Capillaria aerophila | |
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Capillaria aerophila in the trachea of a fox [1] | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Nematoda |
Class: | Enoplea |
Order: | Enoplida |
Family: | Capillariidae |
Genus: | Capillaria |
Species: | C. aerophila |
Binomial name | |
Capillaria aerophila (Creplin, 1839) | |
Capillaria aerophila is a nematode parasite found in the respiratory tract of foxes, [1] dogs, [2] and various other carnivorous mammals. [3] A few cases of human infestation have also been reported. Though it is sometimes called a "lungworm", this term usually refers to other species of nematodes. Infestation by C. aerophila is referred to as "pulmonary capillariasis" (occasionally spelled "capillariosis), "bronchial capillariasis", or (rarely) "thominxosis". This parasite has a direct life cycle, meaning that the life cycle can be completed in a single host. C. aerophila usually causes only minor clinical symptoms, such as irritation of the respiratory tract and coughing. However, secondary bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, including pneumonia, may develop in heavy infestations. Treatment with anthelmintics, such as levamisole or fenbendazole, is usually sufficient to cure C. aerophila infestations.
This species was originally described in 1839, from specimens found in the trachea of a wolf, and named Trichosoma aerophila. [4] It was transferred to the genus Eucoleus (as Eucoleus aerophilus) by Dujardin in 1845, and to the genus Capillaria (as Capillaria aerophila) in 1911, and is sometimes referred to as Thominx aerophilum. The changes to the end of the species name in each genus, whether it ends with "-a", "-us" or "-um", are necessary to adhere to the rules of Latin grammar.
Males generally range from 15–25 mm long, with a maximum width of 62 μm, while females are 18–32 mm long with a maximum width of 105 μm. Some sources report that they are larger when they occur in the nasal sinuses. [5]
Capillaria aerophila has been found on every continent, and occurs in dogs, cats, and a wide range of wild mammals. The following species have been reported as hosts:
Capillaria aerophila has a direct life cycle, meaning that it can be completed in one host. The adults lay eggs in the lungs. The eggs are coughed up and swallowed by the host; and are then passed in the feces. In about 5–7 weeks, the larvae develop into the infective stage within the egg envelope in the soil. The infective larvae remain viable for up to 1 year. When a suitable host eats these mature eggs, the larvae hatch in the intestines and migrate to the lungs. They mature into adults about 40 days post-infection. Earthworms may act as paratenic hosts, by eating the C. aerophila eggs and infecting mammalian hosts when eaten by the mammals. However, the involvement of the earthworms is not necessary for the completion of the C. aerophila life cycle.
Reported infestation rates in dogs and cats which are kept as pets in Europe and North America are generally less than 10%. In wildlife, rates as high as 74% [6] and 88% [7] have been reported for wild foxes.
Most cases of Capillaria aerophila infestation in dogs and cats are without serious clinical symptoms. Heavy infestations may result in inflammation of the respiratory tract (rhinitis, tracheitis or bronchitis), or secondary bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, including bronchopneumonia. These developments are usually characterized by a whistling sound when the animal breathes, frequent sneezing, or a deep, wheezing cough.
In humans, symptoms include coughing, fever, bronchitis, dyspnea (shortness of breath), blood in the saliva, and elevated levels of eosinophils in the blood (eosinophilia).
Most reports of C. aerophila in wildlife are simply parasite field surveys, and do not mention specific symptoms. However, the involvement of C. aerophila infestation and pneumonia, in addition to other parasites, in the death of an opossum has been reported. [8]
Infestation is easily diagnosed by the presence of C. aerophila eggs in the nasal or tracheal lavage, or the feces of infested animals. Standard anthelmintics, such as ivermectin or fenbendazole, are recommended for treatment of dogs. [3] Humans infested with C. aerophila have been successfully treated with albendazole and mebendazole. [9]
For animals kept in outdoor pens, proper drainage and allowing sunlight to hit the floor of the pen have been suggested to minimize the spread of infestation. [10]
Toxocariasis is an illness of humans caused by the dog roundworm and, less frequently, the cat roundworm. These are the most common intestinal roundworms of dogs, coyotes, wolves and foxes and domestic cats, respectively. Humans are among the many "accidental" or paratenic hosts of these roundworms.
Baylisascaris is a genus of roundworms that infect more than fifty animal species.
Capillaria philippinensis is a parasitic nematode which causes intestinal capillariasis. This sometimes fatal disease was first discovered in Northern Luzon, Philippines, in 1964. Cases have also been reported from China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Lao PDR, Taiwan and Thailand. Cases diagnosed in Italy and Spain were believed to be acquired abroad, with one case possibly contracted in Colombia. The natural life cycle of C. philippinensis is believed to involve fish as intermediate hosts, and fish-eating birds as definitive hosts. Humans acquire C. philippinensis by eating small species of infested fish whole and raw.
Lungworms are parasitic nematode worms of the order Strongylida that infest the lungs of vertebrates. The name is used for a variety of different groups of nematodes, some of which also have other common names; what they have in common is that they migrate to their hosts' lungs or respiratory tracts, and cause bronchitis or pneumonia. The lungworm will gradually damage the airways or lung tissue by inciting an inflammatory reaction inside the tissue. Ultimately, the parasites survive and reproduce in the respiratory tissues. The category is thus more a descriptive than a precisely taxonomic one.
Intestinal capillariasis is a disease in the group of helminthiasis diseases caused by the nematode Capillaria philippinensis.
Capillaria plica is a parasitic nematode which is most often found in the urinary bladder, and occasionally in the kidneys, of dogs and foxes. It has also been found in the domestic cat, and various wild mammals. Its presence usually produces no clinical symptoms, but in some cases, it leads to hematuria, cystitis, or difficulty in urination.
Capillaria hepatica is a parasitic nematode which causes hepatic capillariasis in rodents and numerous other mammal species, including humans. The life cycle of C. hepatica may be completed in a single host species. However, the eggs, which are laid in the liver, must mature outside of the host body prior to infecting a new host. Death and decomposition of the host in which the adults reach sexual maturity are necessary for completion of the life cycle.
Capillaria is a genus of nematodes in the family Capillariidae .
Thelazia is a genus of nematode worms which parasitize the eyes and associated tissues of various bird and mammal hosts, including humans. They are often called "eyeworms", and infestation with Thelazia species is referred to as "thelaziasis". Adults are usually found in the eyelids, tear glands, tear ducts, or the so-called "third eyelid". Occasionally, they are found in the eyeball itself, either under the conjunctiva or in the vitreous cavity of the eyeball. All species of Thelazia for which the life cycle has been studied are transmitted by species of Diptera (flies) which do not bite, but which feed on tears.
Thelazia callipaeda is a parasitic nematode, and the most common cause of thelaziasis in humans, dogs and cats. It was first discovered in the eyes of a dog in China in 1910. By 2000, over 250 human cases had been reported in the medical literature.
Thelaziasis is the term for infestation with parasitic nematodes of the genus Thelazia. The adults of all Thelazia species discovered so far inhabit the eyes and associated tissues of various mammal and bird hosts, including humans. Thelazia nematodes are often referred to as "eyeworms".
Angiostrongylus vasorum, also known as French heartworm, is a species of parasitic nematode in the family Metastrongylidae. It causes the disease canine angiostrongylosis in dogs. It is not zoonotic, that is, it cannot be transmitted to humans.
Moniliformis moniliformis is a parasite of the Acanthocephala phylum in the family Moniliformidae. The adult worms are usually found in intestines of rodents or carnivores such as cats and dogs. The species can also infest humans, though this is rare.
Linguatulosis is a condition associated with the organism Linguatula serrata.
Capillaria feliscati (also known as Pearsonema feliscati, the cat bladder worm is a worm that affects cats, and seldom dogs. Its main final hosts are wild carnivores. It is a urinary tract nematode, though its occurrence is rare. C. feliscati are small, delicate, yellowish, thread-like worms. Adults are approximately between 16 and 53 millimetres in length.
Metorchis conjunctus, common name Canadian liver fluke, is a species of trematode parasite in the family Opisthorchiidae. It can infect mammals that eat raw fish in North America. The first intermediate host is a freshwater snail and the second is a freshwater fish.
A feline zoonosis is a viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoan, nematode or arthropod infection that can be transmitted to humans from the domesticated cat, Felis catus. Some of these diseases are reemerging and newly emerging infections or infestations caused by zoonotic pathogens transmitted by cats. In some instances, the cat can display symptoms of infection and sometimes the cat remains asymptomatic. There can be serious illnesses and clinical manifestations in people who become infected. This is dependent on the immune status and age of the person. Those who live in close association with cats are more prone to these infections, but those that do not keep cats as pets can also acquire these infections as the transmission can be from cat feces and the parasites that leave their bodies.
Eucoleus is a genus of nematodes belonging to the family Capillariidae. Dwelling primarily in the airways of foxes, it can be found worldwide in dogs and cats.
Cat worm infections, the infection of cats (Felidae) with parasitic worms, occur frequently. Most worm species occur worldwide in both domestic and other cats, but there are regional, species and lifestyle differences in the frequency of infestation. According to the classification of the corresponding parasites in the zoological system, infections can be divided into those caused by nematode and flatworms - in the case of the latter, mainly cestoda and trematoda - while other strains are of no veterinary significance. While threadworms usually do not require an intermediate host for their reproduction, the development cycle of flatworms always proceeds via alternate hosts.
Nematode infection in dogs - the infection of dogs with parasitic nemamotodes - are, along with tapeworm infections and infections with protozoa, frequent parasitoses in veterinary practice. Nematodes, as so-called endoparasites, colonize various internal organs - most of them the digestive tract - and the skin. To date, about 30 different species of nematode have been identified in domestic dogs; they are essentially also found in wild dog species. However, the majority of them often cause no or only minor symptoms of disease in adult animals. The infection therefore does not necessarily have to manifest itself in a worm disease (helminthosis). For most nematodes, an infection can be detected by examining the feces for eggs or larvae. Roundworm infection in dogs and the hookworm in dogs is of particular health significance in Central Europe, as they can also be transmitted to humans (zoonosis). Regular deworming can significantly reduce the frequency of infection and thus the risk of infection for humans and dogs.