Status of Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae) in Illinois.

Ixodes dammini Spielman, Clifford, Piesman & Corwin was found for the first time in Illinois in November 1987, when two adult females were collected from two deer in Jo Daviess County in the northwestern corner of the state. In 1988, in a study of six state parks in northern Illinois, questing adults and nymphs were encountered in one park in Ogle County. During the firearm deer hunt in November 1988, adult female and male ticks were found in several counties, with a high rate of infestation (greater than 25%) in two counties (Ogle and Rock Island) along the Rock River, which flows from Wisconsin into the Mississippi River. Several cases in humans with no history of travel outside of the state have been reported, primarily from northern Illinois. We suspect that infiltration of infected ticks and wildlife from Wisconsin is resulting in the emergence of Lyme disease in Illinois. Because all the components necessary for the completion of the tick life cycle and for the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi are available throughout much of the state, I. dammini and Lyme disease can spread and become established in large portions of Illinois.

Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in common barn-owls (Tyto alba) and pigeons (Columba livia) in New Jersey.

In southwestern New Jersey during 1986 and 1987, common barn-owls and pigeons were captured on farmsteads and tested for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by a modified direct agglutination test. In 1986, 3/28 (10.7%) adult and 0/124 nestling owls tested positive at titers of greater than or equal to 1:40. Additionally, 2/34 (5.9%) pigeons tested had T. gondii antibodies at titer of 1:320. In 1987, 9/38 (27.3%) adult and 18/80 (22.5%) nestling owls tested positive at titers of greater than or equal to 1:25; this includes 3/38 (7.9%) adult and 1/80 (1.3%) nestling owls that tested positive at a titer of 1:50.

Argyrophilic, intracellular bacteria in some cats with idiopathic peripheral lymphadenopathy.

Lymph node biopsy specimens from several previously reported cases of unusual feline peripheral lymphadenopathies were re-examined by a modified Dieterlé silver-impregnation staining technique. In a proportion of these specimens, the Dieterlé stain revealed tiny pleomorphic, intensely argyrophilic coccobacilli. These organisms were predominantly located within macrophages. The infected cells were focally distributed, particularly in the interfollicular regions of the nodes. They were inconspicuous in sections stained by other, more conventional staining methods. It is possible that these coccobacilli represent yet another, previously unidentified, cause of chronic lymph node hyperplasia in the cat.

Cat-scratch disease and the role of the domestic cat: vector, reservoir, and victim?

An unidentified coccobacillus has been implicated recently as the agent of Cat-Scratch Disease (CSD) in human beings. Although a history of close contact with a domestic cat is frequently elicited from CSD patients, the exact role of this animal in the epidemiology of the disease remains obscure. Current thinking holds that the cat merely serves as an efficient inoculator of a free-living organism. We believe that the cat is not only an important vector of the CSD bacillus, but it may also serve as the principal reservoir, with the organism occasionally present among the oral flora. Under some circumstances (e.g., immunoincompetency) the CSD bacillus may also infect the lymph nodes of cats, resulting in a disease similar to CSD in human beings.

Epizootiology of endoparasitic infections in pet dogs and cats presented to a veterinary teaching hospital.

Prevalences of, and risk factors associated with, protozoan and helminth parasite infections were determined for pet dogs and cats presented to the teaching hospital of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Of 2294 canine fecal specimens, 34.8% were found to contain one or more kinds of parasite, consisting of: hookworms (14.4%); Trichuris vulpis (12.3%); Giardia (7.2%); ascarids (5.5%); coccidia (2.7%); cestodes (1.6%). The following risk factors were identified with infection in dogs: age less than 2 years; urban locality; male sex. Gonadectomy was associated with decreased parasite prevalences in both male and female dogs. Significant seasonal variations in prevalences of hookworm, ascarid and Giardia infections were found in dogs. Of 452 feline fecal specimens tested, 24.6% were positive for parasites, including: ascarids (16.4%); Giardia (3.5%); coccidia (2.9%); cestodes (2.4%); hookworm (1.1%). Host age of less than 2 years was a significant risk factor associated with parasitism in cats. Of 1571 dogs tested for Dirofilaria immitis microfilaremia, 3.7% were positive. Non-urban locality was a significant risk factor for D. immitis infection in dogs.

Blood parasites of birds in Cameroon.

Birds from south-central Cameroon, western Africa, were surveyed for blood parasites from August to October 1986. Of 331 birds examined, representing 65 species of 15 families and 6 orders (mostly passerines), 55 (17%) were found to be infected with 1 or more genera of hemotropic parasites. These included: Haemoproteus spp. (11% prevalence), Leucocytozoon spp. (3%), Plasmodium spp. (2%), Trypanosoma spp. (1%), and microfilariae of filariid nematodes (1%). Several new host-parasite associations were identified.

Occurrence of some blood and intestinal parasites in dogs in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles.

In August 1986, 133 dogs at the Veterinary Service of the Netherlands Antilles and the SPCA of Curaçao were examined for microfilaremia and for evidence of gastrointestinal parasitism. Microfilariae of Dipetalonema reconditum were present in 27.8% of the dogs examined with no significant difference in the infection rate between domestic and feral dogs. Microfilariae of the canine heartworm Dirofilaria immitis were found in 9% of the dogs with a significantly higher rate of infection in domestic (pet) dogs (13.5%) than in feral dogs (3.4%). Of the intestinal parasites observed Ancylostoma sp. was present in the highest percentage of dogs (68.4%) followed by Toxocara sp. (7.5%). Other parasites were present in less than 5% of the dogs examined and included, in decreasing order of prevalence, Spirocerca sp., Giardia sp., coccidia, Taenia sp. and Trichuris sp. The present paper presents the first evidence of Di. reconditum on Curaçao and suggests the introduction of D. immitis to the island within the 10 years preceeding this report. The persistently high rate of infection with Ancylostoma underscores the continuing risk of cutaneous larva migrans to human beings in the region.

Ciliated protozoa in the colonic wall of horses.

Ciliated protozoa of several morphological types were found in the colonic tissue of 8 horses, mostly immature Standardbreds. Most of the protozoa observed appeared similar to those normally found as commensals in the equine large intestinal lumen. In all cases, organisms were located in the lamina propria; organisms were also found in the submucosa of 2 horses. The association of colonic disease with the presence of intramural ciliates was unclear.

Preliminary report of Haemoproteus tinnunculi infection in a breeding population of American kestrels (Falco sparverius).

A population of American kestrels breeding in southeastern Pennsylvania was examined for hematozoa. Haemoproteus tinnunculi infected 17 of 23 (74%) of the adults. Parasitemia ranged from two to 252, with a median of 32 infected erythrocytes per 10,000. Parasitemia and body weight of female kestrels were negatively correlated. This parasite was not observed in the six juvenile or 38 nestling kestrels examined. Trypanosoma sp. was detected by culture in three of seven (43%) adults, but not in the six juveniles and eight nestlings examined.

Enteric coccidial infections. Isospora, Sarcocystis, Cryptosporidium, Besnoitia, and Hammondia.

The authors consider coccidial infections of the genera Isospora, Sarcocystis, Cryptosporidium, Besnoitia, and Hammondia.

Sarcocystis in muscles of raccoons (Procyon lotor L.).

Sarcocysts of Sarcocystis sp. were found in 26 (50%) of 52 raccoons (Procyon lotor) from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maryland. Although only 4 (7.7%) of 52 cardiac muscles specimens were found to contain sarcocysts, 25% to 36.5% of tongue, diaphragm, masseter muscle, and esophagus specimens were found infected. By light microscopy, sarcocyst walls were less than 3 micron thick and had no conspicuous projections; interior septa were indistinct. By transmission electron microscopy, sarcocyst walls had short (mean = 2.7 micron), villus-like protrusions; thin septa were seen within the sarcocysts. The raccoon may be an intermediate host for a Sarcocystis sp. that completes its life cycle in an unidentified, wild carnivore.

Giardiasis.

Giardia spp. are common, yet frequently overlooked, parasites of small animals. These parasites may cause chronic diarrhea in dogs and cats. This article discusses the clinical signs of giardiasis, and its diagnosis, treatment, and control.

Ivermectin treatment of urinary capillariasis in a dog.

Eggs of Capillaria plica were found by microscopic examination of urine sediment from a 5-year-old female Border Terrier with signs of cystitis. Two courses of oral fenbendazole treatment failed to eliminate the infection or to alleviate clinical signs of cystitis; however, a single dose of ivermectin apparently resulted in complete parasitologic and clinical cure.

Presence of Giardia spp. and absence of Salmonella spp. in New Jersey muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus).

Of 220 muskrat fecal specimens collected from 12 sites in southwestern New Jersey, 154 (70%) were found to contain cysts of the protozoan parasite Giardia spp. Cysts from selected muskrat fecal specimens infected Mongolian gerbils, but attempts to cultivate trophozoites removed from these gerbils were unsuccessful. Salmonella spp. were not detected in any of the muskrat fecal specimens.

Gastric gnathostomiasis in a cat.

A mass found in the stomach of a 10-year old cat contained a female worm of the genus Gnathostoma. The mass was described as a muscular pseudogranuloma induced by the worm. Although the worm species could not be ascertained, it was concluded that the cat served as an aberrant host for a Gnathostoma sp that usually infects wild mammals in the area.

Rate of Leishmania-induced skin-lesion development in rodents depends on the site of inoculation.

Regional differences in the response of mice to infection with three strains of dermotropic Leishmania spp. were shown for skin covering the trunk. Lesions tended to appear earlier and to grow more rapidly on sites over the caudal half of the body than the cranial half, and caudal lesions were more likely than cranial ones to result in metastatic disease in susceptible strains of mice. Site-related variations in lesion development were observed in different strains of mice as well as in golden hamsters. The effect of these regional differences on the development of some parasite-specific, immunological reactions was examined, as were parasite thermosensitivity and location-related variations in host skin temperature as possible explanations.

Use of ivermectin in treatment of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Toxocara cati infection in a cat.

Ivermectin, administered at a rate of 200 micrograms/kg of body weight, SC, successfully removed Toxocara cati infection from a young cat. A second treatment at a higher rate (400 micrograms/kg) was necessary to eliminate infection with the lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus. The drug apparently was tolerated well, and it appears to have several advantages over previously reported treatments for lungworm infections in cats.