Abstract:
Linguatula serrata is a worm-like parasite with zoonotic potential that inhabits the nasal cavities of canids. Although most cases of linguatulosis are associated with unspecific and rather mild respiratory symptoms, cases of unusual infestations and severe courses in both animals and humans have been reported. In central and northern Europe, the pathogen used to appear only sporadically, however, within the last few years the number of detections has increased noticeably. In July 2020 an approximately nine-month-old dog, imported from Romania, was presented in a veterinary practice in Gotha, central Germany, due to persistent worsening cough. Despite antibiotic treatment the tussis became more severe until the dog expectorated multiple worm-like structures. Three of these specimens were sent to the Institute of Parasitology (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig) for morphological and genetic species identification. The latter was based on a 1000-bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (cox1) and the complete nuclear 18S rRNA gene. The dog presented in this study suffered from a severe respiratory impairment caused by worm-like parasites inhabiting its upper respiratory tract. The detected parasites were morphologically identified as female specimens of the so-called tongue-worm L. serrata, which was confirmed by pairwise alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the produced sequences. We report an unusually severe case of L. serrata infection in an imported dog and discuss the spread of this potentially dangerous parasite in central and northern Europe.
摘要:
Linguatulaserrata是一种蠕虫状寄生虫,具有人畜共患潜力,栖息在犬科动物的鼻腔中。尽管大多数舌病病例与无特异性和相当轻微的呼吸道症状有关,据报道,动物和人类都有异常感染和严重病程的病例。在中欧和北欧,病原体过去只是偶尔出现,然而,在过去的几年中,发现的数量明显增加。2020年7月,一只大约9个月大的狗,从罗马尼亚进口,出现在哥达的兽医实践中,德国中部,由于持续恶化的咳嗽。尽管进行了抗生素治疗,但在狗吐出多个蠕虫状结构之前,咳嗽变得更加严重。这些标本中的三个被送到寄生虫学研究所(兽医学院,莱比锡大学,莱比锡)用于形态和遗传物种鉴定。后者基于线粒体细胞色素c氧化酶亚基I基因(cox1)的1000bp片段和完整的核18SrRNA基因。这项研究中提出的狗患有由居住在其上呼吸道的蠕虫状寄生虫引起的严重呼吸障碍。检测到的寄生虫在形态上被鉴定为所谓的舌虫锯缘的雌性标本,通过对产生的序列进行配对比对和系统发育分析证实了这一点。我们报告了进口犬中异常严重的锯齿乳杆菌感染病例,并讨论了这种潜在危险的寄生虫在中欧和北欧的传播。