International journal for parasitology最新文献

{"title":"In the face of fear: the success of encounters between digenean cercariae and an intermediate target host under predation pressure","authors":"Anna Stanicka ,&nbsp;Zuzanna Dlouhy ,&nbsp;Anna Cichy ,&nbsp;Elżbieta Żbikowska ,&nbsp;Łukasz Jermacz","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predation is one of the most potent factors shaping relationships between organisms with different trophic levels. The interaction is an evolutionary arms race, where early detection of the other side often holds the key to success. Preying on the free-living parasite larvae is a valid and underestimated factor affecting parasite infection dynamics. Our study aimed to investigate whether often dominant invertebrates in aquatic ecosystems, gammarids, induce a significant reduction in host-parasite encounters, taking into account the influence of the presence of additional chemical signals from top predators (fish) and the parasite prey “age” on the possible dilution effect. The study is based on a model involving representatives of native (<em>Gammarus jazdzewskii</em>) and invasive (<em>Pontogammarus robustoides</em>) gammarids as consumers and two species of free-living parasite larvae, echinostome cercariae (<em>Echinoparyphium aconiatum</em> and <em>Molinella anceps</em>), as prey. The invasive gammarid species modified <em>E. aconiatum</em> success more significantly than the native one. However, a dilution effect was detected exclusively for <em>P. robustoides</em>, utilising freshly released cercariae and the absence of additional stressors (fish kairomones in the water). In contrast, the presence of both gammarid species usually significantly reduced the success of parasite transmission. The presence of fish cues or the differences in the post-emergence “age” of cercariae only affected treatments with the invasive <em>P. robustoides</em>. Our results suggest that the strength of predation’s impact on the cercarial dilution effect can be modelled depending on the attractiveness of the prey. Additionally, this study potentially provides the first evidence of the influence of “enemy scent” on the strategy adopted by free-living larval trematodes, where a trade-off between cercarial age and anti-predator strategy was observed. Moreover, the study discusses how investigations conducted solely using freshly released cercariae may provide an incomplete or distorted picture of what is happening in the environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 547-555"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144006545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phylogenetic characterization of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium in Japan: implications for the enigmatic evolutionary history","authors":"Naoki Hayashi ,&nbsp;Ryo Kuwamoto ,&nbsp;Mitsuhiro Okada ,&nbsp;Kenta Suzuki ,&nbsp;Takaya Hoketsu ,&nbsp;Samuel Kelava ,&nbsp;Yuma Ohari ,&nbsp;Munehiro Okamoto ,&nbsp;Kinpei Yagi ,&nbsp;Nariaki Nonaka ,&nbsp;Ryo Nakao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Taenia solium</em> is a tapeworm of the family Taeniidae that causes neurocysticercosis, a serious zoonotic disease in humans. Its life cycle involves pigs and wild boars as intermediate hosts and humans as the sole definitive host. Since poor sanitation and free-roaming pigs contribute to maintaining its life cycle, cysticercosis is endemic in developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, while local transmission is generally absent in developed countries. However, we unexpectedly identified three cases of cysticercosis in wild boars in Japan between 2014 and 2023. Genetic analyses were performed on six cysticerci collected from two wild boars independently captured in 2023. Phylogenetic analysis using three nuclear DNA markers confirmed that the cysticerci were indeed <em>T. solium</em>. Mitogenome sequencing from these cysticerci yielded six complete mitogenomes, each 13,712 bp in length and identical to each other. Haplotype network analysis using mitochondrial <em>cox1</em> and <em>cob</em> sequences revealed that the cysticerci in Japan possess a haplotype distinct from haplogroups in other endemic regions, i.e., haplogroups in Asia, Africa/America, and Bhutan, indicating that the <em>T. solium</em> population is divided into at least four haplogroups. Subsequent phylogenetic inference from the mitochondrial 12 protein-coding genes demonstrated that the Japanese haplotype diverged from both the Asian and African/American haplogroups before the divergence of these two major haplogroups in the Early to Middle Pleistocene. Our findings indicate that the <em>T. solium</em> life cycle can be maintained in regions generally considered non-endemic, highlighting an overlooked risk of local transmission in developed countries. Furthermore, the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships revealed in this study may provide evidence for revisiting the “Out of Africa” hypothesis for <em>T. solium</em>. Comprehensive mitogenomic analyses based on additional specimens would hold the key to unraveling the evolutionary history of this tapeworm, which currently uses humans as its sole definitive host.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 497-508"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143982248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Contrasting effects of body condition on ectoparasite abundance in a social bat: different roles of season and host sex","authors":"Áron Péter ,&nbsp;Boróka Beke ,&nbsp;Zoltán László ,&nbsp;Sándor Hornok ,&nbsp;Attila D. Sándor","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the interplay between host species ecology and parasite dynamics is crucial for comprehending disease transmission patterns, population structures, and ecosystem health. In most host-parasite systems, host body condition is of primary importance in ectoparasite host choice. Bats were considered an exception, as previously several studies suggested that bat ectoparasites showed no or minimal dependence on host body condition. We investigated the relationships between host condition and ectoparasite abundance in multiple populations of European bent-winged bats (<em>Miniopterus schreibersii</em>) and their arthropod ectoparasites (mites, nycteribiid bat flies and ixodid ticks). We found weak correlations between individual host condition and combined ectoparasite abundance, with seasonal fluctuations in both, and a single seasonal peak in parasite abundance. However, when treated individually, single ectoparasite groups showed contrasting answers to changes in body condition. Body condition had a significant positive effect on wing mite abundance and a significant negative effect on the prevalence and intensity of nycteribiid bat flies, overall with no effect on tick infestation. These responses moreover showed also seasonal differences, highly correlating with the life-stages of the two host’s sexes. Our long-term, large-scale study of European bent-winged bats and their arthropod ectoparasites was able to detect major influences exerted by hosts’ body condition on ectoparasites’ host choice. Here we showed that bat populations undergo dynamic changes in their body condition during the active period of their annual cycle, with ectoparasites evolved to differentially exploit peaks or troughs of these changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 537-546"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143997798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GI-NemaTracker – A farm system-level mathematical model to predict the consequences of gastrointestinal parasite control strategies in sheep","authors":"Lee Benson ,&nbsp;Ilias Kyriazakis ,&nbsp;Naomi Fox ,&nbsp;Alison Howell ,&nbsp;Giles T. Innocent ,&nbsp;Fiona Kenyon ,&nbsp;Diana Williams ,&nbsp;David A Ewing","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gastro-intestinal nematode infections are considered one of the major endemic diseases of sheep on the grounds of animal health and economic burden, both in the British Isles and globally. Parasites are increasingly developing resistance to commonly used anthelmintic treatments meaning that alternative control strategies that reduce or replace the use of anthelmintics are required. We present GI-NemaTracker, a systems-level mathematical model of the full host-parasite-environment system governing gastro-intestinal nematode transmission on a sheep farm. The model is based on a series of time-varying delay-differential equations that explicitly capture environmentally-driven time delays in nematode development. By taking a farm systems-level approach we represent both in–host and environmentally-driven free-living parasite dynamics and their interaction with a population of individually modelled lambs with diverse trait parameters assigned at birth. Thus we capture seasonally varying rates of parasite transmission and consequently variable weight gain of individual lambs throughout the season. The model is parameterised for <em>Teladorsagia circumcincta</em>, although the framework described could be applied to a range of nematode parasite species. We validate the model against experimental and field data and apply it to study the efficacy of four different anthelmintic treatment regimes (neo-suppresive treatment, strategic prophylactic treatment, treatment based on faecal egg counts and a regime which leaves <span><math><mrow><mn>10</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></math></span> of the animals untreated) on lamb weight gain and pasture contamination. The model predicts that similar body weights at a flock level can be achieved while reducing the number of treatments administered, thus supporting a health plan that reduces anthelmintic treatments. As the model is capable of combining parasitic and free-living stages of the parasite with host performance, it is well suited to predict complex system responses under non-stationary conditions. The implications of the model and its potential as a tool in the development of sustainable control strategies in sheep are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 509-523"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144013730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population genetic structure of Dactylogyrus vistulae, a gill parasite of cyprinoid fish in the Western Palearctic","authors":"M. Benovics ,&nbsp;L. Seidlová ,&nbsp;P. Papežík ,&nbsp;M. Seifertová ,&nbsp;F. Nejat ,&nbsp;L. Vetešník ,&nbsp;K. Voříšková ,&nbsp;A. Šimková","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Monogenean parasites with a broad host range and direct life cycle provide insight into population genetic structure and dispersal processes. <em>Dactylogyrus vistulae</em> infects over 50 cyprinoid fish species across the western Palearctic, making it an ideal model for assessing host and geographic influences on parasite population structure. Herein, we utilized 20 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial COI sequences to analyze the genetic variability and structure of <em>D. vistulae</em> populations, with a deeper focus on Czech river systems.</div><div>Low allelic variance was observed across most populations, except in the Aoos River, Greece, where high genetic diversity suggests either a large population size or an ancestral refugium. Moderate variance was detected in the Middle East, though some Anatolian populations exhibited reduced diversity, likely due to recent colonization. Czech populations showed weak genetic structuring despite occupying distinct river basins, likely due to fish translocations.</div><div>Mitochondrial COI analysis revealed up to 18.5% haplotype divergence, with the highest diversity in the Padano-Venetian, Caspian Sea, and Dalmatian districts. Dalmatian haplotypes formed a distinct haplogroup, though genetic similarities between Padano-Venetian and Dalmatian populations suggest historical connections or fish host introductions. These results support a south-to-north <em>D. vistulae</em> dispersal through the Balkans, associated with cyprinoid fish migration.</div><div>This study highlights the roles of host dispersal, environmental factors, and human influence in shaping fish parasite population structure, emphasizing the need for further genomic and ecological research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 10","pages":"Pages 525-536"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143963930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The first draft genome of Cryptosporidium serpentis reveals metabolic divergence from intestinal Cryptosporidium species.","authors":"Tianpeng Wang, Chengyi Chen, Qi Wang, Wanyi Huang, Tianyi Hou, Falei Li, Gaoming Lou, Na Li, Lihua Xiao, Yaoyu Feng, Jiayu Li, Yaqiong Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.07.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cryptosporidium serpentis is a host-adapted Cryptosporidium species that infects ectothermic reptiles, including snakes and lizards. In addition, C. serpentis is one of the few Cryptosporidium species that parasitize the stomach of the hosts. To date, the genomic data for gastric Cryptosporidium species are exclusively available for Cryptosporidium andersoni and Cryptosporidium muris, both of which infect warm-blooded hosts. To enhance our understanding of genomic features of C. serpentis, we undertook the Illumina-based whole genome sequencing of four C. serpentis isolates and generated the first C. serpentis draft genome of 9.11 Mb in 292 scaffolds and with an N50 of 102,002 bp. Comparative genomic analyses revealed that C. serpentis shares high similarity in genomic characteristics with C. andersoni and C. muris, including genomic identity, gene content, and gene organization. We observed aerobic metabolism and a partial conventional electron transport chain in the three gastric species, which are absent in the intestinal Cryptosporidium species. This divergent metabolism of the three gastric species is likely associated with their parasitism in the stomach of hosts. However, genes involved in purine salvage pathway in C. parvum, are lost in C. serpentis as well as in other gastric Cryptosporidium species. These specific gene losses may provide more insights into the anabolic capabilities of Cryptosporidium. A significant reduction in the number of multi-copy genes potentially involving the secretory pathogenesis determinants was observed in C. serpentis, which was also found in the other species with a narrow host range. Compared with the other gastric species, 19 unique genes and 67 divergent orthogroups with low identity were identified in C. serpentis. These genes/orthogroups could provide potential insights into investigating the host preference of C. serpentis and further biological studies should be performed on these genes.</p>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144667590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GLOWORM-META: modelling gastrointestinal nematode metapopulation dynamics to inform cattle biosecurity research.","authors":"Olivia K Ingle, Lynsey A Melville, Sam Beechener, Claire Hardy, Alison Howell, Neil P Hobbs, Niamh Mahon, Eric R Morgan, David Bartley, Hannah Rose Vineer","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasite infections in grazing livestock cause significant disease, and are responsible for estimated annual losses of over €1.8 billion in Europe alone. The management of GINs in cattle is threatened by anthelmintic drug resistance (AR). Immediate action is needed to slow the progression of AR in cattle GINs and avoid the increasingly common scenario of multiple drug resistance seen in sheep. Although AR can arise independently on multiple farms, it may also be spread between holdings via purchased cattle. Therefore, effective biosecurity measures on cattle enterprises could help to reduce the risk of establishment of AR populations. A metapopulation model was developed and validated for two GIN species infecting cattle, Ostertagia ostertagi and Cooperia oncophora, incorporating the full parasite life cycle, weather- and immunity-dependent parasite life history traits and multiple pasture sub-populations. This allowed for complex grazing management strategies and weather influences to be simulated. The models successfully replicated the seasonal patterns and intensity of infections reported in multiple published longitudinal datasets. Global sensitivity analysis against four Quantities of Interest (QoIs) related to factors affecting the safety of the resident herd and of the purchased animals was used to quantify the influence of candidate biosecurity measures. The duration of quarantine, the date of purchase (weather/seasonal influences) and the intensity of infection on the day of purchase strongly influenced the QoIs. The outcomes for the UK were not significantly influenced by the geographic location of the purchasing farm, suggesting that the influence of weather patterns on GIN populations outweighs that of regional climate differences, and thus regional variations to GIN biosecurity recommendations are not warranted without alternative evidence to support this. The model presented here is the first full lifecycle GIN metapopulation model for O. ostertagi and C. oncophora, validated against longitudinal field data, and can be broadly used to evaluate the relative efficacy of a range of cattle GIN management strategies, as demonstrated here. These findings offer valuable insights to focus initial biosecurity recommendations for cattle enterprises, and are being used to direct qualitative and quantitative research to refine recommendations.</p>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144649387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"RNA interference as a tool for functional genomics in parasitic helminths.","authors":"Sandra Grossi Gava, Marina Moraes Mourão","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.07.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Helminths including flatworms, tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms are the causal agents of several Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), affecting the health of humans and animals worldwide and resulting in significant economic losses. Given the importance of helminth infections and the complex life cycle of those parasites, often including multiple life stages and/or hosts, it is critical to have a broad understanding of the parasites' biology to hamper their dissemination. In this context, the RNA interference (RNAi) methodology arose as a research tool in molecular parasitology, enabling the functional characterization of several genes in helminths. Despite the great revolution using CRISPR to interrogate gene function, RNAi has been more widely deployed in diverse parasites. In this review, we will briefly appraise the RNAi mechanistic aspects, describe works that were pioneers in its standardization and application in different helminths species, and extensively explore studies that have successfully used this tool to investigate gene function in helminth parasites.</p>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144617368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution of antigenic diversity in the zoonotic multi-host parasite Schistosoma japonicum: implications for vaccine design","authors":"Daniel A.J. Parsons ,&nbsp;Anthony J. Walker ,&nbsp;Aidan M. Emery ,&nbsp;Fiona Allan ,&nbsp;Da-Bing Lu ,&nbsp;Joanne P. Webster ,&nbsp;Scott P. Lawton","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The multi-host zoonotic transmission of the blood fluke <em>Schistosoma japonicum</em> is complex, presenting challenges for China’s schistosomiasis elimination strategy. How multi-host transmission impacts the genetic diversity of <em>S. japonicum</em> populations is poorly understood and the extent of <em>Schistosoma japonicum</em> antigen coding gene (<em>Sj</em>ACG) variability remains unknown despite the implications for parasite survival, vaccine development and disease control. To address this, we sequenced the host-interacting domains of three functionally significant <em>Sj</em>ACGs previously identified as promising vaccine targets (tetraspanin 23 (TSP-23), venom allergen-like protein 7 (VAL-7), and tegument allergen-like protein 1 (TAL-1)) from FTA-archived <em>S. japonicum</em> miracidia sampled from natural infections amongst different definitive host species in mainland China. This work represents the first known analysis of <em>Sj</em>ACG variation among different host species. <em>Sj</em>ACGs were genetically diverse across host species, with 10–20 <em>Sj</em>ACG haplotypes identified from 60 to 81 sequences. Host-derived immune selection pressures may be driving this variation, impacting antigen protein structure, function, and antigenic propensity. Antigen haplotypes were broadly shared across host species, supporting prior suggestions of gene flow and underscoring the importance of zoonotic transmission in disseminating diversity. Some host adaptation was inferred through identification of host species-specific variation. Parasites sampled from humans displayed the greatest overall diversity of <em>Sj</em>ACGs, and humans shared haplotypes with all other host species. <em>Sj</em>ACG diversification appears to have occurred rapidly, and before modern humans arrived in China (∼1.7–0.66 million years ago (MYA)), suggesting that animal hosts have been important in the evolutionary history of these antigens. Collectively, the results expand our understanding of the impact of zoonotic transmission on the co-evolutionary processes driving antigenic variability and provide possible evidence of adaptive molecular evolution of certain antigen haplotypes to specific host species. Our findings have implications for the development of anti-schistosome vaccines and, ultimately, for control of zoonotic schistosomiasis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 8","pages":"Pages 447-460"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144007209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mortality associated with Angiostrongylus cantonensis in non-human primates in Europe","authors":"Magdalena Garijo-Toledo ,&nbsp;Pedro María Alarcón-Elbal ,&nbsp;Estefanía Montero ,&nbsp;Daniel Bravo-Barriga ,&nbsp;José Sansano-Maestre ,&nbsp;Ana Elena Ahuir-Baraja ,&nbsp;Agustín Barragán ,&nbsp;David Viana ,&nbsp;M. Dolores Carbonell-Montes ,&nbsp;Jesús Barbero-Moyano ,&nbsp;Remigio Martínez ,&nbsp;Ignacio García-Bocanegra ,&nbsp;Joaquín Ortega","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Between December 2020 and March 2022, three cases of fatal meningoencephalitis were documented in two red-fronted brown lemurs (<em>Eulemur rufus</em>) and a ring-tailed lemur (<em>Lemur catta</em>) at the Bioparc in Valencia, eastern Spain. Post-mortem analyses revealed moderate congestion in the meninges of the brain in all cases. Multifocal areas of hemorrhage were observed in one lemur, primarily in the cerebellum and brainstem. Histopathological examination showed mainly acute hemorrhagic and necrotic changes, together with moderate eosinophilic and/or histiocytic meningoencephalitis, with perivascular cuffing, and gliosis. Numerous nematode larvae were found in the meninges, brain, and spinal cord, with or without associated inflammation, hemorrhage, and necrosis. Considering the affected host species, nematode morphology, and its anatomical localization, <em>Angiostrongylus cantonensis</em> (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae) was suspected as the causative agent. Phylogenetic studies based on the internal transcriber spacer 1/cytochrome <em>c</em> oxidase subunit I (ITS1/COI) genes confirmed the initial suspicion of this zoonotic parasite and its relationship to sequences from the Balearic and Canary Islands. This is the first known detection of <em>A. cantonensis</em> in non-human primates in Europe and it represents one of the few occurrences reported in the Palearctic region to date. Further research on this zoonotic parasite is crucial to understanding its spread in Spain, assessing public health risks, and developing effective control measures to mitigate outbreaks and protect human and animal health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":13725,"journal":{"name":"International journal for parasitology","volume":"55 8","pages":"Pages 427-434"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143803209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}