Dracunculus is a genus of spirurid nematode parasites in the family Dracunculidae.
Anisakis is a genus of parasitic nematodes that have life cycles involving fish and marine mammals. They are infective to humans and cause anisakiasis. People who produce immunoglobulin E in response to this parasite may subsequently have an allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis, after eating fish infected with Anisakis species.
Ascaris is a nematode genus of parasitic worms known as the "small intestinal roundworms", which is a type of parasitic worm. One species, Ascaris lumbricoides, affects humans and causes the disease ascariasis. Another species, Ascaris suum, typically infects pigs. Other ascarid genera infect other animals, such as Parascaris equorum, the equine roundworm, and Toxocara and Toxascaris, which infect dogs and cats.
The cat flea is an extremely common parasitic insect whose principal host is the domestic cat, although a high proportion of the fleas found on dogs also belong to this species. This is despite the widespread existence of a separate and well-established "dog" flea, Ctenocephalides canis. Cat fleas originated in Africa but can now be found globally. As humans began domesticating cats, the prevalence of the cat flea increased and it spread throughout the world.
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 aerophila is a nematode parasite found in the respiratory tract of foxes, dogs, and various other carnivorous mammals. 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", "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.
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.
Echinorhynchus is a genus of acanthocephalan parasitic worms. They parasitize a wide variety of fishes from both marine and fresh waters. The intermediate host is usually a crustacean.
Oligacanthorhynchida is an order containing a single parasitic worm family, Oligacanthorhynchidae, that attach themselves to the intestinal wall of terrestrial vertebrates.
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.
Trichinella britovi is a nematode parasite responsible for a zoonotic disease called trichinellosis. Currently, eight species of Trichinella are known, only three of which cause trichinellosis, and Trichinella britovi is one of them. Numerous mammal species, as well as birds and crocodiles, can harbor the parasite worldwide, but the sylvatic cycle is mainly maintained by wild carnivores.
Stichocytes are glandular unicellular cells arranged in a row along the posterior portion of the oesophagus, each of which communicates by a single pore with the lumen of the oesophagus. They contain mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, abundant Golgi apparatuses, and usually 1 of 2 types of secretory granules, α-granules and β-granules, indicating secretory function. Collectively stichocytes form the stichosome. Characteristic of Trichocephalida and Mermithida, two groups of nematodes.
Philometra is a genus of nematodes, which are parasites of marine and freshwater fishes. The genus was erected by Oronzio Gabriele Costa in 1845.
Cucullanus is a genus of parasitic nematodes. The genus includes more than 100 species.
Diplostomum pseudospathaceum is a species of trematode in the family Diplostomidae.
Allantonematidae is a family of insect-parasitic nematodes from the order Tylenchida. Allantonematid nematodes infect a variety of insects including beetles, butterflies, flies, thrips, ants, and more. For instance, the nematode Howardula aoronymphium parasitizes mushroom-feeding fruit flies, Formicitylenchus oregonensis parasitizes carpenter ants, and Metaparasitylenchus hypothenemi parasitizes a pest of coffee beans, the coffee berry borer.
Parascaris univalens is a parasitic ascaridoid nematode that infects the gastrointestinal tracts of equines.
Protoopalina hylarum is a species of protozoa in the Opalinidae family, and an amphibian parasite. It was first described in 1911 by Janet W. Raff as Opalina hylarum.
Louis Heyns Du Preez is a South African professor of zoology who specialises in parasitology and herpetology at the North-West University. Du Preez is best known for his research on South African frog species, writing a widely used wildlife guide for the frogs of Southern Africa, and contributions to global parasitology with special focus studies on polystome worms. His contributions to polystome research have led to a recently discovered Malagasy frog species, Blommersia dupreezi, being named in his honour.
