Trichinellosis in Greece: a review.

Trichinellosis which constitutes a public health problem in many countries seems to be of no importance on both pig industry and public health in Greece, where in spite of a law requiring mandatory use of trichinoscopy during meat inspection, muscle larvae have not been found in slaughtered pigs since 1957 in Thessaloniki and 1967 in Athens. Since its first recovery in 1946 and up to 1952, human trichinellosis has been found or suspected in 22 persons in the area of Athens and Thessaloniki. Moreover, in 1968, T. spiralis larvae were found incidentally in a human with laryngeal tumor and in 1971, living larvae were postmortem recovered in the diaphragm of a 70-year-old man. The average incidence of infection in pigs at that time was 0.02-2.2%. Since then, no other clinical case had been reported up to 1982-1984 when 15 people were found to harbor the parasite and fourteen of them were part of an outbreak which occurred in a small village in Northern Greece. Moreover, 1.07% of the pig serum samples which came from the same area, showed the presence of specific antibodies. Because of the above data, it is generally accepted that in Greece T. spiralis is only rarely spread in man.

Factors affecting the frequency of ear canal and face infestation by Otodectes cynotis in the cat.

Otodectes cynotis is responsible for at least 50% of canker cases diagnosed in cats world-wide. The role of Demodex cati in the pathogenesis of otitis and acne is still obscure. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of O. cynoyis and D. cati infestations in clinically normal cats in northern Greece, to determine the factors that are associated with the probability and severity of infestation in the cat, and to examine the importance of these mites in the pathogenesis of feline acne. Samples from 161 cats were examined by flushing the ear canals and by taking skin scrapings of the chin and lip area. The results were combined with various factors (sex, age, living style, hair coat type and presence of pruritus, of ear discharge, of acne-like lesions) in order to carry out a risk analysis. Two separate logistic regression analyses were performed. One, on the infestation/non-infestation potential with O. cynotis and the other, on the degree of such infestation as mild-to-moderate (< or =5 mites/field) or severe (>5 mites/field). D. cati was not detected in any of the 161 cats. The prevalence of O. cynotis was estimated at 25.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 19-32). The rate of mite infestation was higher with the presence of ear discharge (odds ratio 9, 95% CI 3.3-24.5), periaural pruritus (odds ratio 3.6, 95% CI 1.8-8) and acne-like lesions (odds ratio 3.3, 95% CI 1.2-9). Cats with mild-to-moderate degree of infestation had 18 times higher chance of exhibiting an ear discharge than those with a severe infestation. The log-odds of mild-to-moderate parasitism were linearly related to the age.

The effect of transportation and confinement stress on egg production by Dicrocoelium dendriticum in sheep.

The effect of transportation and confinement stress on Dicrocoelium dendriticum egg production was investigated. Sheep passing a minimum of 200 eggs g-1 of faeces were selected from a naturally infected flock. A group of six ewes (group A) was transferred to the laboratory premises and kept indoors for 28 days, while another group (B) of six ewes remained on pasture and was used as a control. Faecal examinations and egg counting were performed weekly, on all sheep, from one week before to 28 days after the transportation of the animals. Comparison of faecal egg counts between groups revealed higher (P < 0.01) counts in transported sheep sampled on days 7, 14 and 28 of the trial. Furthermore, egg counts obtained from sheep that were transferred remained consistently high while the ones from sheep that remained on pasture showed significant variation. Therefore, it is concluded that stress-inducing factors, such as transportation and confinement may enhance egg production of D. dendriticum.

Human and canine dirofilariasis in Greece.

Human dirofilariasis is a disease which is considered to be rare in Greece, less than 20 cases having been reported prior to 1990. The clinical manifestations were usually subcutaneous nodules, and in only two cases there was ocular dirofilariasis. Eight new cases were recognized in humans during the last six years in Athens, two of which with ophthalmic involvement. Twelve additional cases have been detected but not published in Thessaloniki. In all human cases, the worms were identified as being Dirofilaria repens (D. conjunctivae). The identification was based on the morphological observations of the whole nematodes and on the histological sections of the subcutaneous nodules in the samples. Four different filarial nematodes (D. immitis, D. repens, Dipetalonema reconditum and D. grassii) were recovered from dogs. Infection of dogs with all types of filariae ranges from 12% to 37%. The high incidence of dirofilariasis in dogs is of great interest compared to the low incidence in humans. The occurrence of common host animals and insect vectors makes dirofilariasis a potential danger for public health.

Seasonal activity of ixodid ticks on goats in northern Greece.

Ixodid ticks were collected at monthly intervals for 20 consecutive months from 25 goats of the local breed selected at random from a flock grazing permanently around a village in northern Greece. Three species of ixodid ticks were recovered, Ixodes gibbosus, Rhipicephalus bursa and Dermacentor marginatus. I gibbosus was the most abundant and prevalent species. It was found on the animals from October to April, and its activity increased with lower mean temperatures and higher relative humidities. R bursa was present from May to August, and its activity increased with higher mean temperatures and lower relative humidities. D marginatus was present in very small numbers from January to March, with no significant correlation with climatic factors.

Flea species from dogs and cats in northern Greece: environmental and clinical implications.

Fleas were identified after being collected from 129 dogs and 38 cats of random breed, sex and age. All these animals, infested with fleas and admitted to the Clinic of Medicine of the Veterinary Faculty in Thessaloniki for routine procedures, were from different habitats and originated from various parts of northern Greece. Ctenocephalides canis was the most common species found on the dogs (71.3%). Conversely, its prevalence in the 14 cats was substantially lower (5.3%). Ctenocephalides felis was found on 97.4% of the cats and 40.3% of the dogs surveyed. Of the other flea species, with much lower prevalence, Pulex irritans (0.8%) and Xenopsylla cheopis (0.8%) were observed only on the dogs. Seventeen dogs (13.2%) and one cat (2.6%) had mixed infestations. Flea-associated dermatoses were observed in 26 dogs (20.2%) and four cats (10.5%). Flea-allergic dermatitis, with its typical manifestations, was seen in ten of the dogs (38.5%) with skin lesions. Three out of four flea-allergic cats presented miliary dermatitis and one symmetrical hypotrichosis.

Pathophysiological studies on Dicrocoelium dendriticum infection in sheep.

Red cell kinetics and plasma protein metabolism were investigated in two experiments using 20 adult sheep naturally infected with Dicrocoelium dendriticum, but free of other liver and gastrointestinal helminths. In the first experiment, where groups of animals with low to high Dicrocoelium burdens were injected with 51Cr-labelled red cells and 125I-labelled albumin, the results indicated that there were no significant differences in the turnover rate of labelled red cells or albumin between any of the groups. In the second experiment, two groups of sheep with low and high worm burdens were studied using the same radioisotope tracers; in addition, 59Fe-citrate was used to assess red cell iron incorporation rates in the two groups. Although the red cell half-lives of the infected sheep were just significantly longer, both were within normal limits and the difference was attributed to random variation within the two small groups of sheep. No significant differences were found in the other parameters. It was concluded that burdens of up to 4000 D. dendriticum do not cause significant blood or plasma protein loss in sheep.

Latex agglutination test for detecting Trichinella spiralis infections in pigs using muscle extract.

The latex agglutination (LA) test, using muscle-juice samples of pigs experimentally infected with Trichinella spiralis and slaughtered 95 days post-infection (p.i.), gave visible results in 3 min; even in a pig receiving an infection dose as low as 10 larvae. The test appeared reliable and easy to perform without the need for special equipment or sample treatments which are necessary for ante-mortem diagnostic methods. The muscle-juice sample could be obtained by compressing the muscle pieces with the fingers at any time post-mortem and was used undiluted. The results of the LA test using serum or muscle-juice samples correlated with those of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive results in the LA test and ELISA appeared 27 days p.i. with the use of sera from the pigs infected with greater than or equal to 600 larvae and 56 days p.i. with the serum of a pig infected with 10 larvae. The complement-fixing antibodies were detected in the sera using complement ELISA 86 days p.i. This assay was negative when muscle-juice samples were used.

Standardized nomenclature of animal parasitic diseases (SNOAPAD).

An expert committee, appointed by the Executive Committee of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (W.A.A.V.P.), presents its proposal for uniform and proper terminology to denominate animal parasitic diseases or infections. In principle, the disease name is constructed solely by the suffix -osis, which is added to the stem of the name of the parasite taxon, formed from the nominative of the taxa. Standardized nomenclature of animal parasitic diseases (SNOAPAD) is meant as a guideline for general use, to improve the clarity of scientific communication. It should be especially useful in promoting effective usage of computerized data retrieval services.

The comparative efficacy of oxfendazole administered as bolus and suspension to naturally infected sheep in Greece.

In a flock of 20 ewes naturally infected with those parasites of sheep most common in Greece, and kept indoors during the whole trial, oxfendazole at the dose rate of approximately 2.9 and 2.8 mg/kg body-weight was tested as a 4 g bolus containing 112 mg active ingredient and a 2.265% suspension. The evaluation of its efficacy was based on the necropsy findings which were also supported by faecal egg counts. No differences in efficacy were noticed between the two formulations of the drug. Both bolus and suspension proved to be 100% effective against Haemonchus contortus, Ostertagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus axei, T. colubriformis and Chabertia ovina. The efficacy against Cooperia oncophora, Nematodirus spathiger, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Oesophagostomum columbianum and Moniezia expansa could not be evaluated, because these species, though not found in any of the treated animals, were found in fewer than three controls.