Contamination of the lawns and flower beds along the seafront of Praia Grande, SP, Brazil, by eggs of Ancylostoma and Toxocara in fecal samples of dogs was evaluated. Of the total samples analyzed, 45.9% were contaminated with Ancylostoma eggs and 1.2% with Toxocara eggs.

bMicrosporidia comprise a large group of obligate intracellular parasites. The microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi causes disseminated infection in immunosuppressed patients with HIV, cancer, or transplants and in the elderly. In vivo and in vitro studies on the effectiveness of drugs are controversial. Currently, there is no effective treatment. We tested albendazole, albendazole sulfoxide, metronidazole, and cyclosporine in mice immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and inoculated by the intraperitoneal route with 10 7 E. cuniculi spores. One week after experimental inoculation, the mice were treated with albendazole, albendazole sulfoxide, metronidazole, and cyclosporine. Histological and morphometric analyses were performed to compare the treated groups. The state of immunosuppression was evaluated by phenotyping CD4؉ and CD8 ؉ T cells by flow cytometry. Nontreated mice showed acute disseminated and fatal encephalitozoonosis. The treatment with benzimidazoles significantly reduced infection until 30 days posttreatment (p.t.), but at 60 days p.t., the infection had recurred. Metronidazole decreased infection by a short time, and cyclosporine was not effective. All animals were immunosuppressed by all the experiments, as demonstrated by the low number of CD4 ؉ and CD8 ؉ T cells. We conclude that no drug was effective against E. cuniculi, but the benzimidazoles controlled the infection transiently.

No abstract

Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati are nematode parasites in dogs and cats, respectively, transmitted by ingestion of embryonated eggs, transmammary and transplacental (T. canis) routes and paratenic host predation. Many parasites use mechanisms that change the behaviour of their hosts to ensure continued transmission. Several researchers have demonstrated behavioural changes in mouse models as paratenic hosts for T. canis. However, there have been no studies on behavioural changes in laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) experimentally infected with T. cati. This study investigated behavioural changes and muscle strength in male and female rats experimentally infected with T. cati or T. canis in acute and chronic phases of infection. Regardless of sex, rats infected with T. cati showed a greater decrease in muscle strength 42 days post infection compared to rats infected with T. canis. However, behavioural changes were only observed in female rats infected with T. canis.

RESUMO Foram analisadas amostras fecais de cães domiciliados provenientes de Guarulhos, SP, para se determinar a ocorrência de agentes parasitários de zoonoses. Das 166 amostras examinadas, 54 (32,53%) apresentaram-se positivas, com uma maior freqüência de Giardia duodenalis (13,25%), seguido de Ancylostoma spp. (10,84%), Dipylidium caninum (2,41%) e Toxocara canis (1,81%).

La toxocariasis es actualmente considerada una importante zoonosis en muchos países y es generalmente atribuida a larvas de Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782, entretanto, a pesar de ser menos frecuente, T. cati (Schrank, 1788) puede causar enfermedad. El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar las rutas de migración seguidas por T. canis y T. cati en Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769) y determinar el porcentaje de larvas obtenidas en cada órgano de las ratas infectadas experimentalmente. Veintiún especímenes machos de R. norvegicus (Wistar), con ocho semanas de edad fueron inoculados oralmente con 500 huevos larvados de T. canis, en cuanto que otras 21 ratas de la misma especie fueron inoculadas oralmente con 300 huevos embrionados de T. cati. En los días 3, 5, 8, 10, 15, 30 y 60 pos-infección, tres ratas de cada grupo fueron sacrificadas y la recuperación de larvas fue realizada en varios órganos y la musculatura después de la digestión con el método de HCl a 0,5%. La comparación de los porcentajes de larvas recuperadas reveló que las larvas de T. cati migraron para los pulmones en mayor cantidad, luego en el tercer día pos-infección (23,77%, y solamente 0,34% en el caso de T. canis) al paso que la migración de larvas de T. cati para la musculatura fue observada desde el día 3 hasta el día 60 pos-inoculación. Con este experimento se verificó que las larvas de estas dos especies siguen rutas de migración distintas y tienen tasas de recuperación diferentes.