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Although the life cycle of the equid stomach parasite Habronema muscae was disclosed more than 100 years ago, little is known about the effect of the developing nematode larvae in its intermediate host, Musca domestica. In a series of experiments, freshly hatched M. domestica larvae were exposed to H. muscae eggs contained in a faecal sample of a naturally infected horse. In daily intervals, 50 fly larvae were removed and transferred on a parasite-free larval rearing medium where they completed their development. Hatched flies were examined for the presence of Habronema third-stage larvae. In two subsequent control groups, flies spend their entire larval life in contaminated horse faeces and in a parasite-free larval rearing medium, respectively. Out of the 700 fly larvae used in the infection experiments, 304 developed into adult flies of which 281 were infected. The average nematode larval burden rose from 3.6 in the group with the shortest exposure to more than 25 in the groups with the longest exposure. The proportion of larvae that developed into the adult insect fell from 82 % in the uninfected control group to 27 % in the positive control group. The pupae of the positive control group were smaller and lighter than those of the uninfected control group. Lower pupal size and weight in the positive control group as well as a lower insect developing rate might be attributed to the destruction of adipose cells in the maggots by Habronema larvae.

The life cycle of Physocephalus dromedarii was studied under experimental conditions. Larvae obtained from naturally infected Scarabaeus cristatus and Aphodius sp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) were measured and examined in light and scanning electron microscopy and used to infect a dromedary as final host as well as chicken, mice and a toad as possible paratenic hosts. Larvae with the same morphology and similar measurements were found in naturally infected reptiles (Trapelus flavimaculatus, Eryx jayakari, Cerastes gasperettii). Body length of examined larvae varied between 1450 and 1700 μm. Dorsal, ventral and lateral lips, peg-like papillae and amphideal pits are located on the cephalic cone. There are two asymmetrical cervical deirids, long simple lateral wings and a knob-like posterior end covered with minute spines. In the camel, patency is reached within 12 weeks after infection while larvae in paratenic hosts migrate into the wall of the alimentary tract and become dormant.

Equine habronematidosis has a global distribution and is caused by three spirurid species, Habronema muscae, Habronema microstoma and Draschia megastoma. A case of cutaneous habronematidosis in a stallion in a stable in Dubai, UAE gave occasion to investigate the parasite situation on the farm. Patent H. muscae infections were diagnosed in 18 out of 49 horses in a stable in Dubai, UAE with a xenodiagnostic test using houseflies as indicator host. All horses in the stable were treated with a single dose of moxidectin administered orally as 2% gel in a dosage of 0.4 mg/kg body weight and the efficacy of this targeted treatment was studied. Habronema infection was terminated in all horses. A fly survey conducted at the farm prior and after treatment revealed two muscid species: Musca domestica and Stomoxys calcitrans. Only M. domestica caught at the farm showed a natural infection with Habronema larvae prior and shortly after anthelmintic treatment. Later, examination of flies caught at the farm in monthly intervals up to the end of observation (8 months after treatment) gave negative results. The absence of infection in the intermediate host was an indication of the eradication of stomach worms. The described xenodiagnostic test is a useful tool to diagnose H. muscae infections and can be used to evaluate the efficacy of nematocides in equines., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nematode larvae found in histological cuts of lung tissue of a horse from a farm in Al Dhaid (UAE) were determined to belong to the Habronematidae family. The clinical examination of the other 18 horses present in the farm revealed summer sores (cutaneous habronemosis) in two stallions. Nematode larvae were found in 147 (=26.2%) out of 561 male but only in 64 (=8.7%) out of 739 female Musca domestica caught at the farm in November and December 2008. Conversely, all 15 Stomoxys calcitrans specimens caught in the farm resulted negative for nematode larvae. The housefly population caught in the barn showed a prevalence of 20.9% with nematode larvae, while flies trapped outside the building on the territory of the farm had a much lower prevalence of 1.1%. The intensity of infection varied between one and 29 larvae per head. Larvae retrieved at the fly dissection were subjected to a ribosomal DNA-targeting semi-nested PCR protocol able to discriminate among the three nematode species Habronema muscae, Habronema microstoma, and Draschia megastoma. The larvae were identified to be H. muscae., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)