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A survey for nematode infection in German cockroaches captured in restaurants in various areas of Japan as well as the laboratory-bred colony was carried out. The nematodes were then identified morphologically and molecularly. Of the 320 German cockroaches collected at 79 restaurants in 26 prefectures in Japan, 66.6% (213/320) were found to be parasitized by a single species of pinworm in the hindgut. The mean number of pinworms per cockroach was less than 1.6. Of the three laboratory-bred lines of cockroaches examined, 2 lines (NIID and NK) were found to be infected with a single species of nematode. The prevalence was 93.0% (40/43) and 84.8% (39/46), respectively. The other laboratory line (WAT) was found to be free of the nematode infection. The nematode detected in this study was identified as Blatticola blattae. This is the first report of B. blattae infection in German cockroaches in Japan. Our study showed that B. blattae is distributed all over Japan together with its host Blattella germanica. An experimental infection with B. blattae in nematode-free cockroach by contaminating the rearing environment with infected-cockroach feces showed that once the environment of the cockroach is contaminated with B. blattae eggs, the pinworm infection could spread easily.

Additional file 2. STROBE Statement—Checklist of items that should be includedin reports of cross-sectional studies.

Additional file 2. STROBE Statement Checklist of items that should be included in reports of cross-sectional studies.

Additionalfile 1: Supplementary Fig. 2. Full-length gel images of PCR assay. (A) Representative results of polyacrylamidegel electrophoresis (1%) PCR products amplified from digested tissue samples ofinfected groups. The present study confirms that Toxocara cati larvaereached tissues from the alimentary canal. Molecular size marker 100kb (M) andlanes 1 to 4 indicate samples from the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys tissueswith DNA 600 bp. Lane 5 provide the presence a small amounts of DNA in the braintissue on the 28th day post-inoculation. (B) Result of polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis of PCR products amplified from tissue samples of control group.The findings of the study showed that the tissues are free of Toxocara catilarvae. The negative control (NC) without DNA and positive control (PC) withstandard DNA 600 bp, lanes 1 to 5 represents tissue samples from the liver,lungs, heart, kidneys, and brain.

Dynamics of serum liver enzymes in rabbits experimentally infected with metacercariae of Fasciola sp. (intermediate form between Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica) were monitored. Gradual increase of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were observed from 3 weeks post-inoculation (WPI) and peaked at 6 WPI, which corresponded well to the period of migration and development of juvenile fluke in the liver parenchyma and the time when the young adult flukes migrated to the bile duct. However, no significant increase in serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were observed. This could reflect reduced or minimal injury of bile ducts and biliary epithelia as the flukes had reached the adult stage. Alpha- fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were not detected in the infected rabbit during the course of the experiment. Serum liver enzymes monitoring might be useful for understanding the host-parasite relationship in fascioliasis.

The effect of riboflavin supplement in Eimeria tenella-infected chickens was evaluated. Mortality, fecal consistency, and oocysts per gram of feces were monitored for groups of E. tenella-infected chickens administered a basal diet supplemented with either riboflavin, the anti-coccidial drug amprolium, or with both compounds. The number of oocysts shed per chicken in the riboflavin-treated group was significantly higher than the positive non-treated control group. No significant difference in oocyst number between the amprolium-treated group and riboflavin plus amprolium-treated group was observed. Thus, the addition of 0.8 g/kg of riboflavin to basal diet can increase oocyst number in E. tenella-infected chicken, but has no effect on the efficacy of amprolium.