ABSTRACT
Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm) infection is common in raccoons and can cause devastating pathology in other animals, including humans. Limited information is available on the frequency of asymptomatic human infection. We tested 150 adults from California, USA, for B. procyonis antibodies; 11 were seropositive, suggesting that subclinical infection does occur.
Subject(s)
Ascaridida Infections/epidemiology , Ascaridida/immunology , Animals , Ascaridida Infections/history , Ascaridida Infections/immunology , California/epidemiology , Feces/parasitology , Female , History, 21st Century , Humans , Male , Prevalence , Raccoons , Seroepidemiologic Studies , ZoonosesABSTRACT
Baylisascaris procyonis roundworms can cause potentially fatal neural larva migrans in many species, including humans. However, the clinical spectrum of baylisascariasis is not completely understood. We tested 347 asymptomatic adult wildlife rehabilitators for B. procyonis antibodies; 24 were positive, suggesting that subclinical baylisascariasis is occurring among this population.
Subject(s)
Animals, Wild , Ascaridida Infections/epidemiology , Ascaridida Infections/transmission , Ascaridoidea , Zoonoses , Animals , Antibodies, Protozoan/blood , Antibodies, Protozoan/immunology , Ascaridida Infections/history , Ascaridida Infections/parasitology , Ascaridoidea/immunology , Canada/epidemiology , Female , Geography, Medical , History, 21st Century , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin G/immunology , Male , Seroepidemiologic Studies , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The aim of the present study was to examine the parasite fauna present in rodent coprolites collected from Cerro Casa de Piedra (CCP7), located in Perito Moreno National Park (P.N.PM., 47 degrees 57'S and 72 degrees 05'W), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Eight coprolites obtained from the layer XIII of CCP7, with an antiquity considered as 7,920 +/- 130 yr B.P, were examined for parasites. Each coprolite was whole processed, rehydrated, homogenized, spontaneously sedimented, and examined using light microscopy. Eggs of parasites were measured and photographed. All the samples were parasitized by nematodes, with 267 eggs of Trichuris sp., 24 eggs of an aspidoderid, and 3 capillariid eggs. The rodent host was tentatively identified as a species of Ctenomys, the hypogeic rodents endemic to South America. The finding of Paraspidodera in Patagonian samples represents new evidence that strengthens the co-phylogenies between nematodes of this genus and Ctenomys and reinforces the value of parasites as tags in paleoparasitology.