The distribution–co-occurrence and exchange of adult cestode species in two fish communities (the Bothnian Bay and Lake Yli-Kitka both in Finland) was studied. Coexistence of two or more mature cestode species in the same fish host population was zero for all fish species studied (33) except pike in the Bothnian Bay and whitefish in the lake. It was found that 60% of the fish species studied in the Bothnian Bay and 80% of the fish species studied from Lake Yli-Kitka harboured only 1 mature cestode species. Exchange of adult cestode species between the different fish species in these two fish communities was found to be as rare as coexistence. The infra-community structure of adult cestodes in freshwater fish thus turned out to be markedly different from what is known to be the situation in birds. The evolutionary explanation behind the differences is discussed.

This paper examines the effects of host age and sex on the frequency distribution of Wuchereria bancrofti infections in the human host. Microfilarial counts from a large data base on the epidemiology of bancroftian filariasis in Pondicherry, South India are analysed. Frequency distributions of microfilarial counts divided by age are successfully described by zero-truncated negative binomial distributions, fitted by maximum likelihood. Parameter estimates from the fits indicate a significant trend of decreasing overdispersion with age in the distributions above age 10; this pattern provides indirect evidence for the operation of density-dependent constraints on microfilarial intensity. The analysis also provides estimates of the proportion of mf-positive individuals who are identified as negative due to sampling errors (around 5% of the total negatives). This allows the construction of corrected mf age–prevalence curves, which indicate that the observed prevalence may underestimate the true figures by between 25% and 100%. The age distribution of mf-negative individuals in the population is discussed in terms of current hypotheses about the interaction between disease and infection.

Jirds (Meriones libycus) were infected with various numbers of Acanthocheilonema viteae L3 stage parasites. During the course of the ensuing 16 weeks, blood samples were collected at 2 weekly intervals and the amount of the major parasite excretory–secretory product (E–S 62) and antibodies directed against it measured. After 16 weeks, animals were sacrificed and the size of the mature worm burden established. In spite of interaction between E–S 62 and host antibody, a statistically significant relationship was found to exist between the amount of E–S 62 present in the bloodstream and the size of the parasite load. It is suggested that the detectable antigen level is more influenced by the size of the worm burden than the presence of antibody and that antibody is only likely to affect adversely antigen measurement in situations where the amount released is relatively low. Examples of this are early in infection and in low-level infections. These ideas are discussed in relation to the development and assessment of serological assays which attempt to predict parasite burden in human filarial infections.

Mean villus height, crypt depth and the number of 5-HT-positive enterochromaffin (EC) cells have been examined in two regions of the small intestine (20–30° and 60–70° distance from the pylorus) of male, 6 to 8-week-old, C57 mice following a 5-cysticercoid infection of the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta. Test mice and sham-infected controls were autopsied 0, 4, 8, 10, 14 and 28 days post-primary infection (p-1°-i) and 2, 4, 5, 7 and 14 days post-secondary infection (p-2°-i), administered 28 days p-1°-i. Morphometric analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in crypt depth in the 60–70°o intestine region in infected mice during both primary and secondary infections; no significant deviation from the control was observed for villus height in infected mice. Statistical analysis showed a significant increase in the number of 5-HT-positive EC cells in infected mice. This response occurred in the lower portion of the intestine on days 10-p-1°-i and 5-p-2°-i, and was not due to increased mucosal surface area in this region. Results are discussed with reference to murine cestode rejection and the possible involvement therein of the neuroendocrine system.

The mechanism underlying the ability of the anthelmintic avermectin to paralyse the nematode Ascaris is not yet fully understood. Using conventional two-electrode electrophysiological recording techniques we have demonstrated that micromolar concentrations of ivermectin block the inhibitory GABA response on the muscle cells of the parasitic nematode Ascaris. The ability of a number of avermectin derivatives to act as receptor antagonists for the Ascaris muscle GABA receptor has been determined. This provides useful information to compare with the in vivo anthelmintic potency of these compounds. Abamectin, the most potent anthelmintic, was the most potent compound at inhibiting the GABA response whilst octahydroavermectin, a compound which lacks anthelmintic activity, did not block the GABA receptor. This is consistent with the notion that the GABA receptor antagonist properties of the avermectins could contribute to their anthelmintic action.

Information relating to the characterization of cestode surface macromolecules is limited. This is especially the case with Taenia crassiceps, a well-recognized model for the study of larval cestodiasis. Here, the protein and glycoprotein composition of the tegumental surface and cyst fluid of the metacestode have been investigated using radio-isotope labelling, immunoprecipitation, SDS–PAGE and lectin affinity chromatography. A restricted number of surface proteins was labelled with the 125I/Iodogen method although the majority were immunogenic; in contrast an array of cyst fluid antigens were labelled. Host serum proteins, including immunoglobulins, were identified on the surface and in the cyst fluid. Some of the 125I-labelled surface proteins, including a 37 kDa molecule, have been shown to be glycoproteins and probably contain-D-mannose and/or D-glucose; there is limited or no N-acetylglucosamine and no terminal galactose present on these components. A 37 kDa surface molecule, possibly the same glycoprotein, was also precipitated by infection sera and this may endorse the theory that highly immunogenic carbohydrates are continuously shed by T. crassiceps as a mechanism for diverting the immune response of the host. Radio-iodinated and biosynthetically labelled T. crassiceps antigens were highly cross-reactive with antibody raised to other cestodes and not one antigen was identified as a possible candidate for use in specific immunodiagnosis of any of the important taeniid infections.

The capacity of Acanthocheilonema viteae to metabolize fructose was investigated in vitro. In common with other filarial species A. viteae oxidized fructose to lactate but its rate of consumption was only 40% of the glucose-containing control value. Fructose was not incorporated into glycogen. Release of 14CO2 from [U-14C]fructose was not detected in the presence of glucose and was about 40% of the glucose-containing value under conditions where fructose was the sole hexose substrate. Fructose consumption and lactate excretion increased in proportion to the external concentration of fructose. However, worm viability was not maintained in fructose over a 120 h in vitro incubation. In the presence of fructose, protein synthesis (measured incorporation of [35S]methionine into acid-insoluble material) was reduced compared to the glucose-containing control group; but was significantly greater than the value obtained under glucose-free conditions.

An analysis of the rostellar hooks of Australian isolates of Echinococcus granulosus revealed that there was less variation in larval (metacestode) than adult characters and that metacestode characters could be measured directly from adult worms. A factor analysis indicated that two factors, one representing a contrast between number of hooks and their length, and the other representing blade lengths, were sufficient to account for 87.5% of the variance in metacestode hook measurements. These results indicate that rostellar hook morphology is not useful for discriminating strains of E. granulosus in Australia. The Tasmanian and mainland domestic strains were found to be indistinguishable using rostellar morphology. Although many of the isolates from sylvatic hosts differed from those from domestic hosts, there was not a clear separation as would be expected if two distinct strains existed. Evidence was presented to show that the morphological differences seen in sylvatic hosts could be attributed to host-induced effects, and that the previously accepted existence of two mainland strains should be investigated further.

In and around the British Isles, three biologically specialized strains of the fish acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus laevis have been recognized, each differing in geographical distribution and both final and intermediate host utilization. Six restriction endonuclease digests of the genomic DNA of the English freshwater and marine strains were compared by genomic cross-hybridization using the randomly sheared and radio-isotope labelled genomic DNA of freshwater P. laevis, and also by using a heterologous isotope labelled ribosomal DNA probe. Autoradiographs of hybridized Southern blots provided evidence for considerable homogeneity in the total repetitive DNA of the two strains as well as some preliminary evidence for possible restriction fragment length polymorphisms using EcoR I and Pvu II.

Enzyme electrophoresis was used to examine genetic variation within and between populations of Echinococcus granulosus from domestic and sylvatic hosts in western and eastern Australia. Substantial genetic diversity was found within all populations. There was no evidence, however, of genetic differentiation between populations from different hosts or geographic areas. When isolates were grouped into previously described domestic or sylvatic strains on the basis of rostellar hook morphology, most (94%) of the genetic variation occurred within, rather than between strains. These results conflict with the currently accepted theory of separate domestic and sylvatic strains of E. granulosus on the mainland of Australia.

In common with other taeniid cestodes, host or host-like proteins, especially immunoglobulins, occur on the surface and in the cyst fluid of Taenia crassiceps metacestodes. Here, several approaches have been used to determine the origin of the immunoglobulins present on the tegument. Indirect IFAT showed that IgG was almost totally lost from the surface of bladders after 6 days culture in vitro. There was a rapid reacquisition of immunoglobulins following incubation of the cultured metacestodes with either normal mouse serum or mouse anti-T. crassiceps antiserum. Immunoprecipitation of in vitro translation products and biosynthetically labelled T. crassiceps proteins with a panel of anti-IgG antisera failed to positively identify any molecule with homology to mammalian immunoglobulins. These results suggest strongly that the immunoglobulins located on the surface of T. crassiceps are of host rather than parasite origin. The occurrence of a relatively low abundance receptor in the surface of the bladders, which binds non-specific host immunoglobulin, together with surface-bound specific anti-T. crassiceps antibodies can account for the presence of these host proteins. Freshly obtained bladders and metacestodes cultured in vitro for 6 days were transplanted into naive mice and the survival and development of the resulting parasites compared. In some individual mice there was a decrease in the number and volume of metacestodes and an increase in encapsulated parasites arising from cultured bladders. This was probably not related to the loss of host immunoglobulins from the parasite surface during culture as the reacquisition of these proteins after transplantation is likely to be far more rapid than any immune response could evoke in a naive host.

Hymenolepis diminuta liberated measurable amounts of ‘Lowry-positive material’ (LPM) and protein during incubation for 2 h in vitro. When tapeworms were incubated in the presence of bovine trypsin (BT), or when BT was added to the medium after removing the tapeworms, the enzyme's proteolytic activity was inhibited significantly. Centrifugation of the medium at 30 000 g yielded a pellet composed of tegumental elements, but this fraction did not inhibit BT. The 30 000 g supernatant fraction contained a chemical(s) that inhibited the proteolytic enzymes of the rodent host's intestinal contents (IC). The inhibitor(s) was stable following repeated freeze-thaw cycles, heat labile, and not degraded by BT or IC, and it inhibited the amidase activity of BT in a non-competitive manner.

Observed field data from a range of geographically distinct human communities suggest a consistent non-linear relationship between prevalence and mean intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides infection. Utilizing the negative binomial distribution as a description of observed aggregation, maximum-likelihood analysis reveals that the degree of aggregation is a negative linear function of mean worm burden. The factors responsible for this relationship in human populations require further study but may involve some combination of (i) density-dependent reduction in worm numbers within individuals, (ii) density-dependent parasite-induced host mortality or (iii) self-treatment by heavily infected hosts. Variability in the degree of aggregation appears dependent on the level of infection in a community and independent of geographical differences in the host or parasite populations.

The genetic influences upon host variation in eosinophilia and resistance to helminth infection, and the relationship between these parameters, was investigated in 9 inbred and 3 hybrid strains of mice infected with Mesocestoides corti. Blood, bone marrow, spleen and peritoneal fluid eosinophilia were far higher in SJL mice than in any other inbred strain. SWR, NIH, C3H and BALB/c mice were high responders to M. corti whereas CBA and 3 congenic strains sharing the B10 background (C57BL/10, B10.S, B10.G) were low responders. Some of the genes for high eosinophil responsiveness appeared to be dominant, as F1 hybrids from high and low response parental strains were intermediate to high in response to infection. SJL and NIH strains were highly susceptible to infection with M. corti, larval burdens at 21 days after infection with 100 tetrathyridia being considerably higher (>1000) than all other strains. BALB/c (≃ 700 larvae) were designated susceptible, SWR (>400 larvae) were resistant and the BIO congenics (<400 larvae) were highly resistant. Genes influencing resistance also appeared to be dominant, as F1 hybrids between resistant and susceptible parental strains were intermediate to resistant on infection. The overall response patterns indicate a direct correlation between susceptibility to infection and high eosinophil responsiveness, but this relationship is not consistent in all strains.

Cyclosporin A (CsA), administered in 5 daily subcutaneous doses of 50 mg/kg to MF1 mice immediately following infection with Hymenolepis diminuta enhanced parasite growth relative to controls. Drug administered at 24 h intervals for 10 days, and thereafter every 48 h to MF1 and CBA/Ca mice infected with H. diminuta, increased worm survival and growth, delayed host-mediated expulsion of the parasite and enabled some worms to develop to patency. Worm survival and weight both increased in a dose-dependent manner following daily CsA treatment of infected CBA/Ca and BALB/c mice (0–150 mg/kg CsA/day). Delay in parasite elimination was accompanied by increased frequency of worm-attachment in the anterior small intestine (MF1 mice given 5 daily doses of CsA [0–150 mg/kg] following infection); posteriad migration of worms was restricted in a dose-dependent manner. The data presented contrast markedly with the action of the same drug on H. microstoma in mice. Thus CsA treatment acts in opposing ways on two closely related parasites in the same host; this possibly reflects the mechanistic antagonism between immunosuppression and anthelmintic activity. This paper reports the first use of a specific T cell-suppressive drug on H. diminuta in the mouse, implicating the role of T cells in protective immunity to this parasite.

A comparison has been made of the interactions between passively transferred and actively acquired immunity in regulating populations of Taenia hydatigena and T. ovis. When ewes were grazed prior to parturition under a high infection pressure, immunity was transferred to their offspring for up to 8 weeks. A qualititative difference between the species was the destruction of larval T. ovis prior to their establishment (‘pre-encystment immunity’) and that of T. hydatigena after they had become established (‘post-encystment immunity’) in the challenged lambs. The major difference in terms of population regulation between the two parasites was that infection occurred with T. hydatigena but not with T. ovis in those lambs reared from birth for 16 weeks under high infection pressure. Passive, like active immunity, is a density-dependent constraint. It plays an important role in the population regulation of T. ovis, but not of T. hydatigena. This is discussed in terms of transmission in the natural environment, an hypothesis on humoral protection and the need to elucidate pathways of protection when immunization schedules are being evaluated for controlling the taeniid zoonoses.

Locomotion of adult Nippostrongylus brasiliensis has been studied in saline, in 0.6% agar, in sodium alginate of different viscosities and amongst sand grains in these media. In saline the nematode formed two-dimensional waves but there was little forward progression. Amongst sand grains in saline the nematode moved forwards by thrusting against sand grains, but thigmokinetic behaviour later resulted in quiescence. In 0.6% agar and in alginates of weak viscosity the nematode produced two-dimensional waves and sometimes a three-dimensional helical wave which resulted in forward movement. The formation of three-dimensional waves and the distance travelled increased with increasing viscosity up to 4% sodium alginate and also amongst sand gains in these media. In 8% sodium alginate the nematode became coiled like a spring but remained almost stationary. The three-dimensional wave is formed with torsion and obtains thrust from the viscous medium. In the intestine of the host thrust will be obtained from the mucus and villi of the intestinal mucosa. The ability of this nematode to move by two-and three-dimensional undulatory propulsion is probably related to its complex ridged cuticle. Attention is drawn to the role that increased viscosity of mucus may play in entrapping nematodes during their immune rejection.

A deterministic model for the demography of the free-living stages of Haemonchus contortus is described. The model consists of three compartments: the pre-infective stages, comprising the eggs and first- and second-stage larvae combined; third-stage larvae in the faeces; and third-stage larvae on the pasture. The mortality (μj) of each of these stages was a function of temperature (K, where K = (degrees Celsius + 30)/100) of the form, μj = aj exp [xj K] + bj exp [– βj K]. The minimum time to second moult (γ) and the moulting rate thereafter (σ) were also functions of temperature (In [1/γ] = c1 + c2[1/K], and σ = d1 exp [d2 K] respectively). The rate at which L3 larvae migrated out of the faeces was treated as a constant (0.165/larva/day).

A protocol for the routine laboratory maintenance of the life-cycle of Diphyllobothrium dendriticum, using herring gulls (Larus argentatus), Cyclops abyssorum and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss ( = Salmo gairdneri) as the definitive, first and second intermediate hosts respectively, is described.

Immunodiagnostic tests for Taenia-specific faecal antigen based on polyclonal rabbit antisera against Taenia saginata or Taenia solium proglottid extracts in capture-type ELISA assays have been developed. Taenia-specific antigen was detected in detergent-solubilized faecal extracts from T. solium- and T. saginata-infected hosts. Coproantigen from T. solium-infected hamsters did not cross-react with faeces from rodents infected with Hymenolepis diminuta, H. citelli, H. micro-stoma, Necator americanus, Strongyloides ratti or Nematospiroides dubius and faeces from uninfected animals. When the T. saginata-capture ELISA was tested with faecal samples positive for T. solium antigen, no cross-reactions were obtained. However, faecal samples from humans infected with T. solium or T. saginata, including some with extremely low egg counts, were cross-reactive by either test. Nevertheless, considerably higher O.D. values were obtained with stool samples from Taenia patients compared to Hymenolepis nana-infected or uninfected individuals. Two individuals, infected with Taenia sp. and positive for coproantigens by ELISA, became antigen-negative 6 days after treatment with Niclosamide. The possibility of developing species-specific immunodiagnostic tests for human taeniasis through coproantigen detection is discussed.