Paleoparasitological results for rodent coprolites from Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

The aim of this study was to examine the parasite remains present in rodent coprolites collected from the archaeological site Alero Destacamento Guardaparque (ADG) located in the Perito Moreno National Park (Santa Cruz Province, 47 degrees 57'S 72 degrees 05'W). Forty-eight coprolites were obtained from the layers 7, 6 and 5 of ADG, dated at 6,700 +/- 70, 4,900 +/- 70 and 3,440 +/- 70 years BP, respectively. The faecal samples were processed and examined using paleoparasitological procedures. A total of 582 eggs of parasites were found in 47 coprolites. Samples were positive for eggs of Trichuris sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae), Calodium sp., Eucoleus sp., Echinocoleus sp. and an unidentified capillariid (Nematoda: Capillariidae) and for eggs of Monoecocestus (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae). Quantitative differences among layer for both coprolites and parasites were recorded. In this study, the specific filiations of parasites, their zoonotic importance, the rodent identity, on the basis of previous zooarchaeological knowledge, and the environmental conditions during the Holocene in the area are discussed.

Paleoparasitological results for rodent coprolites from Santa Cruz Province, Argentina

The aim of this study was to examine the parasite remains present in rodent coprolites collected from the archaeological site Alero Destacamento Guardaparque (ADG) located in the Perito Moreno National Park (Santa Cruz Province, 47º57'S 72º05'W). Forty-eight coprolites were obtained from the layers 7, 6 and 5 of ADG, dated at 6,700 ± 70, 4,900 ± 70 and 3,440 ± 70 years BP, respectively. The faecal samples were processed and examined using paleoparasitological procedures. A total of 582 eggs of parasites were found in 47 coprolites. Samples were positive for eggs of Trichuris sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae), Calodium sp., Eucoleus sp., Echinocoleus sp. and an unidentified capillariid (Nematoda: Capillariidae) and for eggs of Monoecocestus (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae). Quantitative differences among layer for both coprolites and parasites were recorded. In this study, the specific filiations of parasites, their zoonotic importance, the rodent identity, on the basis of previous zooarchaeological knowledge, and the environmental conditions during the Holocene in the area are discussed.

Paleoparasitological records in a canid coprolite from Patagonia, Argentina.

In this note, organic remains identified as a canid coprolite were examined. The material was dated at 6540 +/- 110 B.P.; it was collected in the Perito Moreno National Park, Santa Cruz, Argentina. Paleoparasitological analysis was performed following standard procedures. Coprolite fragments were rehydrated in a trisodium phosphate aqueous solution and subjected to spontaneous sedimentation for microscope analysis. Eggs of nematodes identified as Trichuris sp., Capillaria sp., Uncinaria sp., and an ascaridid (probably Toxascaris sp.) or spirurids (presumably Physaloptera sp.), plus a cestode (Anoplocephalidae), presumably Moniezia sp., were found.

Global anthelmintic chemotherapy programs: learning from history.

May 2001 was a landmark in the control of helminth infections. For the first time, the global community recognized that tools existed to deal with some of the commonest infections on the planet. Yet, many of the concepts had been identified nearly a century before, and subsequently largely forgotten. The lessons of the past have much to impart, and recent work has strengthened the evidence and identified the tools to make global control programs feasible. The challenge will now be to make it happen, and some of the problems ahead are truly massive.