Cooperioides antidorca from intestinal nodules in Gazella thomsoni and G. granti in Kenya

Abstract

Examination of nodules from the intestine of Gazella thomsoni and G. granti in Kenya revealed the presence of the trichostrongylid nematode Cooperioides antidorca. Nodules from the two hosts were histologically similar and took the form of chronic inflammatory lesions extending through the wall of the gut from the submucosa into the muscular layers. There was some necrosis around the parasite located in the centre of the nodule, a varying population of inflammatory cells and a varying degree of fibrous tissue encapsulation. One nodule possessed an aperture into the lumen of the gut and there was also evidence of serosal proliferation, probably due to the parasitic lesion penetrating the deeper layers of the wall. The morphology of Cooperioides antidorca recovered from the nodules was examined by scanning electron microscopy and is briefly described.