Giovanni Sgroi1, Antonio Varcasia2, Giorgia Dessì2, Nicola D'Alessio3, Laura Pacifico1, Francesco Buono1, Benedetto Neola3, Giovanna Fusco3, Mario Santoro3, Valerio Toscano4, Alessandro Fioretti1, Vincenzo Veneziano5. 1. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone, 8, 80134, Naples, Italy. 2. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy. 3. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Italy. 4. Regional Reference Center of Urban Veterinary Hygiene (CRIUV), Naples, Italy. 5. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples Federico II, Via Mezzocannone, 8, 80134, Naples, Italy. vincenzo.veneziano@unina.it.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis, due to Cysticercus tenuicollis, is a parasitic disease infecting domestic and wild animals worldwide causing economic and productive losses. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to the role of the wild ungulates in the epidemiology of this disease. In the last years, the increasing population of wild boars in Europe has raised the attention of researchers on their role in the spreading of several infections, including those caused by cestodes. Herein, we report the description of a massive infection due to T. hydatigena cysticercosis in a wild boar from southern Italy. METHODS: An adult female boar was examined during the hunting season 2018 within the regional project "Piano Emergenza Cinghiali in Campania". A complete necropsy was performed on the boar carcass and all viscera were examined to determine number and location of the cysts. Morphological and molecular analyses of the cysts were performed to confirm the C. tenuicollis identity. RESULTS: The boar examined has revealed an impressive massive infection with 265 cysts. Measurements of the large and small larval hooks showed a mean of length as 200.3 µm and 136.8 µm, respectively. Molecular analysis of Cox1 and ND1 mitochondrial genes confirmed the C. tenuicollis identity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that wild boar could be involved in the epidemiology of T. hydatigena, due to the significant amount of boar raw offal available to definitive hosts (i.e., hunting dogs, foxes and wolves), during the hunting seasons.
PURPOSE:Taenia hydatigena cysticercosis, due to Cysticercus tenuicollis, is a parasitic disease infecting domestic and wild animals worldwide causing economic and productive losses. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to the role of the wild ungulates in the epidemiology of this disease. In the last years, the increasing population of wild boars in Europe has raised the attention of researchers on their role in the spreading of several infections, including those caused by cestodes. Herein, we report the description of a massive infection due to T. hydatigena cysticercosis in a wild boar from southern Italy. METHODS: An adult female boar was examined during the hunting season 2018 within the regional project "Piano Emergenza Cinghiali in Campania". A complete necropsy was performed on the boar carcass and all viscera were examined to determine number and location of the cysts. Morphological and molecular analyses of the cysts were performed to confirm the C. tenuicollis identity. RESULTS: The boar examined has revealed an impressive massive infection with 265 cysts. Measurements of the large and small larval hooks showed a mean of length as 200.3 µm and 136.8 µm, respectively. Molecular analysis of Cox1 and ND1 mitochondrial genes confirmed the C. tenuicollis identity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that wild boar could be involved in the epidemiology of T. hydatigena, due to the significant amount of boar raw offal available to definitive hosts (i.e., hunting dogs, foxes and wolves), during the hunting seasons.
Authors: Laura Pacifico; Maria Francesca Sgadari; Nicola D'Alessio; Francesco Buono; Brunella Restucci; Giovanni Sgroi; Martina Ottaviano; Martina Antoniciello; Alessandro Fioretti; Claudia Tamponi; Antonio Varcasia; Vincenzo Veneziano Journal: Parasitol Res Date: 2022-04-01 Impact factor: 2.383
Authors: Anna W Myczka; Witold Jeżewski; Katarzyna J Filip-Hutsch; Anna M Pyziel; Jerzy Kowal; Aleksander W Demiaszkiewicz; Zdzisław Laskowski Journal: Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl Date: 2020-02-24 Impact factor: 2.674
Authors: Antonio Scala; Maria Luisa Pinna Parpaglia; Andrea Corda; Giorgia Dessì; Antonio Varcasia; Silvia Carta; Claudia Tamponi; Giampietro Sedda; Mauro Scala; Barbara Marchi; Francesco Salis Journal: Parasit Vectors Date: 2020-11-11 Impact factor: 3.876