Green areas located within large cities, as natural ecotypes, are a convenient habitat for ticks and their use as recreational areas is associated with the potential risk of acquiring tick-borne diseases. This study estimated the I. ricinus tick density, prevalence of infection with Borrelia species and the diversity of these bacteria in a green urban area (Olsztyn) of northeastern Poland, an endemic region of tick-borne diseases. The ticks were collected during spring and autumn of 2015, at sites differing in the degree of human pressure and habitat. Borrelia species detection, typing and a molecular phylogenetic analysis were carried out based on the sequenced flaB gene. The overall mean abundance of I. ricinus was 2.0 ± 1.55 ticks per 100 m 2. The density of I. ricinus did not vary significantly between sites. According to semi-qualitative tick abundance categories, the collection sites were classified as 'very low' and 'low' tick abundance category. The overall infection rate of I. ricinus with Borrelia spirochaetes was 27.4%. The infection rate of adult ticks (42.0%) was three times higher than with nymphs (14.3%). Based on the restriction patterns and sequencing, B. afzelii (93.1%; 27/29), B. valaisiana 3.5% (1/29) and B. miyamotoi (3.5%; 1/29), related to the relapsing fever (RF) spirochaetes, were detected. No co-infections were found. Borrelia miyamotoi, detected for the first time in ticks in the northeastern urban areas of Poland, was identical to isolates described as European-type. The Borrelia spirochaete infection rate of I. ricinus ticks in an urban area indicated a high risk of LB. Physicians should also be aware of B. miyamotoi infections among patients with a history of tick-bites in northeastern Poland. Keywords Ixodes ricinus • Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex • Borrelia miyamotoi • Urban area • Poland
Dermacentor reticulatus is the second most important tick species in Poland. Although the north-eastern region of Poland is considered typical for D. reticulatus and is treated as a contiguous area of Eastern populations of the meadow ticks, the occurrence of this tick species in this region to date has been recorded as separate foci. The present report supplements data on the geographical distribution of D. reticulatus in urban and natural biotopes of north-eastern Poland (Warmia and Mazury province). In 2015–2017 (during the springtime activity of ticks) adult questing D. reticulatus were found in 13 of 25 monitored localities. Six sites are located in urbanized areas, within the administrative borders of the city of Olsztyn and seven sites are in natural biotopes in the central part of Warmia and Mazury. A total of 398 adult D. reticulatus ticks, including 257 females and 141 males, were collected. A comparison of data grouped according to urban and natural type of area revealed no statistical differences between them. Taking into account the habitat type, the mean tick density was the highest in open landscapes. The identification of new foci D. reticulatus in the endemic areas of Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis and canine babesiosis is crucial for determining the risk of diseases transmitted by ticks and taking proper preventive measures.
95 SummaryThe study was aimed at following, under laboratory conditions, embryogenesis of the nematode Contracaecum rudolphii, and at identifying its intermediate hosts in northeastern Poland. Nematode eggs, isolated from the terminal part of the female uterus, were placed in 0.9 and 3 % NaCl solutions, 1 % formalin, and in tap water. Each solution batch was divided into 3 parts kept at 4, 15, and 23°C. Regardless of the temperature they were exposed to, the eggs placed in 1 % formalin showed numerous deformations; as few as 5 % of those eggs produced larvae. Embryogenesis was at its fastest in the eggs kept at 23°C. While still within the eggs, the larvae underwent two moults. The eggs hatched to produce the stage 3 larvae, which emerged surrounded by the cuticle of the preceding larval stage. Experimental infestations of zooplankton collected from Lake Kortowskie showed that only cyclopoid copepods could serve as the intermediate hosts. No differences in the infestation intensity were found between the guppies infested by the invasive larvae and those fed the infested cyclopoids.
Key-words:alien species, goby fish, parasite community, Vistula River A parasitological study of Ponto-Caspian gobies, including the monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis, racer goby Babka gymnotrachelus and tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris, carried out over four years in the lower Vistula River is described. These fish species represent one of the most impressive invasions of European inland waters, connected with the spontaneous, east-to-west intracontinental movement observed in the last two decades. The parasite community consisted of 24 taxa. Typical for racer goby were: Trichodina domerguei, Diplostomum pseudospathaceum, Gyrodactylus proterorhini and glochidia of unionids. The list of parasites typical for monkey goby is supplemented with: Tylodelphys clavata (met.) and Eimeria sp., while the glochidia were rarely detected in this fish host. Holostephanus spp., Apatemon gracilis, Diplostomum gobiorum and glochidia predominated in parasite fauna of tubenose goby. Unlike the other species tested, P. semilunaris was poorly infected with T. domerguei and G. proterorhini. Parasites commonly distributed through native fishes in the observed area prevailed in gobies. Species rare in natives were also numerously represented. In this way, alien fish reinforce populations of those parasites in invaded waters. Parasites dragged to the colonized area (G. proterorhini, Holostephanus spp., A. gracilis and D. gobiorum) complement the community. Larval stages were typical for parasite fauna of all studied gobies. RÉSUMÉParasites des gobies non indigènes dans le réservoir Włocławek sur la partie inférieure du fleuve Vistule, première étude exhaustive en Pologne Mots-clés :
SummaryThis is a report of lesions associated with the nematode Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from the proventriculus of the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo (L. 1758). The study was undertaken as part of a health monitoring program for P. carbo, which is endangered and thus protected within the European continent. Cormorants were collected by gun-shot from north-eastern Poland in the spring of 2006, four birds were necropsied on site and the gastrointestinal tract was examined for the presence of nematodes. The birds came from a region with noted increases in the cormorant population over the last decade. Esophageal and gastric sections with parasites in situ were fixed in formalin and processed routinely for paraffin embedding, stained with H&E and examined by brightfield microscopy. Parasite associated lesions consisted of severe, ulcerative gastritis at the attachment sites, and diffuse granulomatous gastritis in adjacent areas. Eosinophilic material speculated to be the parasite-derived excretory-secretory product was consistently forming the parasite-host boundry at the attachment points. Although the parasite-associated gastric lesions were focally severe, all examined birds appeared in good body condition. Because only four birds were investigated in this study, the potential contribution of C. rudolphii to morbidity and mortality in great cormorants needs to be examined further.
Infestation of the black cormorants (Seasonal changes in the intensity and prevalence of infestation of the black cormorants from the colony on Lake Selment Wielki were investigated. In 2006, the cormorants were procured in April, August, and October, while in 2007, they were collected in August and September. The prevalence of the infestation was very high and reached 100%. The highest intensity (mean values of 102.46 and 82.17 nematodes/bird in 2006 and 2007, respectively) was revealed in the cormorants shot in August. Intensity of infestation of those birds procured in autumn 2006 was more than twice that found in spring and one-fourth of that found in summer of that year. Similarly, in autumn of 2007, the birds' stomachs contained less than half of the number of nematodes recorded in summer of that year.
Hydrolase activities of extracts from different parts of the bodies of parasitic (Theromyzon tessulatum, Piscicola geometra) and predatory (Erpobdella octoculata, Glossiphonia complanata) leeches were examined. The highest activity was detected in the extracts from sections containing the intestine. Hydrolase activities in the crop and intestine of parasitic leeches were higher than in predatory leeches. The high activity of most of hydrolases in those segments may indicate the intensity of digestion and absorption processes in leeches. A lack of trypsin activity and low chymotrypsin activity are likely to result from the presence of inhibitors of these enzymes. The high activity of the majority of the analyzed hydrolases in extracts derived from the head segment of predatory leeches enables, through digestion of tissues, their easy access to physiological fluids of a host. In turn, in extracts from the head segment of predatory leeches, only four hydrolases were shown to be active. Lipase activity was not found in any of the samples, while α-galactosidase activity was found only in extracts from the head segment of T. tessulatum and P. geometra. Trypsin activity was detected in the extract from the intestine contents of H. sanguisuga and in the extract from the head segment of P. geometra. The results demonstrate the presence of majority of hydrolases occurring in other animals in the alimentary tract of leeches. The study also shows that the crop of leeches is not only a food reservoir, but also the site where digestion and absorption processes take place.
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