminthes, only Opisthorchiidae
(Opisthorchis spp. and Clonorchis spp.) in the priority list of the foodborne parasites “that could produce a substantive burden of
disease” (Torgerson et al., 2014, Trends Parasitol., 30: 20-26) it is undeniable that other fish parasites such as Anisakid nematodes
and Diphyllobothriid cestodes should be taken into account when considering the zoonotic risks linked to European fish products
consumption. In fact, according to EFSA Scientific Opinion on risk assessment of parasites in fishery products (European Food Safety
Authority, 2010, EFSA J., 8, 1543) all wild fish should be considered at risk of containing any viable zoonotic parasites if these products
are to be eaten raw or almost raw, pointing out the need to carry out epidemiological surveys on presence/diffusion of zoonotic
parasites in all fishery grounds. Respect to infections due to Anisakid larvae in marine fish, until recently in Italy a lower attention
has been devoted to the study of zoonotic helminths in freshwater fish populations, such as in primis the cestode Diphyllobothrium
latum and the digenean Opisthorchis felineus. The recrudescence of cases of human Diphyllobothriasis registered in Switzerland,
France and Italy during the last decades (Scholz et al., 2009, Clin.Microbiol.Rev., 22: 146-160) and the recent outbreaks of human
Opisthorchiasis observed in Italy, with more than 200 autochthonous human cases reported from 2004 up to 2011 (Pozio et al., 2013,
Acta Tropica, 126: 54-62), have determined a renewed interest in epidemiology of infections due to zoonotic parasites in freshwater
fish. Concerning Diphyllobothriasis, recent surveys pointed out a widespread presence of D. latum plerocercoids in perch (P. fluviatilis)
populations of Como Lake and, to a lesser extent, in perch from Iseo and Maggiore Lakes, confirming this species as elective second
intermediate host of D. latum in Italy. The occurrence of D. latum plerocercoid larvae was also found in pike (Esox lucius) and burbot
(Lota lota), main paratenic hosts of D. latum, coming from the same sub-alpine lakes, while fish from Garda lake did not show D. latum
infections (Gustinelli et al., 2013, Atti XIX Conv. SIPI, Siracusa, 75). With regard to Opisthorchiasis, although several species of cyprinids
have been described as suitable second intermediate hosts of O. felineus from different endemic countries, so far in Italy only tench
(Tinca tinca) has been found positive from Bolsena, Bracciano and Vico lakes (De Liberato et al., 2011, Vet.Parasitol., 177: 67-71;
Gustinelli et al., 2011, 15th Conf. EAFP, Split, HR, 424), always with high prevalence and intensities. The consumption of raw perch
(“perch carpaccio”) and marinated tench in the positive areas has been identified as the main food source of viable infective stages of
D. latum and O. felineus respectively. In the case of O. felineus, it has to be pointed out that the microscopical size of metacercariae
make their detection impossible through the visual inspection procedures commonly applied for the purpose of detecting parasites
in fishery products, requiring more destructive and time consuming techniques. Anyway, both for Diphyllobothrium plerocercoids
and Opisthorchiid metacercariae, morphology is not sufficient for identification at species level needing the support of molecular
methods. The analysis of risk factors influencing the epidemiology of these zoonotic helminths indicate the lack of efficient urban
wastewater depuration plants around lake shores as the main aspect influencing the maintenance of D. latum cycle, being humans
the elective definitive hosts, together with the influence of abiotic parameters such as temperature and oxygen on development
of Diphyllobothrium first stages (Wicht et al., 2009, Bull.Eur.Ass.Fish Pathol., 29: 58-65). Concerning O. felineus, the presence of
parasitised stray cats, main reservoirs of the infection, and of Bythinia spp. gastropods, suitable first intermediate hosts, seem to be
the key factors in the subsistence of this zoonotic helminth described in Italy since XIX century in dogs and cats (Rivolta, 1884, Giorn.
Anat. Fisiol. Patol. An., 16: 20–28), although the role of fox and other wild animals as reservoirs and the possible involvement of
cyprinids other than tench as second intermediate hosts have to be better studied. Since the maintenance of the complex biological
cycles of these zoonotic helminths is influenced by several biotic and abiotic factors, investigating the interplay of these factors may be
crucial in next future not only for a better understanding of parasite transmission patterns, but also for predictive studies on presence/
maintenance of zoonotic parasites in different fish species in order to map the risks linked to consumption of freshwater fishery
products. At this purpose, further surveys aimed at investigate the possible occurrence of larval stages of other zoonotic helminths
such as the Opisthorchiid Metorchis sp. and the Heterophyid Metagonimus sp. in Italian freshwater fish populations should be carried
out in order to increase the knowledge on epidemiology of fish-borne zoonotic parasites and to prevent outbreaks of new zoonoses.
Furthermore, although so far in Italy the presence of zoonotic helminths has been documented only in wild fish populations, extensive
epidemiological surveys should be conducted on parasites of public health importance in farmed fish species, as required by EFSA and
by current EU food hygiene regulations, in order to confirm as null or negligible the zoonotic risk linked to consumption of national
aquaculture products
Bothriocephalidean tapeworms (Cestoda) from the blackfish, Centrolophus niger (Perciformes: Centrolophidae)
No full textBothriocephalidean tapeworms parasitic in the blackfish, Centrolophus niger (Gmelin) (Perciformes: Centrolophidae),
are redescribed on the basis of the evaluation of freshly collected specimens and museum material. This evaluation enabled us to
supplement species diagnoses by new morphological characters of potential use for phylogenetic analyses, including the data
from scanning electron microscopical observations, and to provide a key to identification of the following four species occurring
in this fish: Amphicotyle heteropleura (Diesing, 1850); Milanella familiaris Kuchta et Scholz, 2008 (both Triaenophoridae); Bothriocotyle solinosomum Ariola, 1900; and Echinophallus wageneri (Monticelli, 1890) (both Echinophallidae). Large spini-
form microtriches were observed on the surface of the posterodorsal margin of segments of B. solinosomum, E. wageneri and M. familiaris. The invalidity of Atelemerus Guiart, 1935, first proposed by Bray et al. (1994), is supported by the present data and its type species, A. acanthodes Guiart, 1935, is newly synonymised with E. wageneri
Differential diagnosis between Tunga penetrans (L, 1758) and T. trimamillata Pampiglione et al., 2002 (Insecta, Siphonaptera), the two species of the genus Tunga parasitic in man
No full textOf the ten currently known species of sand fleas, only two, Tunga penetrans and Tunga trimamillata, are known to be parasites of man, besides other warm blooded animals, most of which are peridomestic. The hosts of the other eight are limited to a few genera of wild mammals. T. trimamillata was only recently identified and differentiated from T. penetrans by features of the gravid female phase. In the present paper the different morphological characters of both for non-gravid females and males of the two species are described. In the non-gravid-females the distinguishing characters are : a) differences in the length of the first two segments of the maxillary palps (the first is the longest in T. trimamillata, whereas the second is the longest in T. penetrans), this feature is associated with another character i.e. the presence of short, thick spines in addition to the bristles on the surface of the segments only in T. trimamillata ; b) the presence, only in T. trimamillata, of a row of spines on the antero-medial surface of the tibia of the 3rd pair of legs ; c) the last abdominal spiracle protrudes in T. trimamillata but not in T. penetrans ; d) the hood of the hilla in spermatheca is surrounded by a papilla only in T. penetrans. The following morphological characters differentiate males of T. trimamillata and T. penetrans ; a) T. trimamillata has a row of spines on the antero-medial surface of the tibia of the 3rd pair of legs ; b) the diameter of the abdominal spiracles of T. trimamillata is smaller than that of T. penetrans and the edges of the spiracles are more regular ; c) the claspers and aedeagus of T. trimamillata are shorter than those of T. penetrans ; d) the profile of the aedeagal apodeme differs between the two species
Multiplex PCR for simultaneous identification of the most common European Opisthorchiid and Heterophyid in fish or fish products
No full textAmong others, the families Opisthorchiidae and Heterophyidae includes several genera causing fish-borne zoonoses and distributed also in European Countries and that are included in the ParaFishControl (Advanced Tools and Research Strategies for Parasite Control in European farmed fish) H2020 EU project. Due to the small size of the metacercariae, the infective stage for human, these parasites cannot be detected visually in fish and monitoring requires expert application of time-consuming techniques. The aim of this was to develop a rapid and affordable molecular method based on multiplex PCR for simultaneous identification of metacercariae of the most common European Opisthorchiid and Heterophyid in fish or fish products
ZOONOSI PARASSITARIE ED INTOSSICAZIONI DI ORIGINE ITTICA
No full textTra le diverse problematiche sanitarie causate dal consumo di prodotti ittici, nel presente capitolo vengono trattate le zoonosi parassitarie e le intossicazioni leagte al consumo di prodotti ittici e di molluschi bivalvi. Mentre in alcuni casi è possibile individuare a livello geografico aree di endemia (es. opistorchiasi/clonorchiasi, ciguatera), in altri casi gli agenti eziologici presentano diffusione
cosmopolita (es. Anisakis spp.) e l’emergenza di casi clinici appare legata a fattori di natura diversa quali le abitudini alimentari e la mancata applicazione di trattamenti di inattivazione degli agenti patogeni o, come nel caso della sindrome sgombroide, a non idonee condizioni di conservazione ed igiene dei prodotti ittici. La crescente movimentazione di prodotti ittici (l’italia è il sesto importatore a livello mondiale), i rilevanti flussi demografici ed i cambiamenti climatici rendono comunque difficile un approccio sistemico a queste problematiche, richiedendo un continuo aggiornamento epidemiologico
- …
