Non-invasive diagnosis for Philometra ovata (Nematoda) infection in the common minnow Phoxinus phoxinus.
Parasitol Res
; 111(6): 2411-8, 2012 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22961310
ABSTRACT
Non-invasive diagnoses for most of the extraintestinal helminth infections among vertebrates are rare. In the present study, we developed and tested a non-invasive visual diagnosis method to detect the infection of the nematode Philometra ovata, which is parasitising in the body cavity of the common minnow Phoxinus phoxinus. By observing the surface of minnow's abdomen, we diagnosed infected minnows with irregular or vermiform-shaped uplifts as a consequence of the presence of P. ovata in the body cavity. We conducted the diagnosis in minnows with or without anaesthetisation, and our results showed the non-invasive method is highly reliable (correct rate of diagnoses > 95 %) in both anaesthetised and non-anaesthetised groups. The correct rate of diagnoses in truly uninfected fish (i.e. specificity) was nearly 100 % in both groups, while the correct rate of diagnoses in truly infected fish (i.e. sensitivity) was 71 and 65 % in anaesthetised and non-anaesthetised fish, respectively. The correct rate in fish diagnosed as infected or uninfected (i.e. positive or negative predictive power) of non-invasive diagnosis was nearly 100 % among the anaesthetised fish, and over 95 % in non-anaesthetised group. The diagnosis also yielded prevalence of P. ovata infection similar to the real prevalence in anaesthetised fish. Diagnoses conducted by an inexperienced observer indicated that the method is repeatable. Taken together, the present non-invasive method seems to be a promising new tool for non-invasive detection of P. ovata infections in minnows and probably can be applied for the detection of other body cavity dwelling metazoan parasites in various host taxa.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Parasitology
/
Veterinary Medicine
/
Cyprinidae
/
Spirurida Infections
/
Dracunculoidea
/
Fish Diseases
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Evaluation_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Parasitol Res
Journal subject:
PARASITOLOGIA
Year:
2012
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Finland