Microsporidians in penaeid shrimp along the west coast of Madagascar.

Three species of penaeid shrimp, Fenneropenaeus indicus, Penaeus monodon and P. semisulcatus, found in trawler catches off the west coast of Madagascar were infected with microsporidian parasites. The infections were evident as muscular lesions with a cottony appearance when abundant. Spore size (2.6 x 1.6 microm) and morphology (ovoid) for the parasites infecting both F. indicus and P. semisulcatus were not significantly different, suggesting that they might be the same microsporidian species. Spore size (1.4 x 1.1 microm) and morphology (sub-globose to ovoid) in P. monodon infections were significantly different from those in the other 2 shrimp species, suggesting that it was a different parasite. The presence of microsporidians in this biogeographical zone means that there is a potential risk of infections of cultured shrimp in farms situated in the vicinity. This must be assessed by increasing current knowledge of the parasites.

Long-term monitoring on the occurrence of a myxosporean parasite Kudoa camarguensis (Myxosporean) on the common goby (Teleostei, pisces) Pomatoschistus microps.

The evolution of a host-parasite system composed of Pomatoschistus microps-Kudoa camarguensis was investigated in the Vaccarès lagoon (Rhjne river Delta, France) from 1993 to 1997. During this long-term monitoring, centennial flooding of the Rhjne river occurred, leading to an inrush of about 110 million m3 of freshwater in the Vaccarès lagoon. The salinity drastically dropped from 14 to 5 g l(-1) in 1 wk. We observed that the annual prevalence and abundance of the myxosporean parasite decreased from 12.18 in 1993 to 3.7% in 1997 and from 1.10 in 1993 to 0.27 in 1997, respectively. Here, we discuss the possible reasons for the rapid decline of this host-parasite system following the flood.

Host death: a necessary condition for the transmission of Aphalloides coelomicola Dollfus, Chabaud, and Golvan, 1957 (Digenea, Cryptogonimidae)?

Eggs of the trematode Aphalloides coelomicola were observed free in the abdominal cavity of Pomatoschistus microps from March 1993 to October 1995 (Pisces, Gobiidae) in the Vaccares lagoon (delta du Rhone, France). The eggs were contained in a fine membrane of parasitic origin as no immunological reaction of the fish was noted. The alternatively high prevalence of adults and low prevalence of free eggs, and vice versa, suggest that P. microps is both the second intermediate and final hosts of the trematode Aphalloides coelomicola and that the mechanism of transfer to the first intermediate host is through death of the definitive host.

Influence of the trematode Aphalloïdes caelomicola Dollfus, Chabaud & Golvan, 1957 on the fecundity and survival of Pomatoschistus microps (Krøyer, 1838) (Teleostei: Gobiidae).

Monthly data collected during 1993 in the Vaccarès lagoon (Rhône Delta, France) were used to investigate the influence of the trematode Aphalloïdes coelomicola on the survival of the common goby Pomatoschistus microps, which acts both as second intermediate and definitive host. Prevalence of the parasite did not increase with fish size in either sex. Mean abundance and variance to mean abundance ratio gave evidence that the trematode could have an impact on host mortality. Gonad weight of parasitized females was reduced and the parasite seemed to provoke a gonadal regression above a certain parasitic biomass. Fecundity and egg diameters did not differ between parasitized and unparasitized females, we thus hypothesize that the energy content of eggs (composition in lipids and proteins) was probably modified as an adaptation to energy losses. Prevalence of infection in males compared to females and influence of the parasite on host survival and reproductive effort are discussed.

[Non-allergic rhinitis or intrinsic rhinitis? Unusual features of nickel allergy]. / Rhinite non allergique ou rhinite intrinseque? Aspects inhabituels de l'allergie au nickel.

The clinical expression of nickel is known for its great diversity, from classical contact eczema to rhinitis, including work-related allergy, and by secondary hyperthermia to a metallic heart valve. Very often, hypersensitivity which may be of type I or type IV is secondary to contact of the hapten with sensitive cells, however some authors have reported the possibility of reactivation of lesions, especially dermatological (urticaria-eczema) by tests of oral ingestion. However, review of the literature does not mention the possibility of O.R.L. problems of the rhinitis type, from rhinosinusitis following ingestion of nickel and the two clinical cases that we report that involve one child of 11 years and one patient of 59 years, both of whom presented a serious rhinitis with a tendency to surperinfection, developing to perennial, where a patch-test to nickel was strongly positive, and who have seen an improvement in their clinical problems with a strict diet without this hapten. This confirms that the need is eventually physiopathological and suggests the necessity to search systematically for a possibility of hypersensitivity to haptens by the patch test technique in rhinitis that is labelled "non-allergic", by a negative reaginic history to pneumoallergens and trophallergens.