PAVE & NAVLE REVIEW-PART I

Updated 2010
Dr. R. Pinckney
 Parasitology Review

• Companion Animal Parasite Council

(www.capc.org)
• www.zukureview.com
• NAVLE review – free to students and sends
NAVLE questions daily
 CYTAUXZOON felis

Fatal disease of domestic cats

 Cytauxzoon felis
• Sporadic, but rapidly
and uniformly fatal
disease of domestic
cats.
• Numerous cases
reported in the south
central U.S.
• Prevalence rates have
spread to other states
• Bobcat & other wild
felids are reservoir
hosts.
C. felis in wild felid populations in the U.S.

• A study was conducted to determine the

distribution, prevalence & intraspecific
variability.
• 14 states: CA, CO, FL, GA, KS, KY, LA, MO, NC,
ND, OH OK, SC & WV
• Blood or spleen samples from hunter/trapper
killed felids (n = 706) were tested for C. felis
by PCR
• B. C. Shock et al., 2010, AAVP meeting
 2010 C. felis study
• Prevalence rates (n = 706):
• 79% in Missouri (39 bobcats)
• 65% in Oklahoma (20 bobcats)
• 63% in North Carolina (8 bobcats)
• 57% in South Carolina (7 bobcats)
• 55% in Kentucky (74 bobcats)
• 36% in Florida (45 bobcats)
• 33% in Louisiana (1 bobcat, 1 cougar, 1 serval)
• 31% in Kansas (39 bobcats)
• Greater intraspecific variability (based on PCR) exists in wild
felids compared to previous reports in domestic felids.
• These data indicate that C. felis is widespread and quite
diverse in wild felid populations.
 LIFE CYCLE
• Ixodid ticks (Dermacentor variabilis & Amblyomma
americanum) are intermediate hosts.
• 1-2 µm piroplasms (light blue cytoplasm & dark
nucleus) in red blood cells

<
 LIFE CYCLE

• Schizogony occurs in
mononuclear
phagocytes
(macrophages) that
occlude vessels of the
lung, lymph node,
spleen & other organs
 CLINICAL SIGNS
• Anorexia (depressed appetite)
• Depression
• Fever (> 104 F)
• Dyspnea (difficulty breathing)
• Dehydration, icterus
• Leucopenia, thrombocytopenia
• Death
 PATHOLOGY
• Hepato- and splenomegaly
• Icterus
• Congestion of mesenteric veins
• Petecchial hemorrhages (lungs, lymph nodes,
epicardium and urinary bladder)
OCCLUSION OF VESSELS BY PARASITIZED MACROPHAGES
 DIAGNOSIS
• Clinical signs & history
• Piroplasms in RBC’s
• Merozoites in
macrophages lining the
vascular channels in
most organs
 Treatment & Control
• Prognosis is grave
• Supportive therapy
• Survival of a domestic cat with naturally
acquired cyauxzoonosis (J Am Vet Med Assoc,
1995, 206: 1363-1365)
• Blood transfusions
• Vector control
 BABESIA
Pyriform, round or oval parasites of
RBC’s of mammals
 Geographic Distribution
• Worldwide (ubiquitous)
• Bovine babesiosis (South America, Mexico & the
US!)
• Equine (South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa,
Middle East, eastern & southern Europe and the
US!)
 LIFE CYCLE
• Ticks are intermediate hosts
• Boophilus annulatus and B. microplus
[Rhipicephalus] (Bovine)
• Dermacentor (Equine; Transplacental)
• Ixodes (Humans)
• Rhipicephalus (Canine)
• Transovarian
transmission (except B.
LIFE CYCLE
equi)
• Piroplasm passes to the
tick ovary and is
incorporated in the
egg, larva, nymph &
adult stages
• Transtadial
transmission (primarily
in males)
• Larvae can survive for
200 days in the
environment!
• PPP is ~ 10-21 days
following tick
exposure.
 Boophilus (Rhipicephalus)
• Boophilus means “cattle loving”
• Theobald Smith and Frederick Kilborne
discovered the parasite in 1912 and it was
eradicated from the U.S. in 1943.
• The ticks have been re-introduced into the
U.S. from calves imported into Texas from
Mexico.
• Outbreaks have been observed since 2004.
 White-tailed deer & Boophilus
• Ticks detected on the WTD population
• Complicating eradication and control
measures
• Integration of ecologically based approaches
to re-eradicate Boophilus from WTD
• Using systemic and topical acaracides
• Medicated (w/ivermectin) corn in the non-
hunting season
Distribution of B. bigemina
 CLINICAL SIGNS: BOVINE
• Fever (Texas Cattle Fever)
• Hemoglobinuria (“red water disease”)
• Anemia
• Icterus
• Splenomegaly
• REPORTABLE DISEASE IN THE U.S.
 Control Challenges
• WTD and free-ranging non-native ungulates help
sustain Boophilus populations in south Texas even
in the absence of cattle.
• Scheduled dipping every 7 to 14 days for 9 months.
• Or vacating the premises and dip cattle twice (14
days apart), get a “clean” check & vacate pasture
for 9 months
• Imidocarb diproprionate (Imizole®)
• BM-86 vaccine (85-90% effective) against B.
annulatus & less effective against B. microplus
 Canine Babesiosis
• Rhipicephalus is the intermediate host.
• B. gibsoni (1 – 2 µm piroplasms)
• B. canis (2 – 5 µm long, large piroplasms)
• B. conrade (“Spanish isolate” see on the West
coast of the U.S.)
• B. c. vogeli
• B. c. rossi (most pathogenic in S. Africa; seen
in foxes in N. Carolina) – Haemaphysalis tick
is the IH
 CLINICAL SIGNS: CANINE
• Intravascular hemolysis (acute phase)
• Extravascular hemolysis (destruction of RBC’s)
• Different strains and species (pathogenicity)
• Concurrent infections (e.g., Ehrlichia, Anaplasma)
• Age of the animal
• Immune status
• Treat with imidocarb
 DIAGNOSIS
• Demonstration of intraerythrocytic piroplasms in
blood or histopath sections (pairs or tetrads)
• Serology (Complement Fixation) – not sensitive in
the chronic phase (use ELISA or PCR)
• IFAT (> 1:80); cross-reactivity with other Babesia
species
• False negative results in young pups
• IHAT or PCR (human, bovine & equine)
 Equine Babesiosis
• The U.S. has been diligent to prevent B. equi and B.
caballi from entering the U.S. for the past 30 years.
• Recently there has been an increase in the number
of persistently infected horses entering the U.S.
• The genus Theileria remains controversial
• 2008 – Twenty seropositive horses in Florida
• Dermacentor nitens is the IH for B. caballi
• Amblyomma cajennense was found to be a
biological vector of B. equi
• No transovarial transmission with B. equi
 CLINICAL SIGNS: EQUINE
• Abortion
• Similar clinical signs as
in other domestic
species
• Hepatomegaly
 Diagnosis & Treatment
• Quarantine seropositive horses
• Persistence of antibody – CF test is not
sensitive in the chronic phase, use ELISA
• Confirm with nested PCR
• Imidocarb is more effective against B. caballi
than B. equi
• The goal is to reduce parasitemia associated
with initial infection (acute phase)
 TREATMENT & CONTROL
• Canine, bovine & equine: Imidocarb
diproprionate (Imizole®)
• Tick control
 Gasterophilus (PAVE, 2006)
• Horse (donkey, mules, zebra) bot flies
• Female glues eggs to the legs, nostrils or lips of the
host (depending on species of fly)
– G. intestinalis
– G. nasalis
– G. hemorrhoidalis

• Larvae migrate in the mouth to the pharyngeal area

and to the stomach
• PPP ~ 10-12 mo.

• Found throughout North America

◄ Eggs
 Treatment and Control
• Should be carried out 2X a year

• 1st dose (ivermectin) given about one

month after 1st killing frost when larvae
are in stomach and no more adult flies
remain

• 2nd dose is given in fall or mid-summer for

killing instar stages (Pave, 2006)

• Frequent grooming removes eggs before

they become infective

• Eggs are very resistant to insecticides

 Oestrus ovis
• Nasal bot fly of sheep, goats, and some wild
ruminants.

• Adult flies are most active during the summer

months.

• They live ~ 28 days

• Found throughout the US and New Zealand

(wherever sheep are raised).

• PPP ~ 8-10 mo
 Characteristics
• Adults (~12mm) are most active
during the summer months

• Flies hide in warm corners or

crevices and in the early morning

• They can be seen sitting on walls

or other objects in the sun

• Undergoes modified form of

complex metamorphosis
 Life Cycle
• Fly season lasts from early summer to autumn
• In cool season, pupation occurs in the fall rather
than the summer and pupae can over-winter in the
soil
• Adult female fly may deposit as many as 60 larvae
around the nostrils of the sheep, goats, and some
wild ruminants.
• (Rare) cases in humans and dogs have been
reported.
• Larvae crawl into nasal passages and may crawl into
the frontal and nasal sinuses
 Life Cycle
• Larvae attach themselves to the
mucous membranes w/ 2 large,
black oral hooks
◄
• Larvae reach full growth (25-
30mm) by the following spring

• Larval period lasts from 8-10 mo.

• Work their way out or are sneezed

out of the nostril

• Larvae pupate in soil for 3-6 wks

• Adults may live for 28 days

 CLINICAL SIGNS
• Animals may press their noses
against the ground.

• Animals often form a circle

with their heads toward the
center

• Sneezing, head-shaking, and

stomping are common
indications of the flies
attacking.
 CLINICAL SIGNS
• Larvae irritate the nasal
mucosa, inducing thick
mucus exudate on which
they feed.
• Thickening of the nasal
mucosa.
• Mucopurulent discharge
(snotty nose)
• Impaired respiration
• Larvae that enter the
sinuses occasionally
reach the brain and
produce fatal results
(“False gid”)
 Nasal Human Myiasis

• Oestrus ovis larvae have been reported in an HIV+

patient in the UK

• 64 yr-old man complaining of nasal obstruction &

rhinitis; referred to a psychiatrist! (Spain, 1997)

• Five, 3rd instar larvae were expelled

• The man showed no signs of immunosuppression.

 Basic Morphology
• Soft ticks lack a scutum
• Hard ticks have a scutum
– Dorsum of adult male is covered by the scutum
– Covers only anterior part of dorsum in immatures and
females
– Ornate if patterned
– Inornate if unpatterned
• Only adult female ticks engorge
– Makes keying difficult
• Hard ticks may have festoons
– Semi-rectangular areas adjacent to posterior margin of
the dorsum (PAVE)
 Ixodes
• Anal groove is distinct & curves around the anus
anteriorly; usually uniting in a point or arch

• Inornate

• Festoons absent

• Medium-long club shaped palps; long mouthparts

(PAVE, 2007)
• Vector: Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi); Babesia
microti humans
 < ANAL
GROOVE

PAVE, 2007
 Dermacentor
• Ornate (dark brown w/ white)

• Festoons (PAVE, 2006)

• Short-medium palps

• Basis capitulum is rectangular in shape

• 1 or 3 host tick (depending on spp)

• Vector: RMSF, Babesia, Ehrlichia (transtadial
or interstadial, 2007)
 Rhipicephalus
• Hexagonal basis capitulum

• Inornate scutum

• Palps are short

• Festoons (Pave, 2006)

• 3-host tick; Kennel/House pest

• Intermed. host: Babesia canis (Canine Piroplasmosis);

Tropical Canine Pancytopenia (Ehrlichia canis)
 Amblyomma
• Ornate

• Festoons (Pave, 2006)

• Long palps

• 3-host tick

• Vector: RMSF, Heartwater disease (Cowdria)

Ehrlichia ruminatum – lethal disease of cattle

• African tortoises imported into Florida (J. Parasitol,

2000, 86: 700-704)
PAVE, 2006
 Fecal Techniques
• PAVE, 2007
• Direct Smear (trophozoites)
• Fecal Flotation (Centrifugation vs. Standing)
• Sedimentation (fluke eggs)
• Baermann Technique (larvae)
• Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) for
determination of anthelmintic resistance
(Haemonchus and small strongyles)
• 2007 – McMaster’s Technique
NEMATODE EGGS FOUND IN
DOG AND CAT FECES

NEMATODE EGGS FOUND IN

RUMINANT FECES
NEMATODE EGGS FOUND IN PIG
FECES

NEMATODE EGGS FOUND IN

HORSE FECES
EGGS FOUND IN POULTRY FECES
 Trichuris (PAVE, 2007)
• Eggs are lemon or
football shaped,
bipolar plugs, very
resistant in the
environment.

72 - 89 µm X 37 – 40 µm
Capillaria
or
Eucoleus

PAVE, 2006
 Capillaria aerophila - Bronchial
Capillariasis
• = Eucoleus aerophilus
– In trachea and bronchi in dogs, cats, foxes
– Eggs striated appearance (in feces)
– Direct life cycle or earthworms (facultative
paratenic hosts)
– Diagnosis: eggs in feces, need to
differentiate from Trichuris
 Urinary Capillariasis
• Urinary bladder
– Capillaria (=
Pearsonema)
feliscati (cats),
Capillaria plica
(dogs)
– Adults occur in
urinary bladder and
the pelvis of the
kidney.
– Eggs passed in
urine, difficulty
urinating (cystitis)
 Eucoleus boehmi
• Nasal capillariasis
(mucosa of the nasal
cavity, frontal and
paranasal sinuses)
• Hosts: dogs, foxes,
wolves
• Life cycle similar to C. (60 µm X 30 µm)
(Eucoleus) aerophila
The surface of the egg
• Earthworm (paratenic has a “pitted appearance”
host)
• Rx. Ivermectin or
fenbendazole
Notoedres cati (PAVE, 2007)
 Notoedres (ZOONOTIC!!)

◄Anus is dorsal
 Sarcoptes

ZOONOTIC!!

▲Anus is terminal
 Sarcoptes scabiei
• Dogs, ferrets, wild canids, rabbits - intense pruritus
with a ventral distribution

• Highly contagious; ZOONOTIC!

• Horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine: intense pruritus;

usually starts on trunk

• REPORTABLE DISEASE IN ALL LARGE ANIMAL

SPECIES EXCEPT SWINE (U.S.A.)
 Suborder: Astigmata
• Psoroptes spp: (cuniculi & ovis)
– Infests external ear canal in rabbits
– Has been seen in goats

• Chorioptes:
– Affects cattle, sheep, horses, goats, hedgehogs, &
rabbits

• Otodectes: (Pave, 2006)

– Infests the external ear canal and adjacent skin of
dogs, cats, foxes, & ferrets
Psoroptes
Otodectes or Chorioptes
BREAK TIME
 HISTOMONAS (“Hexamita”)
MELEAGRIDIS
• FLAGELLATE PARASITE OF TURKEYS,
CHICKENS & OTHER BIRDS
• HISTOMONIASIS OR “BLACK HEAD DISEASE”
• ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT IN “RANGE
BIRDS”
• PAVE, 2007
Histomonas meleagridis
(PAVE, 2007)
PATHOLOGY
“Blackhead Disease”
 Paragonimus (PAVE, 2007)

• Lung fluke
• Snails are the first
intermediate host
• Crayfish is the second
intermediate host
• Zoonotic!
• Paratenic hosts: frogs
• Dx. Radiograph and
fecal flotation or
sedimentation tests
 Dicrocoelium dendriticum

• Liver fluke of ruminants

• Chronic infections:
lower wool production
• Ants (2nd intermediate
host) eat the slime
balls
• Metacercariae in the
ant neuron (behavior
changes)