We amplified the cDNA coding for arginine kinase (AK) from the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum, cloned it in pMAL plasmid and expressed the enzyme as a fusion protein with the maltose-binding protein. The whole cDNA was 1260 bp, encoding 400 amino acids, and the recombinant protein had a molecular mass of 45,341 Da. Ascaris suum recombinant AK showed significant activity and strong affinity for the substrate l-arginine. It also exhibited high catalytic efficiency comparable with AKs from other organisms. Sequence analysis revealed high amino acid sequence identity between A. suum AK and other nematode AKs, all of which cluster in a phylogenetic tree. However, comparison of gene structures showed that A. suum AK gene intron/exon organization is quite distinct from that of other nematode AKs. Phosphagen kinases (PKs) from certain parasites have been shown to be potential novel drug targets or tools for detection of infection. The characterization of A. suum AK will be useful in the development of strategies for control not only of A. suum but also of related species infecting humans.

Tests have been made with methyl bromide to investigate its efficiency in destroying infective stages of some helminth and protozoan parasites of poultry and game birds. It appears to have an immediate strong lethal action against ova of the common nematode parasites and against oocysts of Eimeria tenella. Its efficiency against ova of Choanotaenia infundibulum was not definitely proved. When used in the field, it penetrates soil to a depth of several inches, and in so doing destroys both ova and many invertebrates known to be vectors of poultry parasites. Land which has been treated remained quite free from parasitic infection for many months but gradually became re-infested. Wild birds were probably the agents for they carry ova accidentally on their feet and in the gut.

Previously uninfected eleven month old sheep were used as indicators of the availability of the infective larvae of sheep nematodes in early spring. Ostertagia and Nematodirus species were acquired in much larger numbers than other species. It is concluded, since the order of parasitism found in the experimental sheep resembled that found in spring born flock lambs in early life, that the relative specific incidence is the latter is due to the numbers of available infective larvae and not to any factor associated with the stage of development of the lambs.

A Previous paper by Carroll in 1933 described the results of research on the potato eelworm in the Irish Free State up to the year 1932. The table on p. 145 of that paper sets forth the four series of pot experiments which were carried out in 1932 and shows the degree to which the various pots in the different series were artificially infected (before planting) with eelworm cysts for the purpose of the experiments. In assessing the degree of potato sickness which developed in these pots and outlining the results of the experiments, reference was made to the following points:—appearance and size of the overground parts of the plants; degree of development and nature of the root system; presence or absence of different fungus diseases; abundance of eelworm cysts on the roots (as far as could be judged by a visual examination); weight of tubers produced. Before the paper went to press, the actual cyst content of the soil in the different pots at the end of the growing season had not been determined. That has since been done and the figures are presented in Table I on the following page.

Jirds were given a chcmoprophylactic inoculation of flubendazole (FMBZ) and then five injections of infective larvae of Brugia pahangi whilst still protected by the FMDZ. When the drug was thought to be noneffective the jirds (and controls) were given a challenge infection of B. pahangi larvae. By comparison with control jirds the trcatcd-infectcd-challcnged jirds had 40% fewer adult worms. The control treated-challenged jirds contained mostly sterile female worms showing that they were still partially protected by FMBZ but worms numbers were not significantly reduced as compared with untreated controls.

Studies on the seasonal population dynamics of Pallisentis (Neosentis) celatus (Acanthocephala: Quadrigyridae) in the intestine of the rice-field eel Monopterus albus from the paddies and ditches in the Dong-ting Lake basin of China, were carried out with samples taken from June 2002 to May 2003. Prevalences were above 21% in all seasons sampled and with a distinct seasonal trend, which was highest (45.81%) in the spring and decreased by degrees. The mean intensity of infection was above 4.0 worms per fish. The maximum intensity of worms recovered from a single fish was 86 in the autumn of 2002. No significant seasonal differences were found in mean intensities, and differences in the mean abundance between winter and spring, winter and autumn were significant. Over-dispersed distributions of P. (N.) celatus in the host population, due to heterogeneity and feeding habits, were observed in all seasons. The size composition of both sexes of P. (N.) celatus showed males between 2.0 mm and 14.0 mm and females between 2.2 mm and 22.2 mm, with the main recruitment phase in the worm populations occurring in the summer and autumn, especially in the autumn, with the lowest recruitment occurring in the winter. The maturation and copulation of worms were mainly focused in the spring season. The sex ratio of female to male was both high in summer (1.09:1) and autumn (1.08:1). The higher proportion of females and the change in the worm sex ratio in summer can be attributed to the reduced longevity of male worms. As immature male worms exhibit a higher proportion of the worm population than females in all seasons, further studies are needed to determine if such a situation compensates for the shorter life span of males.

Ovine and equine protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus were cultured for 26 days with our without praziquantel and viability assessed, by eosin exclusion, for cultures in various drug concentrations (50, 250 and 500 μg/l) and periods of exposure (1, 3 or 7 days (d)) before removing/‘rescuing’ to drug-free medium. Drug efficacy was proportional to drug concentration and to length of exposure. At higher drug concentrations shorter exposures were required to produce the effect of continuous drug treatment, 1d therapy at 500 μg/l killing 96% ovine protoscoleces by day 14 whereas 7d therapy at 50 μg/l was required to produce a similar effect. Equine protoscoleces appeared marginally less susceptible than those of ovine origin. The relevance of the results in the need for peri-operative prophylaxis against spilled protoscoleces in man is discussed.

Third-stage larvae of Trichostrongylus tenuis, the caccal threadworm of red grouse, show strong positive phototactic behaviour which is reinforced by negative geotactic behaviour. The surfaces of various grouse food plants were examined and those of young Calluna vulgaris (common heather) were suitable for ncmatodc migration. Transmission is probably achieved by third-stage larvae of 71 tenuis migrating up young heather plants, rather than by direct ingestion with grit from the ground.

Whipworm infection or trichuriasis caused by Trichuris trichiura is of major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among pre-school and school-going children. It is among the neglected tropical diseases targeted for elimination through mass drug administration (MDA). One of the outcomes of MDA is a rapid decline in levels of infection intensity, making it difficult to monitor effectiveness of control measures using the conventional Kato–Katz procedure, which relies on the microscopic detection of parasite ova in faecal samples. In the present study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test was developed for the detection of T. trichiura infection in faecal samples. LAMP technology offers greater sensitivity and specificity than the microscopy-based tests. A set of four specific primers targeting the internal transcribed spacer 2 region of the ribosomal DNA were designed using Primer Explorer software. DNA was extracted from faecal samples using the alkaline lysis method (HotSHOT) and the LAMP reaction performed at 63°C for 1 h. The amplicons were visualized by both gel electrophoresis and with the naked eye following staining with SYBR green dye. Sensitivity and specificity tests were determined using the standard Kato–Katz diagnostic procedure as a reference test. The developed LAMP assay reliably detected T. trichiura DNA in faecal samples, with a specificity and sensitivity of 88% and 77%, respectively. No cross-reactivity was observed with several common helminth parasites. The developed LAMP assay is an appropriate diagnostic method for the detection of T. trichiura DNA in human faecal samples due to its simplicity, low cost, high sensitivity and specificity.

We report the first mermithid nematode found to be parasitic in a marine tanaidacean crustacean. Ten host tanaidaceans were collected from a depth of 52 m in Otsuchi Bay, Iwate, Japan, north-western Pacific, and identified as a species in the tanaidid genus Zeuxo Templeton, 1840. Nematodes occurred in the host's body cavity; in one case, at least two individuals inhabited a single host. We provide a brief description and illustrations of the morphology of the nematode. In a phylogenetic reconstruction based on the 18S ribosomal RNA gene, the nematode nested in a clade otherwise containing mermithids from terrestrial or freshwater hosts, showing an expansion in host utilization in Mermithidae Braun, 1883 from terrestrial/freshwater hosts to a marine organism.

Fasciolosis is a food-borne disease that causes great distress to a range of hosts, including humans. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the liver damage and carcass weight of cattle naturally infected with Fasciola hepatica from the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, and to (2) determine the distribution of adult flukes in 12,236 cattle liver from RS. The data from these experiments were used to calculate the overall economic loss due to F. hepatica infection. Eighteen adult Polled Hereford cows were divided into a triclabendazole (TbG) and a F. hepatica-positive group (FhG). For Experiment 1, a generalized linear mixed model revealed a statistical difference in carcass weight (49.8 kg) between TbG and FhG. The Monte Carlo analysis also revealed that the animals’ weight differences were due to the disease. For Experiment 2, the prevalence of infected livers was above 16% (1904/12,236), mostly (20.1%) from the south-west region of RS. The Susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) epidemic model revealed the evolution of the infection using a high infectivity and low recovery rate. Other distinctive scenarios that occur in RS were also established with different rates of infectivity. The economic assessment showed a potential loss of US$45 million to the beef cattle industry of RS, with an overall State cost of US$90.3 million. These novel findings reveal the importance of fasciolosis infection, which can cause a significant health condition and poor animal welfare.

1. The occurrence of Syngamus nasicola Linstow, 1899, in sheep, cattle and goats in the West Indies is recorded.

2. The species is re-described, on the basis of West Indian material and cotypes from deer and goat.

3. The species is contrasted with S. laryngeus Railliet, 1899, with which it has affinities and has hitherto been thought to be identical.

4. Special emphasis is laid on the use of the internal structure of the buccal capsule in differentiating the two species.

5. Syngamus kingi is compared with S. nasicola and it is concluded that the two species are identical, in which case S. kingi becomes a synonym of S. nasicola.

1. The females of a new nematode Nilonema gymnarchi gen. et sp. nov. are described from the lung-like air bladder of the Nile fish Gymnarchus niloticus in the Sudan.

2. Nilonema gymnarchi is made the genotype of a new genus Nilonema on the basis of the presence and position of cone-like cuticular protuberances.

During the course of studies on human filariasis and its vectorsin Fiji, in the period 1954–1956, (Symes, 1957) it was desirableto make a few observations on the dog filaria in order that, whenfound in mosquitoes, its larval stages should not be confused withthose of Wuchereria bancrofti from man.

The general principles underlying the conduct of hatching tests are described. Methods for collection of material, and for its preliminary assay are described; the information gained in this way is then used in designing hatching tests. The interpretation of the data resulting from such tests is described and limits are set between which interpretation is possible.

Research on the potato-root eelworm Heterodera rostochiensis has been severely handicapped by the fact that it is virtually impossible to estimate the infectivity of individual cysts. Since the infectivity of an individual cyst is determined by the number of viable larvae present within it, the problem can be settled in one of two ways—either by means of a technique which recovers all the viable larvae and rejects the non-viable or by estimating firstly the total contents and then the proportion of them which is viable. Techniques for the recovery of larvae from cysts have been described by Fenwick (1941) and Fenwick and Franklin (1940). The former of these sought to express soil infectivity directly in terms of available larvae per gm. of soil while the latter was concerned merely with obtaining a representative sample of larvae from a given batch of cysts. Neither claimed to estimate viability of the contents. A further technique (Bracey, 1946) which was described in a paper circulated among interested workers was a modification of that described by Fenwick and Franklin (loc. cit.) and claimed to express viability of cyst contents directly as a percentage.

Excretory/secretory (ES) antigens were obtained by culturing pre-encysted Trichinella spiralis larvae which were recovered from muscles of experimentally infected mice 14–15 days postinfection. Analyses of these antigens (PEL ES) with immunoblotting, SDS-PAGE and Triple Antibody ELISA showed that they yielded a low sensitivity and specificity when tested antisera against the common nematodes of Chinese pigs. As compared to ES antigens from encysted larvae. PEL ES also contained more low molecular mass proteins.

Spiroxys ankarafantsika, sp. nov. is described from Madagascar in two species of freshwater turtles, Pelusios castanoides and Pelomedusa subrufa. Spiroxys ankarafantsika differs from other species of the genus in having pseudolabial teeth only on the median lobes and no other cuticular prominences, a smooth cuticular collar, deirides as cervical minute spine-like projections, and a gubernaculum without tubes. This is the first record of a nominal species of the genus Spiroxys from the Ethiopian region.

A species of Trichuris is described from domestic cats in the Bahama Islands, and identified as T. campanula. Previous descriptions of the two species of Trichuris in the domestic cat are summarised, and it is concluded that both are valid species.

Pseudanisakis rotundata (Rudolphi, 1819) Mozgovoi, 1950, from Raia radiaia in the northern North Sea is redescribed and figured with particular reference to the degree of infection, mode of attachment, the functional morphology of the genitalia and to a possible association between this nematode and a coccidian infection of the same host species. Ressons are given for rejecting Eustoma Piette 1855, as a generic name for a nematode as it is already in use for a Jurassic prosobranch mollusc.