First report of Diphyllobothrium mansoni (Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae) infecting Cerdocyon thous (Mammalia, Canidae) in Brazil

Ocorrência de Diphyllobothrium mansoni (Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae) parasitando Cerdocyon thous (Mammalia, Canidae) no Brasil

Diphyllobothrium mansoni; Cestoda; Diphyllobothridae; Cerdocyon thous; Mammalia; Canidae

Diphyllobothrium mansoni; Cestoda; Diphyllobothridae; Cerdocyon thous; Mammalia; Canidae

COMUNICAÇÃO

First report of Diphyllobothrium mansoni (Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae) infecting Cerdocyon thous (Mammalia, Canidae) in Brazil

Ocorrência de Diphyllobothrium mansoni (Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae) parasitando Cerdocyon thous (Mammalia, Canidae) no Brasil

K.R. Santos^I; L.S. Catenacci^II; M.M. Pestelli^II; R.K. Takahira^III; R.J. Silva^{IV, *}

^IEstudante de Mestrado - Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia- UNESP - Botucatu, SP

^IIEstudante de Graduação – Faculdade de Medicina de Veterinária e Zootecnia– UNESP - Botucatu, SP

^IIIFaculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia- UNESP - Botucatu, SP

^IVInstituto de Biociências - UNESP, Distrito de Rubião Júnior, 18618-000 – Botucatu, SP

Keywords:Diphyllobothrium mansoni, Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae, Cerdocyon thous, Mammalia, Canidae.

RESUMO

O trabalho descreve a ocorrência de Diphyllobothrium mansoni (Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae) no intestino delgado de um exemplar de Cerdocyon thous (Mammalia, Canidae), proveniente da região de Itatinga, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Este é o primeiro relato da presença desse cestódeo em C. thous.

Palavras-chave:Diphyllobothrium mansoni, Cestoda, Diphyllobothridae, Cerdocyon thous, Mammalia, Canidae

The species Cerdocyon thous (Mammalia, Canidae) has been reported as a host for Diphyllobothrium mansonoides (Schmidt, 1986). In contrast, the species D. mansoni has been described as a parasite of Felis domestica in Porto Rico (Cram, 1927), Canis familiaris in Korea (Cho et al., 1981), Felis catus in Chile (Torres e Figueroa, 1982), Bufo marinus in Australia (Speare, 1990), man in China (Cai, 1991), and pigs in the Platea District, Yunnan (Lan et al., 1995); however its occurrence has never been reported in Brazil.

The objective of the present study is to report the occurrence of D. mansoni infecting a C. thous, captured in Itatinga, State of São Paulo, Brazil (S 23° 06 06' W 48° 36 57').

A young C. thous specimen was assisted in the Veterinary Hospital of the Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Unesp, Botucatu, after being run over by a car in Itatinga City. No clinical changes that could be attributed to the D. mansoni infection were noted, since the animal was severely debilitated by the accident. Despite its condition, diarrhea was not observed during its internment.

A fecal sample was analyzed by a flotation test (Willis), in which cestode eggs were identified. The animal died and at necropsy a specimen was observed in the small intestine. The helminth was collected, put in a refrigerator overnight, and fixed in AFA solution after compression. Morphological and morphometric analyses were accomplished by a computerized analysis of an image system (Qwin Lite 2.5 - Leica).

The scolex was not found. The cestode presented strobila with a length of 19cm, gravidity proglottids with 1.5 (1.3-1.7) mm in length and 3.1 (2.8-3.4) mm width. The worm had a cirrus sac, vestibule or vulva, anterior and posterior coils uterus in the longitudinal median line of the proglottids. The vagina passed traversing from its vestibule in an approximately straight path in the median line, was thrown into lateral undulations of considerable amplitude. The uterus opened by a pore well separated from and posterior to the vagina, and presented a varying number of loops in the terminal heavy walled portion in an "S" shape. The eggs measured 130.5 (112-185) mm in length and 73.7 (66-94) mm in width (Figure 1).

These morphological data regarding the strobila and the characteristics of the eggs allowed us to conclude that the cestode species involved in the parasitism of the C. thous was D. mansoni. The uterus morphology of the reported species is similar to that described by Mueller (1936) and confirms the identification of D. mansoni. The occurrence of this cestode in C. thous represents the first report of this helminth parasitizing this host and the first notice of its occurrence in Brazil.

Recebido para publicação em 19 de setembro de 2003

Recebido para publicação, após modificações, em 20 de outubro de 2003

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  07 Mar 2005
• Date of issue
  Dec 2004

History

• Accepted
  20 Oct 2003
• Received
  19 Sept 2003