Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus RNA in Ticks from Wild Mongooses in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging zoonotic tick-borne disease caused by SFTS virus (SFTSV). SFTSV has a wide spectrum of animal hosts and is considered to circulate in an enzootic tick-vertebrate-tick cycle. A previous seroepidemiological study showed the presence of anti-SFTSV antibodies in wild mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus) and indicated that outdoor activity was associated with an increased risk of tick bites among Okinawa residents. However, the association of SFTSV with wild mongooses and ticks remains unclear. To understand the association between ticks and mongooses with respect to the SFTSV enzootic cycle, we investigated the presence of SFTSV RNA in ticks collected from wild mongooses on the Okinawa Island. A total of 638 ticks belonging to 2 genera and 3 species (Haemaphysalis hystricis, Haemaphysalis formosensis, and Ixodes granulatus) were collected from 22 wild mongooses from 2016 to 2021. SFTSV RNA was detected in two pools of H. hystricis larvae collected from a wild mongoose in the central area of the main island of Okinawa in 2017. Although the prevalence of SFTSV in ticks from wild mongooses is low, endemic circulation of the virus in Okinawa should be carefully monitored to prevent future infections.

Prevalence of serum antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) on Amami-Oshima Island, Japan.

Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasm gondii was studied using the latex agglutination (LA) method, followed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation (SDGC) method on the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), which inhabits Amami-Oshima Island. Of the 362 samples, 38 (10.5%) revealed positive. Single or double peaks in the 7-8 and/or 12-14 fraction to LA titer by SDGC indicated the early stage of T. gondii infection. It is suggested that domestic/feral cats play an important role for spreading this zoonotic pathogen to the mongoose as well as other species that are endemic to this island. Future studies are warranted to prevent the transmission of T. gondii among cats and wild animals in order to maintain the ecosystem health.

Parasites of small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus, on St. Kitts, West Indies.

Herpestes auropunctatus, the small Indian mongoose, is an invasive omnivore introduced to the Caribbean, including the island of St. Kitts over 150 years ago. It has played a role in changing native fauna and can carry zoonotic pathogens of public health importance. The aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence of parasites harbored by mongooses. In total, 87 mongooses trapped from April to July 2015 were examined for parasites using (1) hair plucks (N = 79), ear swabs (N = 79), and general coat and skin examination (N = 87) for mites, ticks, lice, and fleas; (2) dissection of the trachea, bronchi, and lungs for lungworms and flukes (N = 76); (3) a double centrifugation fecal flotation method for parasites of the gastrointestinal tract (N = 75); and (4) PCR of heart homogenates for Toxoplasma gondii (N = 60). The only ectoparasite seen was Ctenocephalides felis (79.3%; 69/87), with most mongooses having > 10 fleas (based on a subjective assessment) but insufficient numbers to result in signs of pruritus or anemia. On fecal flotation, coccidial oocysts were found with a prevalence of 69.3% (52/75). Neither T. gondii, lungworm, nor fluke infections were detected with the methods used. The high number of C. felis-infested mongooses and the infestation level of the individual mongooses suggest that they could serve as a reservoir for these potential vectors of pathogens. No evidence was found to support that mongooses are a component of T. gondii cycles on St. Kitts, although this finding needs to be confirmed with a larger sample size from other geographic locations.

Fatal disseminated toxoplasmosis in a zoological collection of meerkats (Suricata suricatta).

Two confirmed cases of fatal disseminated toxoplasmosis occurred in an urban zoological collection of meerkats (Suricata suricatta). Both cases are suspected to be the result of feral cats gaining access to the enclosure. Toxoplasmosis has rarely been documented in meerkats. Subsequent to prophylactic treatment of all the animals and structural changes being implemented within the enclosure, no new cases have been recorded to date. Very little information is available on the disease in viverrids.

Fatal Angiostrongylus dujardini infection in callitrichid monkeys and suricates in an Italian zoological garden.

This paper reports four fatal cases of metastrongylid nematode Angiostrongylus dujardini infection observed in a Saguinus oedipus and a Callimico goeldii monkey and in two suricates (Suricata suricatta). All animals were kept in captivity in a zoo of central Italy. The two monkeys died with no premonitory signs, while the two-month-old suricates showed malaise, anorexia and tachypnea for a few days prior to death. Cardiomegaly and/or granulomatous pneumonia were the major anatomo-pathological findings. Inflammatory lesions were observed in the liver, heart and kidney of the suricates at histology. A. dujardini diagnosis was confirmed through both morphological identification of adult worms recovered at necropsy and molecular characterization of larvae in tissue samples. Callitrichidae and suricates are active predators and maintain their hunting behaviour in captivity and it is then likely that they were exposed to infection by preying on parasitized gastropods, intermediate hosts of A. dujardini, entering zoo enclosures from the surrounding environment. This is the first report of A. dujardini in Italy and in S. suricatta.

Androgens predict parasitism in female meerkats: a new perspective on a classic trade-off.

The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis posits that androgens in males can be a 'double-edged sword', actively promoting reproductive success, while also negatively impacting health. Because there can be both substantial androgen concentrations in females and significant androgenic variation among them, particularly in species portraying female social dominance over males or intense female-female competition, androgens might also play a role in mediating female health and fitness. We examined this hypothesis in the meerkat (Suricata suricatta), a cooperatively breeding, social carnivoran characterized by aggressively mediated female social dominance and extreme rank-related reproductive skew. Dominant females also have greater androgen concentrations and harbour greater parasite loads than their subordinate counterparts, but the relationship between concurrent androgen concentrations and parasite burdens is unknown. We found that a female's faecal androgen concentrations reliably predicted her concurrent state of endoparasitism irrespective of her social status: parasite species richness and infection by Spirurida nematodes, Oxynema suricattae, Pseudandrya suricattae and coccidia were greater with greater androgen concentrations. Based on gastrointestinal parasite burdens, females appear to experience the same trade-off in the costs and benefits of raised androgens as do the males of many species. This trade-off presumably represents a health cost of sexual selection operating in females.

Isolation and RFLP genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii from the mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) in Grenada, West Indies.

Little is known of the genetic diversity and epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in wildlife in Caribbean Islands. The prevalence and genetic diversity of T. gondii in mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus) was investigated. During 2011 and 2012, 91 mongooses were trapped in different parts of Grenada, bled, euthanized, and examined at necropsy. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 27 mongooses tested by the modified agglutination test (cut-off titer 25). Muscles (heart, tongue, neck) of 25 of the seropositive mongooses were bioassayed for T. gondii infection in mice. Viable T. gondii was isolated by bioassay in mice from four mongooses with MAT titers of 1:50 in two, 1:200 for one, and 1:400 for one mongoose. The four T. gondii isolates were further propagated in cell culture. Strain typing of T. gondii DNA extracted from cell-cultured tachyzoites using the 10 PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1, and Apico revealed one isolate belongs to the Type III (ToxoDB #2) lineage, two to ToxoDB#7 lineage, and one to the ToxoDB #216 lineage. This is the first report of T. gondii isolation and genotyping in H. auropunctatus worldwide.

Geographic and epidemiologic analysis of the cutaneous Leishmaniasis outbreak in northern Israel, 2000-2003.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northern Israel began to rise in 2000, peaking at 41.0 per 100,000 in the Kinneret subdistrict during the first half of 2003. OBJECTIVES: To examine the morbidity rates of CL in northern Israel during the period 1999-2003, which would indicate whether new endemic areas were emerging in this district, and to identify suspicious hosts. METHODS: The demographic and epidemiologic data for the reported cases (n=93) were analyzed using the GIS and SPSS software, including mapping habitats of suspicious hosts and localizing sites of infected sand flies. RESULTS: The maximal incidence rate in the district was found in the city Tiberias in 2003: 62.5/100,000 compared to 0-1.5/100,000 in other towns. The cases in Tiberias were concentrated on the peripheral line of two neighborhoods, close to the habitats of the rock hyraxes. Sand flies infected with Leishmania tropica were captured around the residence of those affected. Results of polymerase chain reaction were positive for Leishmania tropica in 14 of 15 tested patients. CONCLUSIONS: A new endemic CL area has emerged in Tiberias. The most suspicious reservoir of the disease is the rock hyrax.

Surveys for ectoparasites on wildlife associated with Amblyomma variegatum (Acari: Ixodidae)-infested livestock in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Surveys in 2001, 2005, and 2006 attempted to determine the role of wildlife in maintenance and dissemination of the tropical bont tick, Amblyomma variegatum (F.) (Acari: Ixodidae), in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Small mammals; birds; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann); and feral cattle, Bos taurus L., were examined at nine premises, in mountainous rain forest, and in surrounding areas in western St. Croix, an area including and central to all known bont tick-infested premises on the island. Small Asian mongooses, Herpestes javanicus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire), yielded 1,566 ectoparasite specimens, representing five species, and including larvae of a soft tick, Carios puertoricensis (Fox); the tropical horse tick, Anocentor nitens (Neumann); and the southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini). Black rats, Rattus rattus L., yielded 144 specimens, representing six ectoparasite species, including C. puertoricensis. Of 25 bird species examined, seven yielded 116 ectoparasite specimens representing at least 14 different species of lice and mites, but no ticks. White-tailed deer and feral cattle yielded only various stages of A. nitens and R. microplus ticks. A. variegatum was not encountered on any potential wildlife host sampled, reflecting its low occurrence in St. Croix during the survey period. One collection of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from a spotted sandpiper, Actitis macularia (L.), and collections of feather mites (Acari: Astigmata: Trouessartiidae) from both bananaquits, Coereba flaveola (L.), and black-faced grassquits, Tiaris bicolor (L.), may represent new, undescribed species.

Manipulating grooming by decreasing ectoparasite load causes unpredicted changes in antagonism.

It is thought that allogrooming is practised strategically in order to establish, maintain and reinforce social bonds between group members, exchanging one altruistic behaviour for a different form of reciprocated benefit at a later date. Correlational evidence supports this, but evidence of causality is lacking. We reduced parasite loads in eight meerkat Suricata suricatta groups, generating a substantial decrease in grooming. Contrary to the predictions, overall antagonism did not increase. However, within group networks, grooming increased towards individuals who increased their antagonism. This was restricted to antagonism focused on social position, rather than access to physical resources. The treatment also increased an alternative placatory behaviour: unprompted submissions. Following treatment, individuals performed higher rates of guarding and marking behaviours, suggesting that they were stressed. A reduction in opportunity to mediate stress through grooming may explain local rises in antagonism and corresponding increases in placatory behaviours. We suggest that meerkats use allogrooming (and submissions) as a facultative response to antagonism, rather than a pre-emptive strategy to avert it by establishing a network of associations, as has been suggested for primates.

Cystacanths of Oncicola venezuelensis (Acanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae) in Caribbean termites and various paratenic hosts in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Cystacanths of Oncicola venezuelensis (Acanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae) were discovered in the hemocoel of Caribbean termites (Nasutitermes acajutlae) on St. Thomas and St. John islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to occurring in the insect intermediate host, cystacanths were present in subcutaneous nodules of lizards (Anolis cristatellus and Anolis stratulus), in the greater omentum of small Indian mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus), and embedded in mesenteries of pearly-eyed thrashers (Margarops fuscatus). These vertebrates likely are paratenic hosts, although a definitive host in the Virgin Islands is yet to be discovered. Cystacanths from intermediate and paratenic hosts agree fully with the original description of proboscis armature, including size and shape of hooks and their roots, of the species. Qualitative features of developing and growing structures agree with the original description of the species, but the sizes are smaller.

Molecular characterization of a Cryptosporidium isolate from a banded mongoose Mungos mungo.

Cryptosporidium spp. has been found in more than 150 species of mammals, but there has been no report in mongooses. In this study, we report the isolation of Cryptosporidium sp. in a banded mongoose Mungos mungo, which was brought from Tanzania to Japan; the isolate was analyzed genetically to validate the occurrence of a new, host-adapted genotype. Cryptosporidium diagnostic fragments of 18S ribosomal RNA and 70-kDa heat shock protein genes were amplified from this isolate and compared with the other Cryptosporidium species and genotypes reported previously. Analyses showed that the mongoose isolate represents a new genotype, closely related to that of bears.

The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, is a possible reservoir host of visceral leishmaniasis in eastern Sudan.

Investigations were made on possible reservoir hosts of Leishmania donovani in 2 zoonotic foci of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Dinder National Park (DNP) and the peri-domestic habitats of adjacent villages of eastern Sudan. Animals were captured, in November 1997-1998 and April-May 1999 and examined for L. donovani infection using light microscopy and 2 sensitive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) systems. Microscopy and PCR investigations were also used to determine the infection rates of L. donovani in Phlebotomus orientalis captured from the uninhabited site of DNP. Infections of L. donovani were detected in 2 out of 14 Egyptian mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon), 1 out of 168 Arviconthus niloticus and 1 out of 8 Mastomys natalensis. Samples from 68 other animals captured from the study area were all negative for the infection. Active zoonotic transmission of L. donovani at the time of animal sampling in the uninhabited site of DNP was demonstrated by finding the parasite in 3.4% (7 out of 184) and 3.2% (5 out of 157) of flies collected in March 1998 and May 1999, respectively. We suggest that the Egyptian mongoose is a possible reservoir host of L. donovani. The importance of other animals in maintaining the infection is also discussed.

Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XXXVI. Arthropod parasites of yellow mongooses, Cynictis penicillata (G. Cuvier, 1829).

Eighty yellow mongooses, Cynictis penicillata, from five localities in South Africa were examined for arthropod parasites. Ten ixodid tick species, of which Haemaphysalis zumpti was the most abundant, prevalent and widely distributed, were collected. The mongooses were also infested with two mite species. Echidnophaga gallinacea was the most abundant of the eight flea species collected. It and Ctenocephalides connatus were present at every locality. A single biting louse species, Felicola cynictis, was recovered and it was the most prevalent ectoparasite on the mongooses.

Identification of African Paragonimidae by multivariate analysis of the eggs.

A study of metacercariae and adult Paragonimidae revealed the existence in West-Africa of four species, of which two are largely recorded in literature (Paragonimus africanus and Paragonimus uterobilateralis), one was suspected (Paragonimnus westermani-like) and one remained unrecorded in Africa (Euparagonimus sp). Among the two last ones, P. westermani-like was probably confused with P. africanus, and Euparagonimus sp. with P. uterobilateralis. P. westermani-like adult worms differed from P. africanus by the morphology of ovary, testes and the size of the metraterm eggs. Euparagonimus could be identified by a short excretory bladder in metacercariae. The discriminant functions established on eggs measurements (average, maximum and minimum length, average, maximum and minimum width) were able to separate the isolates into four groups. The largest eggs (97 x 59 microm) belonged to P. westermani-like, the medium sized eggs were ascribed to P. africanus (91 x 49 microm) and to Euparagonimus sp. (84 x 50 microm), and the smaller eggs (69 x 42 microm) were identified as P. uterobilateralis. Three Paragonimidae were identified in Cameroon: P. westermani-like, P. africanus and Euparagonimus sp. Additionally, P. uterobilateralis, P. westermani-like, and Euparagonimus sp. were found in the Congo, Gabon, and the Ivory Coast, respectively.

Natural toxoplasma infection sought in the Indian grey mongoose (H. edwardsi, Greffroy, 1818) trapped in the eastern region., Saudi Arabia.

No doubt, the world wide distributed Toxoplasma gondii is more prevalent in nearly all the Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia. In this paper, natural Toxoplasma infection was sought in six mongooses trapped in the Eastern Region of the Kingdom. Four had seropositivity by the indirect haemagglutination tests (IHAT), the parasite was demonstrated in the spleen smears of two of them and Toxoplasma parasites were successfully isolated by mice I.P. inoculation from one of them. The results were discussed. It was concluded that Toxoplasma infection, a zoonotic protozoal parasite, is increasing in Saudi Arabia and its epidemiological status should be studied.

A scanning electron microscope study of the nematode Spirura dentata (Spiruroidea) with notes on the morphometric variations in a Spanish population of this species.

This work provides a detailed morphological description by optic and scanning electron microscopy of the nematode Spirura dentara (Monnig, 1938), a parasite of Herpestes ichneumon in southern and central Spain, together with an analyses of the morphometric variations within this population. Our findings in adult specimens include some important characters not recorded in previous descriptions, and contradict these in a few details: a) the four denticles arising from the inner wall of the oral opening are double, not simple as reported in the original description, b) four simple denticles are present, each located between the corresponding double denticles and the central protuberance of the pseudolabium, c) lateral crests are present running along the first third of the body in the adult, starting a short distance behind the deirids, and d) the pair of small submedian post-cloacal papillae mentioned in the original description has not been observed. The fourth-stage larva is described for the first time. The relative growth rate (i.e., growth rate with respect to body length) of the reproductive zone was higher in females. In adult males, the growth of the left (longer) spicule was positive, whereas that of the right (shorter) spicule was negative.

Prevalence of Babesia cynicti infection in three populations of yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata) in the Transvaal, South Africa.

Babesia cynicti originally was described from spleen smears of two yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata), the main vectors of rabies on the central plateau of South Africa. During a detailed study of the epizootiology of rabies in that area between October 1991 and February 1993, sets of blood smears from three yellow mongoose populations were available for examination. Babesia cynicti was found in 50 of 56 specimens from Rooiwal, north of Pretoria, in 13 of 18 specimens from near Ermelo in the southeastern Transvaal, and in 22 of 23 specimens from Potchefstroom in the western Transvaal.

The brown ear tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Neumann (Acarina: Ixodidae) and associated tick species on wild and domestic hosts at Muguga, Kenya.

During a study of an experimental population of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and its transmission of bovine theileriosis to cattle, some supplementary information was obtained on the role of rodents and the small carnivores in the development and maintenance of R. appendiculatus populations. Observations were also made on other common tick species found on these hosts. A total of 530 individual hosts were examined during the 4-yr period, of which the majority included, among the carnivores, the white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda), the large spotted genet (Genetta tigrina) and the zorilla (Ictonyx striatus). Among the 482 rodents 95% included Otomys irroratus, Rhabdomys pumilio and Lophuromys flavopunctatus. While all stages of R. appendiculatus thrived on cattle the role of rodents and carnivores was negligible. Similarly, while the other tick species like H. leachi group, immatures of R. hurti/jeanneli group and I. thomasae avoided cattle, they thrived on the carnivores and rodents. However, the adults of R. hurti and R. jeanneli preferred cattle to carnivores and rodents.

[Paragonimus uterobilateralis as the cause of 3 cases of human paragonimiasis in Gabon]. / Le paragonimus uterobilateralis comme cause de trois cas de paragonimose humaine au Gabon.

During 1981, three cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis were diagnosed and successfully treated at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambarene, Gabon. Circumstances prevented our receiving eggs for identification of the lung fluke species involved. The history revealed that all the patients originated from the same small village Mitoné, some 10 km north of Lambarene. Extensive testing in the region failed to reveal further cases. Our efforts, therefore, were concentrated on the study of the intermediate crustacean hosts responsible for the human infections. We examined 90 fresh-water crabs of the species Sudanonautes aubryi and S. africanus collected from small creeks located close to the village of the patients. 14 per cent of the former species and 8 per cent of the latter contained freely moving, non-encysted metacercariae resembling those of Paragonimus uterobilateralis. A domestic cat was subsequently infected with these metacercariae. During autopsy of the cat some 260 days later, 2 adult lung flukes were recovered and clearly identified as P. uterobilateralis, confirming the diagnosis on the larval metacercariae. These findings support the surmise that the human cases of paragonimiasis in the same area could be attributed to an infection with P. uterobilateralis.