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The American Journal of Tropical... Nov 2023
Topics: Humans; Animals; Paragonimiasis; Pleural Effusion; Paragonimus
PubMed: 37549895
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0301 -
Parasitology Research Oct 2019Accurate discrimination of the Schistosoma japonicum cercariae gender is very important for establishing monosexual infection animal models and for standardizing the...
Accurate discrimination of the Schistosoma japonicum cercariae gender is very important for establishing monosexual infection animal models and for standardizing the real intensity of infection. In this study, a multiplex PCR technique consisting of two pairs of primers, of which one amplifies a 185-bp band specific for the W chromosome and the other amplifies a 420-bp band for the Z chromosome, was established to sex the S. japonicum cercariae. For male cercariae (ZZ), a single 420-bp band is expected, and for female cercariea (ZW), two distinct 185-bp and 420-bp bands can be observed. There was no cross-reaction with S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Clonorchis sinensis, Paragonimus westermani, and Trichinella spiralis. After sexing the cercariae escaped from a single snail, mice in group A were infected with 60 male cercariae and mice of group B were infected with 40 female cercariae. Meanwhile, mice in group C were infected with 10 male and 10 female cercariae that were sexed by multiplex PCR. At 45 days postinfection, male and female adult worms were recovered to verify the accuracy of multiplex PCR for sexing S. japonicum cercariae and to calculate the male and female survival rate and paired worm ratio. Our results showed that the multiplex PCR technique could distinguish male cercariae with 100% accuracy. However, sometimes the discrimination results of multiplex PCR mis-scored mixed sexual cercariae as female cercariae. The mean male adult worm burden in mice of group C was 10.7 ± 2.4, and the mean female adult worm burden was 7.7 ± 2.5. There was a significant difference between the male worm burden and female worm burden in group C. The P value was 0.013. The real paired worm ratio of group C was 74.2% (95%CI 56.6~91.8%). These results demonstrated a male-biased sex ratio in the mice model with equilibrated sex ratio cercariae infection, as predicted by our multiplex PCR technique. In conclusion, our multiplex PCR technique is an effective tool for sexing S. japonicum cercariae, especially for distinguishing male cercariae, which is of great value for establishing monosexual cercariae infection mice models to harvest male adult worms for anti-schistosomal drug screening.
Topics: Animals; Cercaria; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Male; Mice; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction; Schistosoma japonicum; Sex Characteristics; Snails
PubMed: 31448385
DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06431-6 -
Neuropathology : Official Journal of... Aug 2022Paragonimiasis is a parasitic disease caused by Paragonimus westermani infection, and migration to the brain results in cerebral paragonimiasis. Cerebral paragonimiasis...
Paragonimiasis is a parasitic disease caused by Paragonimus westermani infection, and migration to the brain results in cerebral paragonimiasis. Cerebral paragonimiasis is now extremely rare, but a few cases are still reported. A 48-year-old Japanese woman presented with right-hand convulsion, right-hand numbness, sputum, and fatigue. Chest computed tomography demonstrated multiple nodular lesions, and head computed tomography revealed a hemorrhagic lesion in the left motor cortex. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple small ring-shaped lesions with surrounding edema. Laboratory evaluation demonstrated peripheral eosinophilia. We considered eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and started steroid treatment as a diagnostic therapy since we wanted to avoid cerebral lesion biopsy if possible. However, the patient underwent craniotomy surgery after steroid treatment for four months because a new intracerebral mass lesion had appeared. Trematode eggs were detected in the sample, and the final diagnosis was cerebral paragonimiasis. The patient was successfully treated with praziquantel. Cerebral paragonimiasis is extremely rare but should be considered in the differential diagnosis if atypical intracranial hemorrhage and peripheral eosinophilia are observed.
Topics: Churg-Strauss Syndrome; Diagnostic Errors; Female; Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis; Humans; Middle Aged; Paragonimiasis; Steroids
PubMed: 35723635
DOI: 10.1111/neup.12841 -
Journal of Comparative Pathology Oct 2021Following isolation of pseudorabies virus (PRV) from two hunting dogs in Oita prefecture, Japan, we investigated the PRV antigen distribution in the tissues of the...
Following isolation of pseudorabies virus (PRV) from two hunting dogs in Oita prefecture, Japan, we investigated the PRV antigen distribution in the tissues of the infected animals. At necropsy, PRV-associated lesions included facial oedema, tonsillar and meningeal congestion, blotchy haemorrhages on the pericardium and mitral valves, and incomplete splenic contraction in one dog, with less prominent findings in the other dog. Multiple pulmonary nodules were seen in both cases, caused by the diploid form of Paragonimus westermani lung flukes, as confirmed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and gene sequencing analyses. Histological examination revealed that the PRV infection was associated with lesions of non-suppurative encephalitis in the brainstem. PRV antigen was detected in the cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem, submucosal and myenteric plexuses, and mononuclear cells, mainly in the bone marrow, lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen tissues. There was evidence of PRV dissemination to the brain via the trigeminal or olfactory routes, in addition to possible spread to lymphoid organs via infected mononuclear cells.
Topics: Animals; Antigens, Viral; Coinfection; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Herpesvirus 1, Suid; Japan; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Pseudorabies; Working Dogs
PubMed: 34686277
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2021.08.004 -
Internal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) Aug 2020An asymptomatic 47-year-old woman was admitted with pleural effusion and pulmonary infiltrates 1 month after ingesting raw wild boar and deer meat. Both her blood and...
An asymptomatic 47-year-old woman was admitted with pleural effusion and pulmonary infiltrates 1 month after ingesting raw wild boar and deer meat. Both her blood and pleural fluid were eosinophilic. Thoracoscopy revealed multiple nodules of the pleura, and biopsy samples of the nodules showed necrosis with epithelioid cell granulomas. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was positive for antibodies against Paragonimus westermani, and the patient was successfully treated with praziquantel. This is the first reported case of pulmonary or pleuropulmonary paragonimiasis where several pleural nodules were observed. The detection of pleural nodules on thoracoscopy can contribute to the prompt and accurate diagnosis of paragonimiasis.
Topics: Animals; Deer; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Meat; Middle Aged; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus westermani; Pleura; Pleural Effusion; Praziquantel; Respiratory Tract Infections; Sus scrofa; Thoracoscopy
PubMed: 32350198
DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.4457-20 -
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Dec 2023Human pulmonary paragonimiasis, an emerging concern in North East India, frequently masquerades as pulmonary tuberculosis due to clinical and radiological similarities,...
Human pulmonary paragonimiasis, an emerging concern in North East India, frequently masquerades as pulmonary tuberculosis due to clinical and radiological similarities, leading to diagnostic challenges. This research aimed to harness the immunoblotting technique to discern immunodiagnostic protein antigens from both adult worm and excretory-secretory (ES) extracts of the prevalent type 1 in Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. We studied the time kinetics of immunoreactive patterns in relation to the duration of infection in rodent models. Immunoblot analyses were also conducted using sera from ELISA-positive patients confirmed with paragonimiasis, facilitating the selection of antigenic extracts with diagnostic potential. Further, ES protein antigens were subjected to 2D immunoblot analysis and immunoreactive protein spots identified using MALDI-TOF MS. The immunoreactivity patterns of ES antigens with sera of paragonimiasis-positive patients were detailed, and specific immunoreactive protein antigens were pinpointed using peptide mass fingerprinting (MALDI-TOF). This work underscores the enhanced diagnostic accuracy when combining ELISA with immunoblotting for pulmonary paragonimiasis in regions like North East India, marked by co-existing helminth infections.
PubMed: 38251203
DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed9010006 -
PeerJ 2014Among helminth parasites, Paragonimus (zoonotic lung fluke) gains considerable importance from veterinary and medical points of view because of its diversified effect on...
Among helminth parasites, Paragonimus (zoonotic lung fluke) gains considerable importance from veterinary and medical points of view because of its diversified effect on its host. Nearly fifty species of Paragonimus have been described across the globe. It is estimated that more than 20 million people are infected worldwide and the best known species is Paragonimus westermani, whose type locality is probably India and which infects millions of people in Asia causing disease symptoms that mimic tuberculosis. Human infections occur through eating raw crustaceans containing metacercarie or ingestion of uncooked meat of paratenic hosts such as pigs. Though the fluke is known to parasitize a wide range of mammalian hosts representing as many as eleven families, the status of its prevalence, host range, pathogenic manifestations and its possible survivors in nature from where the human beings contract the infection is not well documented in India. We took advantage of the whole genome sequence data for P. westermani, generated by Next Generation Sequencing, and its comparison with the existing data for the P. westermani for comparative mt DNA phylogenomic analyses. Specific primers were designed for the 12 protein coding genes with the aid of existing P. westermani mtDNA as the reference. The Ion torrent next generation sequencing platform was harnessed to completely sequence the mitochondrial genome, and applied innovative approaches to bioinformatically assemble and annotate it. A strategic PCR primer design utilizing the whole genome sequence data from P. westermani enabled us to design specific primers capable of amplifying all regions of the mitochondrial genome from P. westermani. Assembly of NGS data from libraries enriched in mtDNA sequence by PCR gave rise to a total of 11 contigs spanning the entire 14.7 kb mt DNA sequence of P. westermani available at NCBI. We conducted gap-filling by traditional Sanger sequencing to fill in the gaps. Annotation of non-protein coding genes successfully identified tRNA regions for the 24 tRNAs coded in mtDNA and 12 protein coding genes. Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated protein coding genes placed P. westermani within the family Opisthorchida. The complete mtDNA sequence of P. westermani is 15,004 base pairs long; the lung fluke is the major etiological agent of paragonimiasis and the first Indian representative for the family Paragonimidae to be fully sequenced that provides important genetic markers for ecological, population and biogeographical studies and molecular diagnostic of digeneans that cause trematodiases.
PubMed: 25165620
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.484 -
Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za... Dec 2021To investigate the populations of freshwater crabs, the intermediate host of and infections in freshwater crabs in the Minjiang River basin along the middle section of...
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the populations of freshwater crabs, the intermediate host of and infections in freshwater crabs in the Minjiang River basin along the middle section of Wuyi Mountain, so as to provide baseline data for parasitic disease control and research and expansion of the parasite resource bank.
METHODS
From November 2020 to April 2021, freshwater crabs were sampled from streams and ditches neighboring residential areas in Jianning County and its neighboring Ninghua, Shaowu, Jiangle and Shunchang counties. The crab species was identified based on the morphological features of the terminal segment of the first abdominal appendage of male crabs, and infections were detected in freshwater crabs. The metacercariae were isolated, and the types of metacercariae were identified based on the metacercaria size, cystic wall thickness, and the excretory bladder and intestinal tract morphology. In addition, the prevalence, intensity and index of metacercaria infections were calculated in freshwater crabs.
RESULTS
There were seven crab species found in Jianning County and six neighboring water systems along the Minjiang River basin, including , , , , , , , and there were metacercariae of three species detected in these crabs, including , and , with a prevalence rate of 43.6% (125/287). The infection rates of , and were 57.1% (48/84), 26.2% (22/84) and 61.8% (21/34) in , and the infection rates of and were 52.6% (51/97) and 30.9% (30/97) in , while the rate of infection was 6.9% (5/72) in , which is the first record of infections in . Mixed and infections were predominantly found in freshwater crabs sampled from Jianning County, where the rate of infections was 70.4% (76/108), with 15.3 metacercariae identified in each crab with infections and 1.9 metacercariae found in each gram of crabs with infections, and the index of metacercariae infections was 20.5. In addition, , and metacercariae were found in freshwater crabs sampled from Jianning-neighboring counties, where the rate of infections was 52.3% (56/107), with 9.8 metacercariae identified in each crab with infections and 0.9 metacercariae found in each gram of crabs with infections, and the index of metacercariae infections was 4.6.
CONCLUSIONS
There are multiple freshwater crab species and infection is high in freshwater crabs in Jianning County and its neighboring Minjiang River basin, which is a high-risk natural focus for infections.
Topics: Animals; Brachyura; Fresh Water; Male; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus; Rivers
PubMed: 35128889
DOI: 10.16250/j.32.1374.2021154 -
The Journal of Veterinary Medical... Aug 2017Infection of boar-hunting dogs with Paragonimus westermani was investigated in Western Japan. Blood and rectal feces were collected from 441 dogs in the three districts...
Infection of boar-hunting dogs with Paragonimus westermani was investigated in Western Japan. Blood and rectal feces were collected from 441 dogs in the three districts (205 in Kinki, 131 in Chugoku and 105 in Shikoku District). In a screening ELISA for serum antibody against P. westermani antigen, 195 dogs (44.2%) showed positive reaction. In the 195 dogs, 8 dogs were found excreting P. westermani eggs after molecular analysis of fecal eggs, and additional 7 were identified serologically for the parasite infection because of their stronger reactivity against P. westermani antigen than against antigens of other species of Paragonimus. A spatial analysis showed that all of the P. westermani infections were found in Kinki and Chugoku Districts. In this area, dogs' experience of being fed with raw boar meat showed high odds ratio (3.35) to the sero-positivity in the screening ELISA, and the frequency of such experiences was significantly higher in sero-positive dogs. While clear relationship was not obtained between predation of boars by dogs during hunting and their sero-positivity. Therefore, it is suggested that human activity of feeding with wild boar meat is the risk factor for P. westermani infection in boar-hunting dogs. Considering that hunting dogs could play as a major definitive host and maintain the present distribution of P. westermani in Western Japan, control measures for the infection in hunting dogs, such as prohibition of raw meat feeding and regular deworming, should be undertaken.
Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Japan; Meat; Paragonimiasis; Paragonimus; Sus scrofa; Swine; Swine Diseases
PubMed: 28717056
DOI: 10.1292/jvms.17-0149 -
Integrative Zoology Sep 2018There have been few reports on the diversity and prevalence of parasitic fauna of the endangered Siberian tiger, which inhabits the territory of the Russian Far East....
There have been few reports on the diversity and prevalence of parasitic fauna of the endangered Siberian tiger, which inhabits the territory of the Russian Far East. The present review attempts to summarize the information about the parasitic fauna of wild Siberian tigers, which includes 15 helminths and 3 protozoan species. The most prevalent parasitic species was found to be Toxocara cati, followed by Toxascaris leonina. Another commonly recorded Platyhelminth species is Paragonimus westermani, which causes a lethal infection of the lung parenchyma in Siberian tigers. However, the information about infections by this fluke in the Siberian tigers is scarce, although P. westermani infections pose a serious health hazard to tiger populations. The nematodes Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Thominx aerophilus are found in Siberian tigers with an occurrence rate of 2.3% and 19%, respectively. The information on the parasitic infestations of captive populations of Siberian tigers is also presented along with the sources of infection and hazards for the wild tiger populations in their natural environment.
Topics: Animals; Helminthiasis, Animal; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic; Protozoan Infections, Animal; Siberia; Tigers
PubMed: 29851290
DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12342