The lungworm genus Crenosoma, founded by Molin in 1861, was redescribed in 1928 by Skrjabin and Petrow. To the two existing species, C. striatum (Zeder, 1800) from the hedgehog (Erinaceus europæus L.) and C. vulpis (Dujardin, 1845) from the fox (Vulpes vulpes L.), these writers added a third species, C. taiga, from the lungs of Kolonocus sibiricus (Pall.) in Russia. A generic diagnosis based on a study of these three species was supplied, and the wolf (Canis lupus L.) was recorded as a new host for Crenosoma vulpis.

In the majority of cases it is almost impossible to identify the species of helminths in our domestic stock by an examination of the eggs found in their droppings. In the case of sheep and goats, this is particularly so since these hosts harbour several worms with eggs which are, apparently, identical in shape, size and stage of development.

In most Arctic and subarctic regions, Trichinella nativa is a common zoonotic pathogen circulating among wild carnivores. The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is one of the most important reservoirs for T. nativa in frigid zones. In Iceland, Trichinella infection has never been detected in the local wildlife, despite the presence of one of the host species, the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus). In 2008, one of two polar bears that had swum to Iceland's coast was found to have been infected with Trichinella sp. (8.5 larvae/g in the tongue, 6.8 larvae/g in the masseter and 4.4 larvae/g in the diaphragm); the larvae were identified as T. nativa. This is the second report of Trichinella infection in polar bears that reached the Icelandic coast. In the present work, we describe this case of infection and discuss the epidemiological features that have allowed T. nativa to spread in Arctic regions.

The composition and diversity of parasite communities and intestinal components, as well as infra-community structure, were assessed in eels Anguilla anguilla, from Mar Menor, a permanent Mediterranean hypersaline coastal lagoon. Data were used to determine whether this helminth community differs in composition and structure from that of eels in lagoons with lower salinity regimes and higher freshwater inputs. A total prevalence of 93% was detected. Specifically, parasites were identified as Deropristis inflata, Bucephalus anguillae, Contracaecum sp., Anguillicoloides crassus and two plerocercoid larvae belonging to the order Proteocephalidae, the marine species representing 91% of the isolated helminths. In the total community, digenetic trematodes were the dominant group of helminths, and D. inflata, an eel specialist, dominated both the component community and the infra-community. Richness and diversity were low but similar to those reported in other saline lagoons, and maximum species per eel did not exceed four. At the infra-community level, higher abundance than in other brackish or marine Mediterranean environments was detected. The findings provide further evidence of the similarity in composition and structure of helminth communities in eels from various Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Moreover, salinity-dependent specificities are well supported and reflect the life history of individual eels.

Transmission success for helminths with free-living stages depends on the ability of eggs and larvae to develop and survive once in the environment. While environmental conditions are often suggested to influence egg phenology and hatching rate, immunity against parasite eggs might also play a role. We examined this hypothesis using the gastrointestinal helminths Trichostrongylus retortaeformis and Graphidium strigosum, two common infections of the European rabbit. Changes in egg hatching rate and volume were examined in relation to specific antibodies in the serum and bound to eggshells, using eggs shed in host faeces over a 15-week period. Hatching rate was consistently higher for T. retortaeformis than G. strigosum and no changes were observed between weeks. Egg volume increased for G. strigosum but decreased for T. retortaeformis. We did find evidence of egg-specific antibody responses and fewer antibodies were bound to eggs of T. retortaeformis compared to G. strigosum. Little to no association was found between antibodies and hatchability, or volume, for both helminths. We suggest that host antibodies play a relatively minor role in the egg hatching rate of these gastrointestinal helminths.

The two-dimensional patterns (isoelectrofocusing-IEF/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate-SDS) of S3 fractions of muscle larvae of four Trichinella isolates were compared. The comparative study concerned six groups of polypeptides. It was observed that the Garkavi isolate of Trichinella pseudospiralis was clearly different from the other isolates, and it showed the simplest IEF/SDS polypeptide pattern. The C-76 isolate of T. nelsoni had only four of the six groups, distinguishing it from the GM-1 isolate of T. spiralis and the Boev isolate of T. nativa that showed all the indicated groups.

Unlike the sporocyst stages, adult leucochloridiid digeneans are difficult to differentiate. Sporocyst broodsacs can be identified on the basis of their colour and banding pattern, but in the absence of broodsacs and when experimental infection cannot be performed, tentative morphological identification needs to be verified, and molecular techniques offer a tool to do this. In this study, adult leucochloridiid digeneans were collected from the great tit (Parus major) found dead at three localities at or near the Baltic Sea coast (Hel, Bukowo-Kopań and Szczecin) in northern Poland. On the basis of differences in their morphological characters, Hel specimens were tentatively assigned to Leucochloridium perturbatum, Bukowo-Kopań and Szczecin specimens being identified tentatively as L. paradoxum. Subsequent ribosomal DNA sequence analysis confirmed the identification of these leucochloridiid flukes. Nucleotide sequences discriminating between the two species were identical to those used by earlier authors as characteristic of two distinctly different sporocyst broodsacs representing L. perturbatum and L. paradoxum.

Ortleppascaris sinensis (Nematoda: Ascaridida) is a dominant intestinal nematode of the captive Chinese alligator. However, the epidemiology, molecular ecology and population genetics of this parasite remain largely unexplored. In this study, the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequence of O. sinensis was first determined using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based primer-walking strategy, and this is also the first sequencing of the complete mitochondrial genome of a member of the genus Ortleppascaris. The circular mitochondrial genome (13,828 bp) of O. sinensis contained 12 protein-coding, 22 transfer RNA and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, but lacked the ATP synthetase subunit 8 gene. Finally, phylogenetic analysis of mtDNAs indicated that the genus Ortleppascaris should be attributed to the family Heterocheilidae. It is necessary to sequence more mtNDAs of Ortleppascaris nematodes in the future to test and confirm our conclusion. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of O. sinensis reported here should contribute to molecular diagnosis, epidemiological investigations and ecological studies of O. sinensis and other related Ascaridida nematodes.

In a previous paper, Peters & J. Leiper (1940) pleaded that, in anthelmintic experiments, the statistical problem of variation should be considered, not only so as to assess the significance of treatment differences after the results have come to hand, but also with a view to the prior construction of an experimental design capable of giving reliable answers to the questions posed. Reference was made to the “Enormous expenditure of time, labour and money” on anthelmintic experiments, the results of which usually remain undigested and of unknown significance.

While the paper was passing through the press a symposium on phenothiazine as an anthelmintic, led and summarized by Taylor & Sanderson (1940), was published in the Veterinary Record. The symposium deals with “Work carried out in various parts of the country and co-ordinated through the Agricultural Research Council” it covers some 150 horses, 300 to 400 sheep, 70 to 80 goats, and a few cattle, pigs, and dogs. The drug was found to be remarkably efficient against horse strongyles and the stomach-worms of ruminants, and in varying degree less efficient against other worms.

Extensive tables of egg-counts, worm-counts, and weights of animals are published in the symposium. It was usual to count eggs or weigh animals once before treatment and several times afterwards. The repeated after-treatment determinations are made in order to detect a general trend in egg-counts or weights: in other words there is no attempt to measure and make allowance for the very considerable upand- down variation from day to day.

Saccocoelioides olmecae n. sp. is described from specimens recovered from the intestine of the fat sleeper Dormitator maculatus (Bloch) (Perciformes: Eleotridae) collected in six localities along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The new species is mainly distinguished from the other three described species of Saccocoelioides Szidat, 1954 from North and Middle America (i.e. S. sogandaresi Lumsden, 1963, S. chauhani Lamothe-Argumedo, 1974 and S. lamothei Aguirre-Macedo & Violante-González, 2008) by having an elongated body, a sac-like caecum, a uterus that extends to the first third of body and by having vitelline follicles longitudinally elongated reaching the posterior end of the body. Sequences of the large subunit (LSU) of the ribosomal DNA, including the domain D1–D3, and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) were used independently and concatenated to corroborate the morphological distinction among S. olmecae n. sp., S. chauhani and S. lamothei from freshwater and brackish-water fish from Middle America. The genetic divergence estimated among the three species of Saccocoelioides was very low: 1% for LSU and from 1 to 4% for ITS2. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses for each dataset and both datasets combined revealed that S. olmecae n. sp. represents an independent clade with moderate bootstrap support and posterior probabilities. This is the third species of Saccocoelioides described in Mexico, and the 17th species from the Americas.

Guineapigs infected by mouth with eggs of A. suum developed an acquired resistance to reinfection 27, 35 and 51 days later. Resistance of the host was manifested by: survival following a lethal dose of eggs; an inhibition of larval migration; a retardation of larval growth; and the ability to maintain or gain weight.

By means of the conglutinating complement absorption test, using a saline extract of worm as antigen, antibodies were detected in the serum of resistant guineapigs seven days after the second reinfection. Antibodies were not detected in the serum of nonresistant guineapigs seven days after one infection. There was some evidence to indicate that the conglutinating antibody titre of the serum is a measure of the host's ability to resist infection.

Two chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSIs) viz., triflumuron and hexaflumuron interfere with the development of Brugia malayi in Aedes aegypti (a black-eyed Liverpool strain). The development of B. malayi was slow in both the treated populations and the infection rate, infectivity rate and L3 load per mosquito decreased significantly (P< 0.001) in comparison with untreated controls. Hexaflumuron was found to be more inhibiting than triflumuron.

This study aimed to compare three qualitative parasitological methods for the diagnosis of Syphacia muris infection in 30 Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) infected naturally. Methods of spontaneous sedimentation (Hoffman, Pons and Janer, or HPJ) and spontaneous flotation (Willis) for faecal samples and a method of taping (Graham) were performed and compared. The Graham and Willis methods were more sensitive than the HPJ method (P< 0.05). The Graham method was able to detect S. muris eggs in 100% of the samples. Eggs were detected in 83% and 60% of the samples using the Willis and HPJ methods, respectively. Method choice is important for screening for parasites of rats kept under laboratory conditions, as accurate diagnosis helps prevent future environmental contamination and infection. We concluded that the Graham method was the most efficient of those tested in this study for detection of S. muris infection in rats. This method is also rapid, inexpensive and practical, and should be implemented as a necessary measure for infection control.

A simple apparatus is described in which can be measured the vertical migration of Heterodera rostochiensis larvae in soil and in the presence of the host plant. The migrations upwards and downwards are comparable in extent, but can be inhibited by water-logged soil and greatly reduced if the cysts are exposed to insolation under glass when near the soil surface. In the layer furthermost from the inoculum (8 to 10 inches away), either no cysts are formed or their number constitutes a very small proportion of the total: a fraction of one per cent.

1. An investigation of the helminth parasites of the African Darter, Anhinga rufa rufa in Ghana produced the following trematodes and cestodes:

(1) Strigea anhingae n.sp.

(2) Diplostomum ghanense n.sp.

(3) Phagicola bulbosa n.sp.

(4) Clinostomum tilafiiae Ukoli, 1966

(5) Clinostomum phalacrocoracis Dubois, 1931

(6) Echinorhynchotaenia tritesticulata Fuhrmann, 1909

The new species are described and classified in this paper.

There has recently been published a series of observations, based on experimental evidence, which goes to show that the course of an helmintic infestation may be significantly affected by the diet which is fed to the experimental animal. These results which have emanated mainly from Ackert and his colleagues (1929 and 1931) and from Foster & Cort (1931 and 1932), Hiraishi (1927 and 1928) and from Nagoya (1931) show that the vitamins are frequently significant factors affecting the development of Ascaridia, hookworms and Ascaris. In a later paper (1933), Ackert and others showed further that the type of amino-acids and the variety may also be factors influencing the development of Ascaridia lineata in chickens.

Anisakid nematodes are parasites with an indirect life cycle, involving many hosts, including cetaceans that act as definitive hosts. Identification at species level is crucial for a better understanding of the epidemiology and ecology of these parasites, but an accurate diagnosis based only on morphology is difficult. In Brazil, genetic characterization of anisakids is still rare, with Anisakis typica and A. physeteris being the only two species identified by genetic markers until now. The definitive hosts of A. nascettii are Mesoplodon grayi, M. bowdoini, M. layardii and M. mirus. Geographical locations of A. nascettii include the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Europe. In this study, a nematode was collected from a Gervais' beaked whale, Mesoplodon europaeus, stranded in Ceará State, north-east Brazil. Genetic analysis based on 18S rDNA, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and mtDNA cox2 gene revealed 100% identity with Anisakis sp. U94365, 99% with Anisakis sp. (MP-2005 EU718477 A. nascettii) and 99% with A. nascettii DQ116431, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS and cox2 sequences using both neighbour-joining and maximum-likelihood methods provided strong support for a clade with only A. nascettii specimens. This study demonstrated for the first time the identification of A. nascettii in the Brazilian Atlantic Coast, revealing a wider geographical distribution of this parasite worldwide and extending the range of its definitive hosts to a new Mesoplodon species, M. europaeus, the Gervais' beaked whale.

A survey of larval helminths in freshwater snails of Kinmen was conducted from 1986 to 1987. Parasitological examinations of a total of 726 live snails collected from 25 loci revealed that 20 of 80 Bithynia fuchsiana were infected with metacercariae of Echinostoma gotoi and 36 with metacercariae of other echinostomes. Among 57 Radix auricularia swinhoei snails, 27 were infected with echinostomes and with metacercariae of other flukes. Of 20 Cipangopaludina chinensis, 18 were found with larvae of echinostomes. Larval trematodes were also found in three of 37 Austropeplea ollula and two of 87 Gyraulus spirillus. Third-stage larvae of Parastrongylus cantonensis were found in Ampullarius canaliculatus (5/103), Sinotaia quadrata (20/141), Hippeutis umbilicalis cantori (1/70) and Gyraulus spirillus (2/87). Segmentina hemisphaerula were not infected. Cercariae of Centrocestus formosanus, Haplorchis pumilio and xiphidiocercaria were found in three, two and two specimens, respectively, of 37 Thiara tuberculata.