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This is the first description of human coenurus infection in Canada. The patient, a 38-year-old Caucasian woman, suffered severe and incapacitating symptoms, including recurrent rash, pyrexia, night sweats and lymphadenopathy, that were suspicious of a lymphoma, possibly Hodgkin's disease. She received several trials of chemotherapy over a 3-year period which controlled her symptoms, but only during the treatment periods. The appearance of a hemorrhagic mass in the left breast led to the surgical removal of bladder-like cysts. The patient's symptoms have not recurred since the cysts were exercised. These have been identified as larvae of Taenia serialis.

The authors report the observation of a 50 years old Madagascan woman who has been evacuated to France because of a blindness in her right eye. This disease is progressively complete after six months, and the intra-vitrious cysticercosis is diagnosed following a patient, minutely detailed and daily observation through the biomicroscope during four consecutive days. The surgical operation allows the cryo extraction of the vesicle of Cysticercus cellulosae which is not touched. This observation gives rise to recall epidemiologic chain of affectedness, the frequency of eye locations, the differential diagnosis for the other larva cestodosis and at last the prophylatic basic measures to make in the endemic areas.

The advent of biotechnology has invigorated research on the control of cestode diseases, especially cysticercosis infections in man and animals. The utilization of hybridoma technology to produce antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies has resulted in great strides towards obtaining pure antigens relevant for immunodiagnostic purposes and for research on vaccines. However, the isolation and identification of antigens is only the initial step in the development of such reagents. Production of antigens in quantities sufficient for research/development and commercialization is hampered by the scarcity of viable parasite material for extraction. Expectations are that this problem can be surmounted by application of recombinant DNA methods to produce cloned genes for antigen expression in cultured microorganisms or cells. Remarkable progress has been made recently in isolating and cloning genes from several important cestode species and antigens have been expressed in vitro with genes cloned from Taenia taeniaformis and T. hydatigena. Although these early efforts have not as yet resulted in practical antigen production, the prospects for doing so appear good. The complex epidemiology of cestode diseases is another research subject that has benefited from the successful application of the tools of biotechnology. For example, the greater precision in typing biological variants afforded by DNA analysis has led to important revisions of the understanding of hydatid disease. DNA probes are now available for Echinococcus spp, which are effective for typing isolates. These probes may also find use as reagents for distinguishing eggs of Echinococcus from other taeniid eggs, a serious difficulty for field investigations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Eight cases of today rather rare infections of the brain and spinal cord with animal and plant parasites are described. Echinococcus was identified in one patient, cysticercus cellulosis in 4 and in 3 patients various fungi (actinomycosis Meyerii, aspergillus fumigatus, nokardiose asteroides) were found. Prior to the admission to the hospital none of these patients were correctly diagnosed. Animal parasites mimicked the symptomatology of a brain tumour or of a space occupying process. If localised intraspinally they produced signs similar to prolapsed lumbar disc. Plant parasites caused formation of particular suppurative granulation tissues in the form of abscesses which were often disseminated. By contrast, animal parasites produced only mechanical damage of the brain tissue. In addition to surgical intervention aiming at complete removal of parasite cysts or abscesses, drug therapy with the broadspectrum antibiotics or Praziquantel, an isochinoline derivate, is appropriate. Although due to the better diagnostic procedures and specific drug treatment the mortality rate in the countries with widespread parasite infections (Southern Europe and South America) has dropped from 50-80% to 5-6%, the experience shows that only about half of the patients survive the operation when a longer time-span is considered.

A procedure for the clinical investigation and surgical treatment of cases of coenuriasis in sheep was assessed. The results were based on a series of 62 cases of coenuriasis, of which 58 per cent did not have any palpable skull softening. A useful correlation between the neurological signs and the location of cysts was demonstrated, enabling accurate localisation of cysts in 68 per cent of cases. The surgical technique for the removal of cysts gave a success rate of 74 per cent among the 42 cases selected for surgery, as judged by the complete removal of the cyst and recovery of neurological functions.

Tested were several methods for the diagnosis of sheep stylesiasis - the study of washings, successive decantation, flotation after Füleborn and with the use of zinc sulfide - obtaining no favourable results. Immunobiologic methods, such as the skin allergic test and the complement-fixation test had no practical diagnostic value either. Sheep infected with S. globipunctata reacted positively to antigens of M. expansa, M. benedeni, and A. centripunctata. A total of 15 anticestode agents were tested to treat stylesias-isaffected animals. Bithionol and lead arsenate caused the shedding of Stylesia strobilae up to 100 per cent, however, about 50 per cent of the scolexes with the necks, attached to the intestinal wall, remained intact and produced strobilae. Cyclosamide, dichlorophen, trichlorophen, sulphen, dibromsulphen, and sulfoxide removed the strobilae, but did not almost act on the scolexes and necks, which later on developed strobilae. Praciquantel (isochinoline-pyrazine, EMBAU, droncit-Bayer) at the rate of 15 mg/kg is 100 per cent effective against S. globipunctata, M. expansa, M. benedeni, M. automnalia, and A. centripunctata, and has been tested for the first time as an anticestode means against the Anoplocephalite parasites in sheep. It has no unpleasant odor and taste, is practically untoxic (therapeutic index over 20), and could be used in group treatment of sheep.

The authors reviewed the data acquired in ELISA technique for serological diagnosis of parasitosis. They reviewed the literature on Schistosomisis, Fasciolasis, Cestode infections (hydatidoses and cysticercoses) and nematode infections. They described their adaptation of the technique for detection of antimicrofilaria Loa loa antibodies and concluded that ELISA technique is reliable in the diagnosis of parasitic diseases even in areas where they are endemic.

Children in households with dogs and cats may become infected with the dog tapeworm more frequently than suspected. Because of age-appropriate hand-to-mouth exploration, young infants and toddlers, through contact with fleas on pets, floors, and furnishings, are particularly susceptible. Knowledge of the life cycle of this animal parasite and the manner in which children acquire and demonstrate infection can lead to early diagnosis and effective treatment.

A prototype immunodiagnostic assay has been developed using chronic infection with the larval cestode, Mesocestoides corti, as a model system in mice. The assay is highly sensitive, it appears to be absolutely specific for M. corti infection, and is based on the inhibition of binding (by sera from infected mice) of a radiolabelled anti-M. corti hybridoma antibody to a crude M. corti antigen extract. The hybridoma antibody binds to living M. corti larvae and is an IgG1 protein. In large scale experiments no false positives were detected and the only M. corti-infected mice not detected by the assay were hypothymic nude (nu/nu) mice. Only limited success has been achieved in attempts to convert the assay to one not requiring parasite antigen and based on the inhibition of binding of radiolabelled anti-parasite hybridoma antibody and a large pool of anti-idiotype antiserum. Monoclonal antibodies derived from anti-parasite antibody-secreting hybridoma cell lines will be of particular use in the development of new, highly specific, immunodiagnostic reagents for the detection of parasite infection, exposure and disease.

Clinical and morphological investigations were carried out in the case of two enzootics of coenurosis in weaned lambs. The disease was established in two flocks of 180 and 160 animals, respectively. Outbreaks were recorded two weeks after they were put on premises where dogs untreated for worms had been kept. Instable gait and incoordinated movements of the head and limbs were observed along with circling movements of the body, loss of herd instinct, and lay ill for a long time. Morphologically, hyperemia was seen in the meninges, hemispheres, cerebellum, and the basal portions of the brain, with swelling of the tissue, numerous oncospheres, and purulent and necrotic foci. Histopathologically, there were in the acute stages great numbers of parasite passages with detritus mass, hemorrhages, purulent-and-necrotic meningoencephalitis, and higher counts of neutrophile and eosinophile granulocytes. Besides, in the subacute cases there were histiocytes and lymphoid and gigantic alien cells. Differential diagnosis should take into consideration listeriosis, cerebrocortical necrosis, estrosis monesiosis, and enterotoxemia.

A 72-year-old Filipino man who had emigrated to Canada had an abdominal infection with a proliferating acephalic larval cestode. Small, irregularly shaped parasites were within the substance of a lymph node, where they provoked a fibrogranulomatous and eosinophilic reaction. The parasite is described and is identified as an undifferentiated sparganum or tetrahyridium based upon comparison with two similar parasites from patients in Taiwan and Paraguay.

Cerebral coenurosis is described in a 2 year-old wild sheep (Ovis ammon). Diagnosis was based on clinical signs and pathology.

A case of Coenurus cerebralis involving both cerebral hemispheres and the interpeduncular cistern is presented to illustrate the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features. In CT scans viable cysts appear as lucent lesions surrounded by a contrast-enhanced peripheral rim. By using multiple echo sequences the cyst content is characterized in magnetic resonance images by a cerebrospinal fluid-like intensity pattern.

This paper describes a new method for selective staining of hooks of echinococci, cysticerci and tapeworms in histological sections. The method is based on pre-staining in hematoxylin, then the preparations are stained overnight in dilute polychrome blue and differentiated with tartrazine in Cellosolve (Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether or Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether). The hooks stain blue, nuclei brown to brown-green, and cell plasma is yellow. The hooks stain very brightly, which enables the identification of parasite remnants in granulomas and scars. The intensity of staining depends on the grade of maturity and sclerotization of hooks and these are readily observed, even in lower magnifications. The staining was successfully used in a variety of parasites.