Renal capillariasis in the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus.

A Capillaria sp. was recovered from the kidneys of 28 (93.3%) of 30 small Indian mongooses (Herpestes auropunctus) collected in St. Lucia, West Indies. The nematodes were embedded within distended pelvic fornices of the kidney and surrounded by accumulations of eggs. A chronic, low-level inflammation of the transitional epithelium was characterized by hyperplasia, giant cells surrounding embedded eggs and a plasmacytic infiltration. This is the first record of a capillarid nematode from the kidney of the mongoose.