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Papini RA, Lubas G, Sgorbini M. Incidental Detection of Onchocerca Microfilariae in Donkeys ( Equus asinus) in Italy: Report of Four Cases. Front Vet Sci 2020; 7:569916. [PMID: 33240947 PMCID: PMC7677255 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.569916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper reports the occurrence for the first time in Italy of autochthonous Onchocerca infection in donkeys. Four jennies, bred on the same farm, were referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Pisa for a check-up on ovarian activity (n = 3) or for veterinary support during the delivery (n = 1). Microfilariae were incidentally detected during the blood smear examination of one jenny. Peripheral blood samples were then collected from the other three jennies and the presence of microfilariae was investigated by Knott's test. Circulating unsheathed microfilariae were identified in all the animals. The level of microfilaraemia was between 1 and 31 microfilariae in 2 mL of blood. Hematological changes showed moderate eosinophilia in one case or both remarkable eosinophilia and basophilia in another case. Based on molecular findings by PCR and sequencing, the microfilariae showed 98% sequence similarity with Onchocerca sp. in the NCBI GenBank database (Accession No.: MK541848.1). The present report provides evidence that Onchocerca is an etiological agent of parasitic infection in donkeys in Italy. Our findings highlight the importance of screening in donkeys for Onchocerca even in the absence of clinical indications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Amerigo Papini
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Veterinary Teaching Hospital "Mario Modenato", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - George Lubas
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Veterinary Teaching Hospital "Mario Modenato", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Micaela Sgorbini
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Veterinary Teaching Hospital "Mario Modenato", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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2
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Mirzaei M, Ghahvei Y, Lefoulon E, Lia RP, Otranto D, Martin C, Sazmand A. Morphological and molecular characterization of Onchocerca fasciata (Nematoda, Onchocercidae) from dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Iran. Parasite 2018; 25:50. [PMID: 30234481 PMCID: PMC6146669 DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2018045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Skin nodules of Onchocerca fasciata Railliet and Henry, 1910 (Spirurida, Onchocercidae) are a common finding in dromedary camels, though with a minimal clinical impact. There is little information about the morphology, molecular make-up and pathological impact of this parasite. Onchocerca fasciata nodules (1.3-2.1 cm in diameter and 509-841 mg in weight) were detected on the neck region in 31.5% of dromedary camels examined in Kerman province, southeastern Iran. Of 38 isolated nodules, only 23 (60.5%) contained viable worms. Measurement and morphological analyses were performed on isolated female worms by light microscopy. The identification of O. fasciata specimens was confirmed by sequence analysis of two mitochondrial genes (12S rDNA and cox1), which showed 0.4% divergence from available O. fasciata sequences. In addition, a phylogeny of filarial nematodes was constructed, based on these two mitochondrial genes and five nuclear genes (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, MyoHC, rbp1, hsp70); this indicated that O. fasciata belongs to clade ONC3 of Onchocercidae, with representatives of the genera Onchocerca and Dirofilaria. Within the genus Onchocerca, O. fasciata is grouped with bovine parasitic species and the human parasitic Onchocerca volvulus, which suggests an impact of domestication on the radiation of the genus. Data provided here on the distribution and morphology of O. fasciata contribute to the molecular identification and phylogenetic position of the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mirzaei
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Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman Postal code: 7616914111
Kerman Iran
| | - Younes Ghahvei
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Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman Postal code: 7616914111
Kerman Iran
| | - Emilie Lefoulon
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Genome Biology Division, New England Biolabs, Inc. 240 County Rd Ipswich MA
01938 USA
| | - Riccardo Paolo Lia
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Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3 70010
Valenzano Bari Italy
| | - Domenico Otranto
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Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3 70010
Valenzano Bari Italy
| | - Coralie Martin
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Unité Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS 75231
Paris cedex 05 France
| | - Alireza Sazmand
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Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University Postal code: 6517658978
Hamedan Iran
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Lefoulon E, Giannelli A, Makepeace BL, Mutafchiev Y, Townson S, Uni S, Verocai GG, Otranto D, Martin C. Whence river blindness? The domestication of mammals and host-parasite co-evolution in the nematode genus Onchocerca. Int J Parasitol 2017; 47:457-470. [PMID: 28344097 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2016] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The genus Onchocerca includes 34 described species and represents one of the largest genera of the filarial nematodes within the family Onchocercidae. Representative members of this genus are mainly parasites of ungulates, with some exceptions such as Onchocerca lupi and Onchocerca volvulus, infecting carnivores and/or humans. For a long time, the evolutionary relationships amongst onchocercids remained poorly studied, as the systematics of this genus was impaired by the high morphological variability of species included in the taxon. Although some molecular phylogenies were developed, these studies were mainly focused on bovine Onchocerca spp. and O. volvulus, including assessments of Wolbachia endosymbionts. In the present study, we analysed 13 Onchocerca spp. from a larger host spectrum using a panel of seven different genes. Analysis of the coxI marker supports its usefulness for the identification of species within the genus. The evolutionary history of the genus has been herein revised by multi-gene phylogenies, presenting three strongly supported clades of Onchocerca spp. Analyses of co-evolutionary scenarios between Onchocerca and their vertebrate hosts underline the effect of domestication on Onchocerca speciation. Our study indicates that a host switch event occurred between Bovidae, Canidae and humans. Cophylogenetic analyses between Onchocerca and the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia indicate the strongest co-evolutionary pattern ever registered within the filarial nematodes. Finally, this dataset indicates that the clade composed by O. lupi, Onchocerca gutturosa, Onchocerca lienalis, Onchocerca ochengi and O. volvulus derived from recent speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Lefoulon
- Unité Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Alessio Giannelli
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Italy
| | - Benjamin L Makepeace
- Institute of Infection and Global Health, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Yasen Mutafchiev
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Simon Townson
- Tropical Parasitic Diseases Unit, Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research, Harrow, Middlesex, United Kingdom
| | - Shigehiko Uni
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Guilherme G Verocai
- Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Italy
| | - Coralie Martin
- Unité Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Paris, France.
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Lia RP, Mutafchiev Y, Veneziano V, Giannelli A, Abramo F, Santoro M, Latrofa MS, Cantacessi C, Martin C, Otranto D, Bertuglia A, Riccio B. Filarial infection caused by Onchocerca boehmi (Supperer, 1953) in a horse from Italy. Parasitol Res 2016; 116:191-198. [PMID: 27761717 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-016-5277-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Equids can be infected by a range of skin-dwelling filarial nematodes, including four species of the genus Onchocerca. Current literature on equine onchocercosis is fragmentary and often limited to isolated case reports. The present study aimed to describe a clinical case of equine onchocercosis caused by Onchocerca boehmi (Supperer, 1953) (syn. Elaeophora boehmi) in an 8-year-old gelding Belgian show jumper from northern Italy. The horse was presented with a firm and painless mass on the proximal third of the right metacarpal region. Ultrasound examination showed a peritendinous enlargement around the palmaro-lateral area of the tendons, characterized by an elongated hypoechoic and well-defined structure, embedding a coiled hyperechoic line. The metacarpal nodule was resected and histologically examined. Fragments of a parasitic nematode were detected, isolated and examined. The morphological analysis allowed identifying the nematode as O. boehmi. In addition, total genomic DNA was extracted from individual fragments using a commercial kit for the nematode identification and a comparative sequence analysis of the nematode cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequence with data available in the GenBankTM database revealed the closest identity (i.e. 91 %) with that of Onchocerca lupi. Thus far, O. boehmi has only been reported in Austria and Iran, and information about its life-cycle and vectors is lacking. The systematic position of this species within the genus Onchocerca, not in Elaeophora where it was originally described, is in concordance with the morphological and molecular analysis. In this article, we describe the first autochthonous case of equine onchocercosis in Italy caused by O. boehmi and discuss novel parasitological, clinical, and pathological data on these pathogens of horses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Paolo Lia
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
| | - Yasen Mutafchiev
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, Bari, Italy.,Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Vincenzo Veneziano
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria e Produzioni Animali, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy
| | - Alessio Giannelli
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesca Abramo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Mario Santoro
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Napoli, Italy
| | - Maria Stefania Latrofa
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | - Cinzia Cantacessi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Coralie Martin
- UMR7245, MCAM, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Valenzano, Bari, Italy
| | - Andrea Bertuglia
- Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
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Uni S, Fukuda M, Agatsuma T, Bain O, Otsuka Y, Nakatani J, Matsubayashi M, Harada M, Omar H, Ramli R, Hashim R, Azirun MS, Takaoka H. Onchocerca takaokai n. sp. (Nematoda: Filarioidea) in Japanese wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax): Description and molecular identification of intradermal females. Parasitol Int 2015; 64:493-502. [PMID: 26165205 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2015.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 06/25/2015] [Accepted: 07/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Human zoonotic onchocercosis is caused by Onchocerca dewittei japonica, parasitic in wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax) in Japan. Previously, microfilariae longer than those of Onchocerca dewittei japonica were observed in skin snips from wild boars during the study of O. dewittei japonica. Moreover, the third-stage larvae (L3) of these longer microfilariae were obtained from the blackfly Simulium bidentatum after experimental injections. Based on morphometric and molecular studies, similar L3 were found in blackflies during fieldwork in Oita, Japan. However, except for O. dewittei japonica, adult worms of Onchocerca have not been found in wild boars. In this study, we discovered adult females of a novel Onchocerca species in the skin of a wild boar in Oita, and named it Onchocerca takaokai n. sp. Females of this new species had longer microfilariae and differed from O. dewittei japonica in terms of their morphological characteristics and parasitic location. The molecular characteristics of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 12S rRNA genes of the new species were identical to those of the longer microfilariae and L3 previously detected, but they differed from those of O. dewittei japonica at the species level. However, both species indicated a close affinity among their congeners and Onchocerca ramachandrini, parasitic in the warthog in Africa, was basal in the Suidae cluster of the 12S rRNA tree.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigehiko Uni
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Department of Parasitology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, Osaka 545-8585, Japan.
| | - Masako Fukuda
- Research Promotion Institute, Oita University, Oita 879-5593, Japan
| | - Takeshi Agatsuma
- Department of Environmental Health Science, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku 783-8505, Japan
| | - Odile Bain
- Parasitologie comparée, UMR 7205 CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75231 Paris, France
| | - Yasushi Otsuka
- Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8580, Japan
| | - Jun Nakatani
- Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8666, Japan
| | - Makoto Matsubayashi
- Department of International Prevention of Epidemics, Division of Veterinary Science, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka 598-8531, Japan
| | - Masashi Harada
- Laboratory Animal Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, Osaka 545-8585, Japan
| | - Hasmahzaiti Omar
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rosli Ramli
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Rosli Hashim
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Sofian Azirun
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Hiroyuki Takaoka
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Hussein HS, el Sammani SE. Onchocerca raillieti: release from skin snips, maintenance in vitro and periodicity of microfilariae. Vet Res Commun 1990; 14:31-9. [PMID: 2316189 DOI: 10.1007/bf00346381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Several media were tested for the release of Onchocerca raillieti microfilariae from skin snips and for their subsequent in vitro maintenance. Tyrode's solution containing 20% equine serum and antibiotics was the best medium tested, followed by phosphate buffered saline. Tyrode's solution alone or distilled water were poor media. A temperature 7-12 degrees C lower than the host's body temperature favoured release of the microfilariae from skin snips. The microfilariae were best maintained at 4-10 degrees C, when they remained alive for up to 5 days. O. raillieti microfilariae had an evening periodicity which could be related to a possible vector's peak of feeding activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- H S Hussein
- Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract
Onchocerca raillieti was found to be prevalent in Sudanese donkeys. The parasite was reported from Central, Northern, Western and Eastern Sudan and was most predominant in the last locality. The pathological changes produced by adult worms in the ligamentum nuchae are mostly chronic and do not seem to cause any clinical manifestations. Likewise, the microfilariae, though found in high densities in the skin with a "spill over" into the eyes, produce no pathological changes in either the skin or eyes.
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El Sammani SE, Hussein HS. Onchocerca raillieti: adult location and skin distribution of the microfilaria in Sudanese donkeys. J Helminthol 1983; 57:355-60. [PMID: 6668423 DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x0001107x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Onchocerca raillieti is the only Onchocerca species infecting Sudanese donkeys; it occurs only in the ligamentum nuchae, especially in the lamellar part of the ligament. The morphological features of both uterine and skin microfilariae were determined. Skin microfilariae are shorter than uterine ones and tend to accumulate in the regions of Linea alba and withers of infected donkeys. The possible identity of the vector of this worm in the Sudan is discussed.
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