{"title":"Bertiella anapolytica Baylis, 1934 (Cestoda, Anoplocephalidae) in Rattus spp.: morphology, distribution and evolutionary history.","authors":"Voitto Haukisalmi, Alexis Ribas, Serge Morand","doi":"10.14411/fp.2025.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2025.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present study describes the morphology and phylogenetic position of two specimens of Bertiella Stiles et Hassall, 1902 (Cestoda, Anoplocephalidae) from Rattus tanezumi (Temminck) (Muridae) from Đồng Tháp Province in southern Vietnam. The phylogenetic analysis was based on sequences of the large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (28S). The specimens were described and shown to be morphologically similar to Bertiella anapolytica Baylis, 1934 from Rattus spp. from Indonesia (Sumatra, type locality) and Australia, except for a few quantitative differences. The identification was confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis, which showed a strong affinity and fairly limited genetic divergence between the specimens from Vietnam and Australia. This is the first verified case of Bertiella in murid rodents from continental Eurasia. The uterine pore and associated canal present in the posterolateral corners of gravid proglottids of B. anapolytica are considered to form a true, functional structure used for egg release prior to apolysis. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that B. anapolytica has diverged as a consequence of a shift from marsupials, which probably took place east of the Wallace's line, either in Wallacea or Australasia. The presence of B. anapolytica west of the Wallace's line (Vietnam, Sumatra), where marsupials are absent, may be explained by a westward dispersal in commensal rats, possibly Rattus exulans (Peale), a species transported throughout the Pacific and South-East Asia by prehistoric people.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"72 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143411450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eloise C Rochat, Pierre Marle, Francoise Pozet, Isabel Blasco-Costa
{"title":"Potentially zoonotic parasite arrives to continental France: Clinostomum complanatum (Trematoda: Digenea) infection in perch (Perca fluviatilis) from the Doubs River (Jura).","authors":"Eloise C Rochat, Pierre Marle, Francoise Pozet, Isabel Blasco-Costa","doi":"10.14411/fp.2025.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2025.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Clinostomum complanatum (Rudolphi, 1814) is known as a food-borne zoonotic parasite using freshwater fish as intermediate host, although in its native distribution area in Europe, the Danube and Po basins and the northeast of Italy, no cases have been reported. This study reports a new geographic location outside the native distribution range of this parasite. We detected high infection levels of C. complanatum in wild perch (Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus) from the Doubs River in continental France. Clinostomum complanatum reached a prevalence of 97% and mean intensity of 5.8 cysts per fish in 33 fish examined, with most fish already infected by the age of two years. No correlations were observed between fish traits (standard length, weight, age and sex) and the number of parasites. The distribution of C. complanatum cysts in the fish body was not random. The tissue surrounding the opercula and branchial cavity, and muscles along the lateral line and near the pectoral, dorsal and caudal fins were the preferred sites of infection. Morphological identification was confirmed with molecular data. The French specimens shared identical mt cox1 haplotypes with specimens from Italy. The distribution of this exotic parasite in freshwaters in continental France deserves further research. Under the current French law, the parasite occurrence represents an economic loss for the local freshwater aquaculture industry, and a possible zoonotic risk for consumers if undetected, especially when raw or marinated fish is consumed. We provided a list of all reported hosts for C. complanatum from the western Palaearctic, discussed the knowledge gap regarding the zoonotic risk of C. complanatum in Europe, and highlighted the lack of policy that may increase the hazards posed by food-borne emerging parasites and their broader ecological impacts as alien species in freshwaters in Europe.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"72 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143411473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thirty years of studying latent toxoplasmosis: behavioural, physiological, and health insights.","authors":"Jaroslav Flegr","doi":"10.14411/fp.2025.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2025.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this article, I recount the journey of discovering the effects of latent toxoplasmosis on human psychology, behaviour, morphology, and health as I observed it from the closest perspective over the past 30+ years, during which our laboratory has been intensely focused on this research. I trace how we moved from the initial observations of differences between infected and uninfected individuals in certain personality traits to the systematic study of similar differences in behaviour, both in the laboratory and in everyday life, as well as in physiological and even morphological traits. This eventually led us to investigate the causal relationships behind these observed associations and their molecular basis. I describe some of the unexpected discoveries our research revealed - whether it was the impact of toxoplasmosis on the human sexual index, the prenatal and postnatal development, the sexual preferences and behaviour, the modulatory effect of blood Rh factor on toxoplasmosis, or the discovery of sexual transmission of toxoplasmosis. In exploring whether the toxoplasmosis-associated effects were merely side effects of an ongoing latent infection, we gradually uncovered that seemingly asymptomatic toxoplasmosis has profound (and certainly not positive) effects on the mental and physical health of infected individuals. The article also includes three separate boxes that discuss some key methodological challenges we encountered along the way, such as how to distinguish the effect of infection from mere statistical association, or how to differentiate parasitic manipulation from a simple side effect.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"72 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143411611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Teodor T Postolache, Erica Duncan, Poyu Yen, Eileen Potocki, Meghan Barnhart, Amanda Federline, Nicholas Massa, Aline Dagdag, Joshua Joseph, Abhishek Wadhawan, Colt D Capan, Cameron Forton, Christopher A Lowry, Heidi K Ortmeyer, Lisa A Brenner
{"title":"Toxoplasma gondii, suicidal behaviour and suicide risk factors in US Veterans enrolled in mental health treatment.","authors":"Teodor T Postolache, Erica Duncan, Poyu Yen, Eileen Potocki, Meghan Barnhart, Amanda Federline, Nicholas Massa, Aline Dagdag, Joshua Joseph, Abhishek Wadhawan, Colt D Capan, Cameron Forton, Christopher A Lowry, Heidi K Ortmeyer, Lisa A Brenner","doi":"10.14411/fp.2025.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2025.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Markers of chronic infection Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) have been associated with suicidal self-directed violence (SSDV). We present the results of the first study relating T. gondii IgG serology with suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in United States Veterans, known to have higher suicide rates than members of the general population. We also related T. gondii serology to SSDV risk factors, including valid and reliable measures of trait impulsivity, aggression, self-reported depression, and sleep disturbance. We recruited 407 Veterans enrolled at three Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with mean (S.D.) age = 45.6 (11.6) years; 304 men (74.7%); 203 with a history of SSDV and 204 with no history of any self-directed violence (SDV). Seropositivity and serointensity, categorised as high (top quartile) or low (lower three quartiles), were analysed in relationship to SSDV, suicidal ideation and clinical risk factors using age and gender-adjusted linear and logistic methods, after transformations and nonparametric tests when appropriate. Associations between seropositivity and SSDV and its risk factors were not significant in all groups. High serointensity, while not associated with SSDV or repeat suicide attempts, was positively associated with suicidal ideation, depression, impulsivity, and daytime dysfunction due to sleepiness (p < 0.05), but only in Veterans with a history of SSDV. In Veterans without a history of SDV, no associations were significant. These associations remained significant after adjustment for certain socioeconomic factors (i.e., income, homelessness, military rank). Including education in the model downgraded the statistical significance of suicidal ideation and depression to statistical trends, but the significance of associations with impulsivity and daytime dysfunction due to sleepiness remained. Major limitations include the cross-sectional design, overall low seropositivity within the sample, and potentially spurious results due to multiple comparisons. Thus, the results of this report need to be replicated in larger samples, ideally longitudinally.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"72 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143016793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Studies on trematodes and acanthocephalans from freshwater fishes of Hubei Province, central China, with the erection of a new genus Quadrihexaspiron gen. n. (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae).","authors":"Frantisek Moravec, Pin Nie","doi":"10.14411/fp.2025.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2025.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present paper comprises a systematic survey of trematodes and acanthocephalans based on helminthological examinations of 64 specimens of 14 species of freshwater fishes, belonging to six families of four fish orders, mostly from localities in Hubei Province, central China, collected in the autumn of 2002. A total of 15 trematode species (in 12 families) and 5 acanthocephalan species (in four families) was recorded. Almost all parasites are briefly described and illustrated and problems concerning their morphology, taxonomy, hosts and geographical distribution are discussed. Some findings represent new host and geographical records. New acanthocephalan genus Quadrihexaspiron gen. n. (Neoechinorhynchidae) is erected to accommodate two species from China, Quadrihexaspiron spinibarbi (Yu et Wang, 1997) comb. n. (type species) and Quadrihexaspiron parabramis (Yin et Wu, 1984) comb. n., originally placed in Hexaspiron Dollfus et Golvan, 1956; Hexaspiron is recognised as a genus belonging to Quadrigyridae. The trematode species Orientocreadium elegans Besprozvannykh, Ermolenko et Deveney, 2009 is considered to be possibly identical with Orientocreadium pseudobagri Yamaguti, 1934, whereas the morphologically similar acanthocephalan species Micracanthorhynchina dakusuiensis (Harada, 1938) and Micracanthorhynchina brevelemniscus Lisitsyna, Barčák, Orosová, Fan et Oros, 2023 may prove to be conspecific with Micracanthorhynchina motomurai (Harada, 1935). A re-examination of the type specimens of Neoechinorhynchus afghanus Moravec et Amin, 1978 (Acanthocephala), a parasite of fishes in Afghanistan, revealed the presence of minute trunk spines in this species and, consequently, it is transferred to the genus Quadrigyrus Van Cleave, 1929 (Quadrigyridae) as Quadrigyrus afghanus (Moravec et Amin, 1978) comb. n.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"72 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143016788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kanda Kamchoo, Watcharasuda Hualkasin, Pojchanad Pathaburee, Adithepchaikarn Pachanawan
{"title":"Morphological and molecular analysis of Spinitectus notopteri (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae) from freshwater fish in Thailand.","authors":"Kanda Kamchoo, Watcharasuda Hualkasin, Pojchanad Pathaburee, Adithepchaikarn Pachanawan","doi":"10.14411/fp.2024.024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2024.024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The nematode Spinitectus notopteri Karve et Naik, 1951 was collected from two species of freshwater fish belonging to the family Notopteridae, namely Chitala ornata (Gray) and Notopterus notopterus (Pallas), at Khun Thale Swamp in Surat Thani province of southern Thailand. The overall prevalence of the parasite was found to be 88% (94 fish infected/106 fish examined). A higher prevalence was found in C. ornata (96%), while a higher intensity was noted for N. notopterus (117 parasites/fish). The most important morphological characters were the presence of cephalic and cuticular structures, precloacal ridges, and genital papillae. Specimens were genetically characterised using cox1 mtDNA. Morphological characteristics were most similar to Spinitectus petterae Boomker, 1993 from Clarias gariepinus (Burchell) in Africa, while the genetic data were dissimilar to all available data for the genus. Therefore, the identification of nematode specimens using a combination of morphological and molecular techniques is stressed. This study also presents the first molecular analysis of S. notopteri infecting Thai freshwater fish and a new geographical record for S. notopteri.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"71 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142933327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Silvija Misailove-Riboke, Indre Lipatova, Irma Razanske, Vytautas Mazeika, Povilas Sakalauskas, Arturas Kibisa, Algimantas Paulauskas
{"title":"Molecular and morphological detection of Setaria tundra in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) from Lithuania.","authors":"Silvija Misailove-Riboke, Indre Lipatova, Irma Razanske, Vytautas Mazeika, Povilas Sakalauskas, Arturas Kibisa, Algimantas Paulauskas","doi":"10.14411/fp.2024.023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2024.023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Setaria spp. are vector-borne parasitic roundworms commonly found in the abdominal cavities of wild and domesticated ungulates globally. The objective of this study was to conduct a morphological and molecular analysis of Setaria tundra Issaitshikoff et Rajewskaya, 1928, collected from roe deer Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus in Lithuania. The morphological characteristics of S. tundra described and illustrated. The amplification of the 12S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes confirmed the presence of S. tundra. This is the first case report of S. tundra in roe deer in Lithuania.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"71 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142781928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Seroepidemiological study of Neospora caninum in equids using c-ELISA in Erbil Province, Iraq.","authors":"Khalid Jabar Aziz, Farhad Buzo Mikaeel, Sarhang Hasan Azeez, Samir Jawdat Bilal","doi":"10.14411/fp.2024.022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2024.022","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Equine neosporosis is an intracellular protozoan disease with a global distribution, affecting a diverse range of warm-blooded animals. Neospora caninum Dubey, Carpenter, Speer, Topper et Uggla, 1988 is associated with foetal loss, neurological disease and abortion in equids. No information was available regarding equine N. caninum infection among equids in Iraq. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rate of N. caninum in equines by using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). A total of 329 blood samples randomly selected from equines, comprising 268 horses and 61 donkeys were examined. The seroprevalence rate of N. caninum was determined as 46% (28/61) for donkeys and 24% (64/268) for horses. The prevalence of N. caninum indicated a significantly higher risk of infection in donkeys compared to horses (P < 0.001). However, the odds of N. caninum infection in draught equids were 8.2 times greater than other equids with a significant difference (P < 0.001). The current study revealed no significant differences in the prevalence of N. caninum across various genders, breeds, clinical statuses, disease histories and among equids that had contact with dogs. While outdoor feeding and mixed (grazing), showed a significant difference (P = 0.003) and (P = 0.75), respectively, in the presence of antibodies against N. caninum compared to indoor feeding (stable). Moreover, the odds of infection in equids with a history of late abortion were 4.8 times higher than those without such a history of abortion (2.20-10.56) with statistical significance (P < 0.001).</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"71 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142781930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High frequency of point mutations in the nitroreductase 4 and 6 genes of Trichomonas vaginalis associated with metronidazole resistance.","authors":"Isabel Iturrieta-Gonzalez, Pamela Olivares-Ferretti, Alejandro Hidalgo, Fabiola Zambrano, Ximena Ossa, Flery Fonseca-Salamanca, Angelica Melo","doi":"10.14411/fp.2024.021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2024.021","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Trichomoniasis, a globally distributed sexually transmitted infection, is caused by the urogenital parasite Trichomonas vaginalis Donné, 1836 affecting both women and men. The treatment of choice is metronidazole (MTZ). In the present study, 15 samples of vaginal discharge and urine were analysed by sequencing nitroreductase genes (ntr4 and ntr6). An in silico model was structured to illustrate the location of point mutations (PM) in the protein. The ntr4 gene presented four PMs: G76C (10/10), C213G (9/10), C318A (5/10) and G424A (1/10), while the ntr6 gene had eight PMs; G593A (13/13) the most frequent, G72T and G627C, both in 8/13. The PM C213G and A438T generated a stop codon causing a truncated nitroreductase 4 and 6 protein. Docking analysis demonstrated that some models had a decrease in binding affinity to MTZ (p < 0.0001). A high frequency of mutations was observed in the samples analysed that could be associated with resistance to MTZ in Chile.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"71 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142711575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Three new species of Ophiotaenia La Rue, 1911 (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae) from dipsadine snakes (Squamata: Colubridae) in Ecuador.","authors":"Alain de Chambrier, Roman Kuchta, Tomas Scholz","doi":"10.14411/fp.2024.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2024.020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The parasite fauna of Neotropical reptiles is poorly known, and the number of parasites described in these hosts does not seem to correspond to the actual species diversity in this zoogeographical region. This also applies to tapeworms such as proteocephalids, which are rarely found in reptiles and are strictly specific to their reptilian hosts. In the present paper, three new species of Ophiotaenia La Rue, 1911 are described from three dipsadine snake species (Squamata: Colubridae) in Ecuador, namely O. jeanmarctouzeti sp. n. from the Neotropical blunt-headed treesnake Imantodes cenchoa (Linnaeus), O. barraganae sp. n. from the beautiful calico snake Oxyrhopus formosus (Wied-Neuwied) and O. velascoae sp. n. from the forest flame snake Oxyrhopus petolarius (Linnaeus). The new species are characterised by type 1 uterine development, the number and distribution of testes, the size of the scolex and other metric features. As no molecular data are available on the specimens collected more than 35 years ago, the phylogenetic relationships of the individual taxa are not known.</p>","PeriodicalId":55154,"journal":{"name":"Folia Parasitologica","volume":"71 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142711577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}