Search

Eustrongylides spp. are the nematodes from the Dioctophymatidae family which are potentially dangerous for the mammal’s heath. The first aim of the present research is to describe the biology, developmental characteristics and epizootology of the Eustrongylides spp. nematode. Eustrongylidosis is a parasitic disease commonly occurring in the countries with temperate continental, tropical and subtropical climate. The Eustrongylides spp. parasites are biohelmints with a complex life cycle. The development of the nematodes takes place in the aquatic environment and includes a vast range of intermediate, accidental and definitive hosts. It has also been reported in humans. The second aim of the research is to describe the clinical and pathomorphological changes in organs and tissues of the infected animals, and influence of biotic and abiotic factors on formation of the natural centers of spreading of eustrongylidosis; diagnostics of eustrongylidosis.

Antiparasitic treatment and prophylactic measures in dairy cattle breeding are often not carried out on time due to the opposition of managers and owners of farms. The rejection of the necessary treatments for dairy cows is caused by the forced disposal of a significant amount of milk during the withdrawal period of a particular preparation, during which milk contains residues of active substances and cannot be eaten by humans. The research aimed to determine new native Eprin® endectocide's (Brovafarma LLC) nematode and insecticidal effect during the cattle treatment. The active ingredient of Eprin® is eprinomectin (20mg/ml) from the genus of avermectins, it is not excreted in milk and even requires a 1-day withdrawal. Two experiments were carried out: in the first, the anthelmintic effect of the drug was tested; in the second, the effect on ixodid ticks and cutaneous parasites. The experimental groups consisted of black-speckled cows, 2–6 years old, weighing 450–550 kg. The drug was used at a dose of 1 cm3 /100 kg of body weight, subcutaneous injection, once. Laboratory parasitological studies were carried out using standard methods of scatological diagnostics and identification of cutaneous parasites. No local reaction in animals to drug administration was observed. As a result of the injection of Eprin®, five cows, affected to varying degrees by the nematodes Bunostomum phlebotum, Trichostrongylus spp., Trichuris spp., Dictyocaulus viviparus, Nematodirus spathiger, the eggs of these helminths after 10 days were completely eliminated from animal faeces, which indicates 100 % intensity and the extensibility of the drug. Likewise, three days after the treatment of seven cows whose bodies were originally found to have lice (Bovicola bovis), lice (Haematopinus eurysternus) and ticks (Dermacentor reticulatus/Ixodes ricinus), no more arthropod parasites were identified. Consequently, Eprin® has a lethal effect on typical bovine parasites, including gastrointestinal and pulmonary nematodes, lice, lice and ticks, without causing any side effects in the body of animals.

In 1986, at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Exclusion Zone after an industrial accident, ecosystems began to have several features that distinguish them from the objects of the natural reserve fund. Parasitic systems are an informative indicator of the state of the ecosystem, which is now sporadically applied in the Exclusion Zone. Any change in the parasite population can lead to changes in the host population. The degree of imbalance in the "parasite-host" system depends on the strength and nature of the influence of external factors. At the same time, the presence of mutual adaptations of parasitic organisms and snails gives grounds to consider the "parasitehost" system comprehensively. Freshwater gastropod snails of various systematic groups, which can be intermediate and secondary hosts for trematode agents, were selected as an object of the study. In order to study freshwater gastropod snails for the presence of larval stages of helminths, snails were collected from such locations as Krasne Lake, Ilya River, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant cooling pond, bypass channel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant cooling pond, left bank of the Prypiat floodplain, Koshevka oxbow lake, Hrubchanskyi canal in the Meshevo village. Based on the results of the research, the presence of larval stages of trematode agents at different stages of their development (redia and metacercaria) parasitizing in the freshwater snails Lymnae stagnalis and Radix auricularia was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most obvious and long-lasting consequences of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident is the creation of an exclusion zone and a zone of unconditional (compulsory) alienation. The effect of succession is manifested in the fact that a significant part of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as of1986 was artificial or semi-artificial systems that were under regulatory control by humans. Parasitic systems are one of the informative indicators of processes occurring in ecosystems. Any changes in the host population lead to changes in the parasite population. The degree of imbalance of the "parasite-host" system depends on the nature and strength of the influence of external factors. In order to study the parasitic systems of the exclusion zone as informative indicators, rodents were selected. Among the rodents studied for the presence of causative agents of parasitic diseases were field (Apodemus agrarius) and yellow-necked (Apodemus flavicollis) mice. A study of them was conducted for the presence of causative agents of blood-borne parasitic diseases. Examination of mice blood smears revealed the presence of causative agents of blood parasitic and infectious diseases in all of the investigated animals. Among the causative agents of these diseases, Trypanosoma spp., Babesia spp., Rickettsia spp. and others were identified. Trypanosoma spp. was identified for the first time on the territory of Ukraine in blood smears of 3 mice among investigated, which were 25 % (95 % confidence intervals 6.8-54.1). The number of parasites in 200 fields of view of the microscope from the studied mice varied from 2 to 25. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxoplasma gondii is an important zoonotic parasite worldwide, but it has received limited attention in Ukraine. A seroepidemiological study was conducted and samples from 452 wild boars that had been hunted in 2006-2011 in 23 of the 25 regions of Ukraine were tested to estimate T . gondii seroprevalence. A locally available commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the investigation. Additionally, we tested 92 of the sera using a widely used commercial multi-species ELISA and an indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). With the locally available ELISA, 35 of the 452 wild boars tested positive, yielding a seroprevalence estimate of 7.7% (95% confidence interval 5.5-10.5). The seropositive wild boars originated from eight of the regions. Using the majority criteria, 10/92 samples tested using both ELISAs and the IFAT were considered positive, yielding an estimated seroprevalence of 10.9% within the subset of samples. The highest seroprevalence was observed in wild boars hunted in Luhans'k (30.0%), Odesa (17.7%) and Kharkiv (12.7%). Seroprevalence was higher in older animals (13.3% for age group >12 months and 7.7% for age group ≤12 months). This is the first seroepidemiological study of T. gondii in wild boars in Ukraine. Assuming that seropositivity indicates presence of infectious parasites in the tissues, eating undercooked meat of wild boars hunted in Ukraine could be a potential source of infection to other hosts, including humans., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Influenza A viruses (IAV) are zoonotic pathogens that can cause significant illness in wild and domestic animals, and humans. IAV can infect a broad range of avian and mammalian species, depending on subtype, and avian IAV can be moved over relatively long distances by migratory birds. Although spillover infections from wildlife or domestic animals to humans are an important part of the transmission cycle that can drive outbreaks, the relevance of companion animals, specifically dogs and cats, is not fully understood. A novel pandemic H1N1 reassortant (H1N1pdm09) emerged from swine in 2009, infecting humans, and wild and domestic animals worldwide. During a 2016 human influenza outbreak in Kyiv, subtype H1N1pdm09 predominated and was associated with severe disease and deaths; however, H3N2 and influenza B viruses were also detected. No case of avian influenza in humans was detected. To investigate potential involvement of companion animals, animals in a veterinary hospital (116 cats and 88 dogs) were randomly selected, and sera were tested using a commercially available IAV nucleoprotein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Twelve of 203 serum samples were positive for influenza antibodies (5.7% of dogs and 6.08% cats). These are the first data to demonstrate influenza A infection of pets in Ukraine, highlighting the potential risk of infection of companion animals from close contact with humans.

Background: Horses are recognized as important hosts for the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, mainly because meat of infected horses can be a source of human T. gondii infections. However, the baseline knowledge on equine T. gondii infections is limited and lacking from many countries. This seroepidemiological study was set in Ukraine, a country where little is known about T. gondii prevalence in any host species., Methods: We investigated 78 serum samples from horses, collected from Kyiv and Lviv regions of Ukraine, using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a commercial modified direct agglutination test (DAT). The ELISA is intended to detect the presence of total antibodies against T. gondii, and the DAT detects specific anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibodies. The cutoff titer for DAT seropositivity was a titer of 40., Results: Two horses were omitted from statistical analyses due to disagreeing ELISA results. Altogether 16 of the remaining 76 horses were seropositive with the ELISA, yielding an apparent seroprevalence estimate of 21.1% (95% confidence interval 13.0-31.3). Five horses tested positive with both ELISA and DAT, 11 horses tested positive with ELISA only, and one with DAT only. For 64 of the 76 horses, the results of ELISA and DAT agreed; the percent agreement was 84.2 and the Kappa statistic was - 1.5208, indicating poor agreement., Conclusion: Our results add to the knowledge on the global epidemiology of T. gondii and exposure level of horses to the major zoonotic parasite, as well as to the discussion of challenges of applying serology to estimate exposure to T. gondii in horses.

Domestic cats and other felids are definitive hosts for the zoonotic protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Serology is widely used in epidemiological studies conducted to estimate the proportion of domestic cats that have encountered the parasite. However, a limited number of such studies are available from some regions, including eastern parts of Europe and Russia. Various serological tests have been applied for T. gondii serology for feline samples. Seropositivity indicates previous exposure, and seropositive cats are presumed to have shed oocysts of the parasite earlier and to be chronically infected. In this study, we included a random sample of 200 sera and plasma samples from a larger sampling frame comprising samples from domestic cats from Estonia, where T. gondii is common. The samples, which had been previously screened for anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibodies using a commercial modified direct agglutination test (DAT: Toxo-Screen DA; bioMérieux SA, Marcy-l'Étoile, France), were screened using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA: VectoToxo-antibodies [VektoTokso-antytila], VectorBest, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). The cut-off for seropositivity with DAT was titer of 40. Of the 200 samples, 120 (60.0%) tested positive with DAT and 114 (57.0%) tested positive with ELISA; 112 samples (56.0%) tested positive with both tests. Percent agreement of 95.0% and Kappa 0.8971 indicated an almost perfect agreement between the screening results using the two methods. The results of this study can be useful for comparison, evaluation, and interpretation of results obtained with these two tests in seroepidemiological studies and may encourage more studies on the topic from eastern parts of Europe and Russia.