Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Winter;3(1):61-5.

Prevalence and morphological characterizations of Linguatula serrata nymphs in camels in Isfahan Province, Iran

Farid Rezaei  1 , Mousa Tavassoli  1 , Moosa Javdani  2
Affiliations

Prevalence and morphological characterizations of Linguatula serrata nymphs in camels in Isfahan Province, Iran

Farid Rezaei et al. Vet Res Forum. 2012 Winter.

Abstract

Linguatula serrata, well known as tongue worm; is an aberrant cosmopolitan parasite, which inhabits the canine respiratory system (final host). The discharged eggs infect many plant feeder animals including human causing visceral and nasopharyngeal linguatulosis which is known as "Marrara syndrome". In current study, the prevalence of infection with L. serrata nymphs in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of slaughtered camels was investigated in Isfahan Province, Iran. The MLNs of 232 slaughtered camels, including 115 females and 117 males, were examined for L. serrata nymphs. Camels were categorized into four age groups, namely under six months, six months to two years, two to four years and greater than four years. Also, the morphometrics of the nymphs were measured using the classic parasitology methods. Results showed that 21.12% of examined camels were infected with L. serrata. Age and sex had no significant effect on the prevalence of this parasite in camels. The size of the different parts of nymphs' body were recorded and evaluated. The infection rate to the nymphs of parasite in hemorrhagic and black-colored lymph nodes were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher than the infection rate in normal-colored nodes. Also, results showed that in soft lymph nodes, the infection rate was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more than those of normal and hard nodes. A high prevalence of infection in camels suggests possibility of similar high rate of infection in other animals, and people in the investigated area. This, in turn, emphasizes the need for more preventive measures to reduce the risk of zoonotic outbreaks.

Keywords: Camel; Iran; Isfahan Province; Linguatula serrate; Nymph.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Infection rate of L. serrata in different age groups of examined camels.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Infection rate of L. serrata in male and female animals.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A: Mouth and four hooks of L. serrata nymphs in anterior part of body (100×) B: Arrangement of spines at the posterior edge of each Segment (400×).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
L. serrata nymph; a. body length, b. body width at apex, c. body width at base, d. intestine length, e. intestine width, f. mouth length, g. mouth width, h. distance of mouth from apex, i. distance of mouth from margin, j. hook width, k. hook diameter, l. inter segment space, m. spine length
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gosling PJ. Dictionary of Parasitology. 1st ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2005. p. 209.
    1. Muller R. Worm and Human Diseases. 2nd ed. Wallingford: CABI Publishing Co; 2002. pp. 240–242.
    1. Khalil GM. Incidence of Linguatula serrata infection in Cairo mongrel dogs. J Parasitol. 1970;56:458. - PubMed
    1. Riley J. The biology of Pentastomids. Adv Parasitol. 1986;25:45–128. - PubMed
    1. Alcala-Canto Y, Alberti-Navarro A, Ibbara-Velarde F. Serin protease activity demonstrated in larval stage of the Pentastomid Linguatula serrata. Parasitol Res. 2007;100:1011–1014. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources