Serine dehydratase was found to be five times more active than threonine dehydratase in the liver-fluke Fasciola indica. The latter was not affected by L-isoleucine. Optimum pH for both enzymes was found to be 9.0 in tris-universal buffer. Seven metallic ions tested did not accelerate the enzyme activity, but produced different effects on two enzymes. Two different enzymes probably exist for the two aminoacids, L-threonine and L-serine.

Pear-shaped prostatic gland cells which surround the ejaculatory duct of Paramphistomum and Paradistomoides, secrete two types of products: (i) granules which are cytochemically complex containing lipids, proteins and polysaccharides (1:2, glycol groups) and (ii) globules which contain phospholipids only. The cytoplasm of these cells, in addition to high acid phosphatase activity, also contains RNA, proteins and polysaccharides.

Two hundred one-day-old male white leghorn chikens (Gallus domesticus) divided into 4 groups were inoculated with a single dose of 500, 1000, 2000 or 4000 filariform larvae of Ancylostoma caninum. Larval recoveries were made from different tissues at intervals from 4 hours to 72 hours after infection. Larval migration in the heart took place within 4 hours in all the groups except group A with 500 larvae and in thoracic muscle at 8 hours. Larvae also migrated into liver, lungs and neck muscle within 12 hours and into leg muscle at 18 hours. No larvae were recovered from the muscles after 72 hours of infection. Larvae did not migrate into kidney, spleen and central nervous system throughout the experimental period.

Irradiation-attenuated helminth parasites have been used in protection against homologous challenge (reviewed by Cox, 1978). The exact dose of irradiation required to attenuate without loss of immunogenicity varies between different species; determination of the dosage and difinition of the effects of irradiation is therefore a vital preliminary step.

Adult worms of the rural strain of Wuchereria bancrofti in Peninsular Malaysia obtained from a successful experimental transmission in an immunosuppressed Macaca fascicularis are described for the first time. Although the worms, especially females, were slightly smaller, they were similar in morphology to those of the periodic and non-periodic W. bancrofti previously described.

Thirteen bats, Tadarida mops de Blainville, collected from the Ampang district in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were found positive for the trematodes Castroia kamariae sp. nov. and Limatulum kuziai sp. nov. Two distinct but morphologically similar forms of Castroia kamariae were recovered. The morphological type is apparently determined by its location in the host intestine.

Nilocotyle duplicisphinctris sp. n. was recovered from the stomach of Hippopotamus amphibius in Ethiopia. The average body size (L × W) is 3.6 × 1.2 mm; pharynx 0.5 × 0.3, Dicranocoelium type; other diameter of the acetabulum 0.85, Nilocotyle type; anterior testis 0.34 × 0.49; posterior testis 0.32 × 0.27; ovary 0.27 × 0.19; genital opening 0.30 × 0.34, Duplicis phinctris type and eggs 0.15 × 0.07. The most characteristic specific feature is the presence of a double sphincter along the genital atrium.

Many compounds have been claimed to possess powerful taenicidal activity but only a few are able to remove the tapeworms complete with scolices; accordingly better drugs are still needed. A series of 3, 5-dibromosalicylanilides, possessing a molecular framework similar to that of niclosamide (Gönnert and Schraufstätter, 1960) was tested for taenicidal activity; the most potent anticestode compound was found to be 3, 5-dibromo-2' -chlorosalicylanilide-4' -isothiocyanate (CDRI Compound 77–6). The present communication compares the efficacy of Compound 77–6 with niclosamide, N-(2' -chloro-4-nitrophenyl)-5-chlorosalicylamid (Bayer, power with 75% active ingredient) and praziquantel, 2-cyclohexylcarbonyl-1–3, 4, 6, 7, 11 b-hexahydro-2H-Pyrazino [2–1-a], isoquinoline-4-one (Droncit, E. Merck & Bayer, powder, 100% pure) (Seubert et al., 1977) in rats and mice.

The adult worms of Stilesia globipunctata, Avitellina centripunctata and Moniezia expansa with immature, mature and gravid proglottids and having almost the same length were collected simultaneously from the sheep intestine. Neutral lipid concentration is about 2.2, 1.24 and 18.4% of the dried worm tissue respectively. Cholesterol is 87.8, 85.7 and 88.0% of the unsaponifiable material respectively.

Bufonerakis andersoni n. gen. n. sp. from Bufo arenarum of Argentina is described. Bufonerakis is proposed for species in the Subfamily Meteterakinae with a short muscular vagina and opposed uteri. The other genera in the subfamily, Meteterakis Karve, 1930, and Gireterakis Lane, 1917, have an elongate vagina divided into a short muscular portion and long common uterine trunk giving rise to two parallel uteri in the posterior third of the worm. Meteterakis rodriguesi Vicente and Corrêa Gomes, 1971, is reclassified as Bufonerakis rodriguesi n. comb.

Regular monthly examination of lungs of donkeys, with a total of 423 in a year, revealed that in Morocco Dictyocaulus arnfieldi infection is present throughout the year with an annual incidence of 47.8% (range 30 to 62.2%). The monthly mean number of worms per animal varied from 19.4 to 69.6 (annual average 39.5) with a maximum of 1000 worms in a donkey. October, February and June are the months when peaks of infections were observed. The ratio of worms in lungs to larvae per g in faeces (L.P.G) ratio varied from 1:0.57 to 1:1.33 (average 1:0.97) and although this relation was significant, cases with high worm burden and no larvae in faeces were observed.

Echidnotaenia gen. nov. (Anoplocephalata: Linstowiidae) is proposed for Cittotaenia tachyglossi Johnston, 1913 from the monotreme Tachyglossus aculeatus Shaw, 1792. The new genus is distinguished from other genera of the Linstowiidae by its paired genitalia and aporally extended vitellaria.