Ascaridia Platycerz in A Masked Lovebird

Sir, — I recently examined a masked lovebird, (Agupornis personura), housed in the Wellington Zoological Gardens. The bird was a young female which had not been obviously ill, but died overnight. On autopsy, I removed ten Ascaridiu plutyceri (Hartwich and Tscherner 1979), and three Capillaria sp. from the intestine.     

Establishment of Ascaridia galli in betamethasone-treated chickens

Twenty-five day-old White Leghorn chickens were each infected orally with 500 (Group I), 1000 (Group II) and 2000 (Group III) infective eggs of Ascaridia galli and were killed 30 days after the infection. A high percentage of the infecting dose (6.5%) established as adult worms in the intestine of chickens receiving the lowest level of primary infection, but as the amount of primary infection given to birds increased, there was a significant fall in the percentage establishment of adult worms in the intestine. A similar pattern of worm establishment was shown by chickens of the same age and receiving similar levels of primary infections, but which were treated with betamethasone at a dose of 2 mg/kg body weight commencing 5 days before and continuing up to 15 days after the infection. Betamethasone-treated birds, however, showed more establishment of worms in the intestine, but lower weight gains in comparison to the birds which were not treated. Different levels of primary infections given, with or without treatment with betamethasone, had no effect on the sex ratio of the resultant male/female worm populations, which became established in almost equal numbers in the intestine of chickens.     

鸡蛔虫ITS rDNA的PCR扩增克隆及序列分析

鸡蛔虫(Ascaridia galli)寄生于鸡、火鸡、鸭、鹅、鹌鹑、雉鸡等鸟禽类的小肠,偶见于嗉囊、胃和食道.鸡蛔虫病分布于全世界和全国各地,在我国具有分布广、感染率高、感染强度较高的特点[1].     

鸽蛔虫病的诊断报告

2008年10月11日秦皇岛市一养鸽户饲养的信鸽发生疫病，根据发病特点、病理剖检和实验室检查综合分析确诊为鸽蛔虫。经用左旋咪唑治疗，效果良好。     

Genetic resistance to Ascaridia galli infections in chickens.

Ascaridiosis is still a cause of economic losses in modern poultry production systems. Improving genetic resistance to this disease provides an attractive alternative for free-range organic poultry producers and will eventually reduce the extensive use of anthelmintic drugs. An experiment was conducted to compare resistance to Ascaridia galli infections in Lohman Brown (LB) and Danish Landrace (DL) chickens. A self-cure mechanism to A. galli infections was observed in both breeds. However, significantly higher worm burdens and egg excretion were seen in the DL compared to LB chickens during primary infection. This indicates that breeding for resistance to A. galli is possible in chickens.     

Infection dynamics of Ascaridia galli in non-caged laying hens

The infection dynamics of Ascaridia galli in laying hens was investigated in six commercial non-caged flocks. Three flocks were managed in accordance with the regulations for organic production and had outdoor access, whereas three flocks were housed indoors in aviaries or traditional floor systems. Faecal egg counts and total worm burdens were determined at specified intervals during the first 50 weeks of the production period. In two conventional flocks the efficacy of flubendazole on lumenal stages was investigated. All flocks became infected following the arrival of the birds (post placement) with residual infective eggs derived from the previous flock. In four flocks (two organic and two conventional) parasite eggs were first detected in faeces 6-7 weeks post placement, whereas parasite eggs were not detected until after 17-18 weeks in two flocks. This delay was observed in two of three flocks that were housed in barns that had been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected by chlorocresol. In three flocks (two conventional and one organic) flubendazole was administered to the birds in the drinking water for approximately one week. Both conventional flocks were dewormed twice approximately 20 weeks apart, whereas the organic flock was dewormed only once about 40 weeks post placement. Parasite eggs reappeared after deworming in all flocks, often within 2-4 weeks, followed by a rapid increase in parasite egg expulsion. Our results suggested impairment of host immunity post treatment, as the egg counts exceeded pre-treatment levels after 7-8 weeks on both conventional farms. Accordingly, the way by which anthelmintics and/or disinfectants are used in non-caged chicken flocks must be refined.     

Effect of anthelmintics on phosphatases in Ascaridia galli.

In vitro addition of the drugs tetramisole (TMS) and levamisole (LMS) caused an inhibition of the specific activities of acid phosphatase and Mg(++)-dependent adenosine triphosphatase. The inhibition was non-competitive in nature. No significant inhibition was caused by TMS in the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase, but LMS inhibited the enzyme in a non-competitive manner. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was, however, increased in the presence of both TMS and LMS.     

鹅蛔虫ITS rDNA的分子特征及种类分析

为探究从广东省清远的鹅体内采集的蛔虫(Ascaridia anseris)的种类,对临床采集的鹅蛔虫样品,在形态观察的基础上,用保守引物NC5和NC2扩增鹅蛔虫的ITS rDNA基因片段,将扩增产物经克隆测序后,获得大小为1 009bp的鹅蛔虫ITS rDNA基因序列(GenBank登录号为KC905082)。序列比对和系统进化分析表明,鹅蛔虫5.8SrRNA基因与GenBank收录的鸡蛔虫(登录号为AJ001508)同源性为96%,而与不同地理株的鸽蛔虫的同源性在91%~96%之间;禽蛔科的鸡蛔虫、鸽蛔虫和鹅蛔虫同一进化分支,鹅蛔虫、鸡蛔虫和鸽蛔虫处于各自的独立进化分支。上述证明,鹅蛔虫是不同于鸽蛔虫的一个独立有效种,在系统发生关系上与鸡蛔虫更亲近。     

Anthelmintic effects of citrus peels ethanolic extracts against Ascaridia galli

The use of phytogenic bioactive compounds to control poultry helminthes is increasing in different production systems. In vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity of citrus peels against Ascaridia galli was investigated. Ethanolic extracts of three citrus peels species were suspended in 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to form an experimental composition (EC). EC was mainly composed of Limonene (96%), followed by β-Pinene (1.5%), α-Pinene (0.5%), and Sabinene (0.3%). For in vitro investigation, adult A. galli worms (n=225) were collected from naturally infected chickens and distributed to 3 equal groups. Groups 1, 2, and 3 were exposed to Fenbendazole (0.5mg/ml), EC (50mg/ml), and 0.5% DMSO, respectively. For in vivo investigation, 200 Lohmann Selected Leghorns chicks were infected at 1-day old with 250 embryonated A. galli eggs. At 6 weeks of age, 150 A. galli infected birds were randomly allocated into 5 equal groups. Groups 1, 2, and 3 were treated with 300, 600, and 1200 mg EC kg(-1) body weight, respectively. Group 4 was treated with Fenbendazole (50 mg kg(-1)). Group 5 was left as control. Birds were euthanized 2-weeks post-treatment, and all worms were collected from their intestines. EC possessed significant (P<0.001) in vitro anthelmintic properties on live worms. No significant (P>0.05) difference was quantified between number of motile worms exposed either to EC or Fenbendazole 7h post-exposure. A significant (P<0.0001) reduction in fecal egg count was observed 14 days post-treatment with 1200 mg kg(-1) EC. No significant differences were observed in worm burden of the 300 mg EC-treated group compared to the controls. In contrast, the 600 and 1200 mg EC-treated groups showed significant (P<0.0001) reduction in worm burden. Fenbendazole was the most effective in reducing A. galli burden (Efficacy=97%) followed by 1200 mg EC kg(-1) (68%), 600 mg EC kg(-1) (66%), and 300 mg EC kg(-1) (5%). It is concluded that citrus peels extracts have potential anthelmintic properties against A. galli.     

High mortality of domestic turkeys associated with Ascaridia dissimilis.

Third- and fourth-stage Ascaridia dissimilis larvae were isolated from commercial white turkey intestinal scrapings from two farms that were experiencing high mortality. Lesions consisted of a necrotic-like enteritis that was most severe in the jejunum. Subsequent bacteriological isolation yielded heavy growth of Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. The rate of mortality declined rapidly when the turkeys were administered 18 ppm fenbendazole for 7 days.     

国产氟苯咪唑驱除鸡蛔虫的效果试验

氟苯咪唑(Flubendazole)又名氟甲苯咪唑或氟苯哒唑，为甲苯咪唑的对位氟同系物，化学名为5-(4-氟苯甲酰基)苯并咪唑-2-氨基甲酸甲酯，是一种新的广谱抗蠕虫药。临床上已广泛用于驱除猪的蛔虫、毛首线虫、食道口线虫和后圆线虫等，以及犬猫的蛔虫、钩虫、鞭虫和绦虫等，对禽的鸡蛔虫、封闭毛细线虫、鹅裂口线虫、鹅毛细线虫、微细毛圆线虫和气管比翼线虫等也有极佳的驱虫效果，     

Lipid metabolism and low molecular weight solute uptake in Ascaridia galli

Adult Ascaridia galli, an intestinal nematode parasite of fowl, reveals a large variety of complex lipids such as phospholipids containing choline, ethanolamine, inositol, serine and glycerol. Lysophospholipid species, vinyl ether phospholipid (plasmalogen), neutral acylglycerols, cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acids are also present. Sugar-containing lipids, such as cerebrosides, sulphatides and gangliosides are abundantly present. Female parasites contain more lipids, particularly acylglycerols and phospholipids. Acylglycerols, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and glycolipids incorporate a large amount of radiolabelled precursor substrate in A. galli. The presence of important enzymes of lipid biosynthesis like glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and hydroxymethyl glutaryl-CoA reductase as well as an enzyme of lipid ester hydrolysis, triacylglycerol lipase is detected in the parasite. These enzymes show subcellular distribution patterns and Michaelis-Menten kinetic characteristics comparable with that from rat liver homogenate. Studies on the uptake of labelled precursor molecules for lipid biosynthesis, glucose, acetate and palmitate show that the parasites can take up the isotopes readily in a time-dependent manner, showing substrate saturation kinetics, dependence upon Na ions, and can be inhibited by the presence of the bile salts sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate. The substrate affinity constant (Kt) and maximum apparent velocity of glucose uptake in A. galli were found to be 9.09 mM and 26.67 mM per 100 mg tissue dry weight per min at 37 degrees C.