Trichinella spp. Infection in European Polecats (Mustela Putorius Linnaeus, 1758) from Romania.

The European polecat (Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758) is in decline in Romania, often living near human settlements, from mountains to lowlands. They feed on a wide variety of small animals, including rodents, such as mice or rats. The occurrence of this parasite in polecats from Romania was mentioned only once in 1991, but the parasite species was not confirmed by molecular biology. The study aimed to investigate the occurrence of Trichinella spp. in European polecats from Romania and to identify the parasite species by molecular tools. A total of 75 wild European polecats were examined by trichinoscopy and artificial digestion. A large number of animals were examined because of their wide distribution in Romanian territory and their presence near human settlements. For species determination, the positive muscle samples and the larvae recovered from artificial digestion were collected for DNA isolation and further processed by means of Multiplex PCR. Only two polecats from southern Romania tested positive for Trichinella spp. infection. During trichinoscopy examination, 48 (in a polecat from Giurgiu County) and 78 (in a polecat from Ialomița County) cysts were found in the tested (56 samples/animal) tissue samples. Artificial digestion revealed infection with 2466 larvae/100 g of muscle in the polecat from Ialomița and 254/100 g in the polecat from Giurgiu. The Multiplex PCR indicated the occurrence of Trichinella spiralis in the polecat from Giurgiu and a co-infection with T. spiralis and T. britovi in the polecat from Ialomița. The current study confirms through molecular biology, the occurrence of T. spiralis and T. britovi, as well as the occurrence of co-infection with these two Trichinella species in European polecats from Romania.

Seroprevalance of Trichinella Spp. in Wild Boars (Sus Scrofa) from Bihor County, Western Romania.

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) has a wide geographical distribution and can be an important source of Trichinella spp. infection in humans in Romania. The objective of this study was to identify the presence of Trichinella spp. in the wild boar population in Bihor County, Romania. Eighty four plasma and diaphragm samples, collected from wild boars, were included in this study. Artificial digestion, ELISA and Western blot were performed on these specimens. All diaphragm samples were negative for Trichinella larvae in artificial digestion, while in ELISA, 54 (64.2 %) plasma samples were positive and 6 (7.1 %) plasma samples were doubtful. Western blot was performed on 26 plasma samples from which only 6 (23.0 %) gave a positive result. Serological evidences indicate the presence of Trichinella spp. in wild boars from western Romania. Therefore, human consumers might be at risk to ingest Trichinella larvae, even in low numbers.

First report of the dog louse fly Hippobosca longipennis in Romania.

Hippobosca longipennis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), the dog fly or dog louse fly, is an obligate blood-feeding ectoparasite of wild and domestic carnivores in Africa and the Middle East. Outside its typically known geographic range, H. longipennis has been reported occasionally on mainly domestic dogs in Asia and southern Europe, and infrequently in other areas (central Europe and the U.S.A.). This paper presents the first report of H. longipennis in Romania and the second record of Lipoptena fortisetosa (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), a potentially invasive species. Hippobosca longipennis was found on domestic dogs in two regions of the country (northern Romania in Maramures and southwestern Romania in Dobrogea) and on two road-killed wildcats in Maramures. Lipoptena fortisetosa was found on domestic dogs in Maramures. In both species identification was based on morphology and confirmed by barcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene. It is not clear for how long H. longipennis has been present in central Europe, nor if it was introduced (via the movement of domestic dogs or import of exotic carnivores) or present historically (Holocene remnants). This paper discusses the possible origins of H. longipennis in central Europe as its current distribution in the area is sparse and patchy.

Severe coenurosis caused by larvae of Taenia serialis in an olive baboon (Papio anubis) in Benin.

In March 2017, a captive male juvenile (ca. 6 months old) olive baboon (Papio anubis) was brought to a primate rescue center in Benin with multiple subcutaneous swellings of unknown aetiology. At the general inspection of the body, around 15 partially mobile masses of variable sizes were found in different locations across the body. Following two surgical procedures, several cyst-like structures were removed and placed either in 10% formalin or in absolute ethanol. The cysts had a typical coenurus-like morphology. Genomic DNA was extracted from one cyst using a commercially available kit. The molecular characterization was performed by PCR amplification and sequencing of a region of the nuclear ITS-2 rDNA and a fragment of the mitochondrial 12S rDNA gene, revealing its identity as T. serialis, with 88%-98% similarity to T. serialis isolates from USA, Japan and Germany This study reports a new host for the larval form of T. serialis and confirms the role of primates as intermediate host, highlighting also the risk for human infection. Further genetic studies from multiple geographic isolates are needed to clarify the taxonomic status of this group.

Larval development of Angiostrongylus chabaudi, the causative agent of feline angiostrongylosis, in the snail Cornu aspersum.

Nematodes of the Angiostrongylidae family, such as Angiostrongylus vasorum and Angiostrongylus cantonensis, may cause potentially life-threatening diseases in several mammal species. Alongside these well-known species, Angiostrongylus chabaudi has been recently found affecting the cardiopulmonary system of domestic and wild cats from Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. Nonetheless, significant gaps in the understanding of A. chabaudi epidemiology include the lack of information of species acting as intermediate host and of the morphological description of larval stages. Cornu aspersum (n = 30) land snails were infected with 100 first-stage larvae of A. chabaudi collected from a naturally infected wildcat in Romania. Larvae at different developmental stages were found in 29 out of 30 (96·7%) infected snails and a total of 282 (mean 9·8 ± 3·02 larvae per each specimen) were collected from the gastropods. Here we demonstrate that A. chabaudi develops in snails and report C. aspersum as potential intermediate host for this parasitic nematode. Findings of this study are central to understand the ecological features of feline angiostrongylosis and its epidemiology within paratenic and intermediate hosts.

Diversity of Flea (Siphonaptera) Parasites on Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Romania.

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes (L.)) are widespread across Europe, tolerant of synanthropic ecosystems, and susceptible to diseases potentially shared with humans and other animals. We describe flea fauna on red foxes in Romania, a large, ecologically diverse country, in part because fleas may serve as an indicator of the risk of spillover of vector-borne disease. We found 912 individual fleas of seven species on the 305 foxes assessed, for an infestation prevalence of 49.5%. Mean flea load per fox was 5.8 (range 0-44 fleas), and flea detections were most abundant in fall and early spring. Fleas included generalists (Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis), 32.6% of all fleas), Ct. felis (Bouché, 0.1%), and Pulex irritans L. (29.9%), the fox specialist Chaetopsylla globiceps (Taschenberg, 32.5%), mesocarnivore fleas Paraceras melis Walker (3.2%) and Ch. trichosa Kohaut (1.5%), and the small mammal flea Ctenophthalmus assimilis (Taschenberg, 0.1%), which is rarely or never reported from carnivores. There were significantly more female than male Ch. globiceps, Ct. canis, and Pu. irritans, and these three species were the most broadly distributed geographically. Diversity indices suggested reduced diversity in mountainous areas above 700 m. When compared to other flea studies on foxes in Europe, Romania had flea diversity near the median of reports, which was unexpected given Romania's high ecological diversity. Notably absent prey specialists, compared to other studies, include Archaeopsylla erinacei (Bouché) and Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale). Further studies of possible disease agents in fox fleas could help elucidate possible risks of vector-borne disease in foxes, domestic animals, and humans as well.

Ixodes ricinus is the dominant questing tick in forest habitats in Romania: the results from a countrywide dragging campaign.

In 2010 and 2011, questing ticks were collected from 188 forested locations in all the 41 counties of Romania using the dragging method. The total of 13,771 ticks collected belonged to eleven species: Ixodes ricinus (86.9 %), Dermacentor marginatus (9.5 %), Haemaphysalis punctata (2.6 %), H. concinna (0.6 %), H. sulcata (0.3 %), H. parva (0.1 %), Hyalomma marginatum (0.02 %), D. reticulatus (0.02 %), I. crenulatus (0.007 %), I. hexagonus (0.007 %) and I. laguri (0.007 %). Ixodes ricinus was present in 97.7 % (n = 180) of locations, occurring exclusively in 41.7 % of the locations, whereas it was the dominant species in 38.8 % of the other locations, accounting for over 70 % of the total tick community. The following most common questing ticks were D. marginatus, H. punctata and H. concinna. Ixodes ricinus co-occurred with one, two or three sympatric species. The occurrence of D. reticulatus in forested habitats from Romania was found to be accidental.

Synopsis of the hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of Romania with update on host associations and geographical distribution.

The current paper is a synoptic review of the distribution and host associations of the 25 species of hard tick fauna (family Ixodidae) in Romania. In addition to a full literature survey, original data is presented, based on eight years of occasional or targeted sample collection. The literature data on geographical distribution was transposed digitally to the decimal degree coordinate system. For each species, an updated distribution map is given together with all historical data and new host associations. Overall, our paper records 58 new tick-host associations for Romania: 20 for Ixodes ricinus, 1 for I. apronophorus, 6 for I. arboricola, 2 for I. hexagonus, 9 for I. redikorzevi, 1 for I. trianguliceps, 2 for I. vespertilionis, 2 for Haemaphysalis punctata, 1 for H. sulcata, 2 for H. concinna, 1 for D. marginatus, 4 for Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, 1 for R. bursa and 6 for Hyalomma marginatum.

Hard ticks (Ixodidae) in Romania: surveillance, host associations, and possible risks for tick-borne diseases.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases represent a great concern worldwide. Despite this, in Romania the studies regarding this subject has just started, and the interest of medical personnel, researchers, and citizens is increasing. Because the geographical range of many tick-borne diseases started to extend as consequences of different biological and environmental factors, it is important to study the diversity of ticks species, especially correlated with host associations. A total number of 840 ticks were collected between 1 April and 1 November 2010, from 66 animals, from 17 species in 11 counties, spread all over Romania. Four Ixodidae species were identified: Dermacentor marginatus (49.2%), Ixodes ricinus (48.3%), Hyalomma marginatum (2.4%), and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (0.1%). The obtained results indicate that D. marginatus is the most abundant tick species and I. ricinus is the most prevalent. As both of them are important vectors for human and animal diseases, the present paper discusses the associated risks for tick-borne diseases.