Presence of Thelazia callipaeda Railliet & Henry, 1910, in Piedmont, Italy

A sample of 314 dogs from a zone of 80,000 ha in Piedmont, Italy, were examined for the presence of thelaziae under the nictitating membrane. Sixteen animals from eight districts were infected, the foothills being the main location of the parasitosis. All 44 nematodes collected were identified as Thelazia callipaeda.     

Thelazia gulosa Railliet & Henry, 1910 and T. skrjabini Erschow, 1928 infection in southern Europe (Italy)

The occurrence of Thelazia gulosa and T. skrjabini in cattle in Italy, together with an update of the prevalence of Thelazia spp. in the southern Italy, is reported. On 764 slaughtered native cattle, fifty-five (7.2%) bovines were infected by Thelazia spp: T. rhodesi was found in 44 (80%) animals, T. gulosa was found in 19 (34.5%) cattle and only one (1.8%) cattle harboured T. skrjabini. This is the first report of T. gulosa and T. skrjabini in Southern Europe.     

Pelecitus helicinus Railliet & Henry, 1910 (Filarioidea,Dirofilariinae) and other nematode parasites of Brazilian birds

We report Pelecitus helicinus Railliet & Henry, 1910 from 13 species of birds of 2 orders and 7 families, collected from the states of S?o Paulo and Mato Grosso, Brazil. All 13 constitute new host records for this nematode. In addition, we report the first record of Aprocta golvani Diaz-Ungria, 1963 from Brazil and Monasa nigrifrons (Bucconidae), as well as a number of other nematode records from Neotropical birds.     

Haemonchus longistipes Railliet & Henry, 1909 in goats in the Sudan

Haemonchus longistipes specimens were collected from experimentally infected Sudanese goats and camels for morphological studies. The specimens from goats were much smaller than those from camels, but their infectivity to camels was not affected by their passage in goats. Goats inhabiting the same areas as camels in the Sudan were found to be naturally infected with H. longistipes, but sheep were not and were resistant to experimental infection.     

Chromosome C-banding techniques in Dictyocaulus filaria (Rudolphi, 1809) Railliet and Henry, 1907

C-banding has been performed on Dictyocaulus filaria using both original and modified techniques. The karyotype is reported based on C band observations. The existence of large heterochromatic blocks appears to be the cause of the low chiasmata frequency.     

Studies on the chromosomes and sex chromatin in the horse

This study provides accumulated data to assist the definition of karyotypes from normal and infertile horses. The normal karyotype of the horse (2n = 64) was characterized following Giemsa staining and C- banding, and 23% aneuploidy was found among chromosome counts of cells prepared from 44 clinically normal horses and 24 equine embryos. These expected variations in chromosome counts are especially important in the evaluation of potential mosaicism. Centromere staining was shown to be a valuable aid for the identification of specific chromosomes, in particular the sex chromosomes. Sex chromatin studies were applied to nerve tissue and polymorphonuclear neutrophils obtained from three horses. Distinctive sex chromatin bodies were detected in 70% of neurones from a normal mare. The sex chromatin was most frequently located adjacent to the nucleolus. Nuclear appendages ("drumsticks") were present in 4% of polymorphonuclear neutrophils from a normal mare. Small numbers of similar structures were noted in the neutrophils from each animal examined.     

Seasonal changes in density and tissue distribution of Onchocerca cervicalis microfilariae in ponies and related changes in Culicoides variipennis populations in Louisiana

Seasonal changes in density and spatial distribution of Onchocerca cervicalis microfilariae were studied in ventral-midline skin of 15 infected pony mares in southern Louisiana. Triple running mean analysis of data over a 13-mo period indicated that a distinct pattern exists in total microfilariae population density and in microfilariae occurrence in different levels of the dermis. Microfilariae density reaches peak levels in the spring followed by a 58% decrease in the summer, a 19% increase in the fall, and a decrease to the lowest numbers in the winter. Microfilariae were found in all levels of the skin during the spring, summer, and fall but were not found in the superficial layers of the dermis during the winter months. The population density of Culicoides variipennis, a demonstrated vector of O. cervicalis, appeared to have seasonal fluctuations similar to the changes in microfilarial density. Harmonic wave analysis of microfilariae density data in individual ponies showed that all individuals did not follow the population trend.