Over 1 year, from January to December 1999, a total of 173 slaughtered sheep at Al-Mahala abattoir were examined for presence of nematode parasites. Eighteen sheep (10.4%) were infected with eight different species of nematodes. The prevalence rates of detected nematode parasites were; Haemonchus contortus (3.5%), Haemonchus placei (1.7%), Trichuris ovis (5.8%), Parabronema skrjabini (2.9%), Ostertagia trifurcata (1.2%), Chabertia ovina (0.6%) and Strongyloides papillosus (0.6%), and Graphidiops species (2.9%). The seasonal prevalence of the infection with the nematode parasites was studied and the highest rate was during autumn (15.2%) followed by summer (11.1%) and winter (9.4%) while the lowest rate was during spring (5.6%).

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Toxocara vitulorum is an important intestinal nematode that commonly infects ruminants world-wide, notably in tropical and sub-tropical regions. In Egypt, T. vitulorum has a high prevalence rate in cattle and buffaloes calves. The current work aims to identify and verify T. vitulorum collected from cattle in El-Mahlla El-Kubra city in the mid-Delta of Egypt, using molecular and phylogenetic tools. The first internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1) and 18S genes of ribosomal DNA were amplified, sequenced, and compared with nucleotide sequences deposited in data bases, and also used to construct the phylogenetic trees. Our results confirm that T. vitulorum isolated from cattle in Egypt is genetically identical to those recorded in other countries. Moreover, the phylogenetic trees show a close relationship among different species of Toxocara, including the zoonotic species. Our results show that ITS genes can be targeted as genetic markers to diagnose and discriminate among different Toxocara spp. The data presented here may be helpful in the pursuit of further molecular and genetic studies of Toxocara species.

A single morphologic type of Sarcocystis cysts found in two out of 43 examined common coots, Fulica atra, is considered to represent a new species for which the name Sarcocystis atraii n. sp. is proposed and its description is provided. Coots were hunted from the vicinity of Brolos Lake located at KafrElsheikh province, Egypt. The structural morphology of the revealed sarcocysts was described using light and transmission electron microscopy. Sarcocysts were found in the leg and thigh muscles. The cysts were microscopic and measured 165-850 μm in length × 50-85 μm in width. Histologically; the sarcocyst wall was wavy and had minute undulations. Ultrastructurally, it measured 1-3 μm in thickness and possessed many mushroom-like villar protrusions sometimes originating from other mushroom-like villar protrusions that measured approximately 0.5-2 μm in length and up to 2 μm in width, with the presence of electron dense ground substance of 300 nm to 1 μm thick. The bradyzoites were elongated, banana-shaped and measured 7.5-14 × 1.5-2.5 μm, with centrally or terminally located nuclei. The ultrastructural features of the cyst wall belonged to type 24. On the basis of sequencing and phylogenic analyses for 18S rRNA , 28S rRNA genes and ITS-1 region; S. atraii n. sp. is considered a genetically distinct species, being most closely related to avian Sarcocystis spp. whose definitive hosts are predatory mammals.

Water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) are intermediate hosts for 4 species of Sarcocystis , i.e., Sarcocystis fusiformis and Sarcocystis buffalonis with cats as definitive hosts; Sarcocystis levinei with dogs as definitive hosts; and Sarcocystis dubeyi with an unknown definitive host but thought to be zoonotic. Currently, the latter species has been identified with certainty only from Vietnam. In the present study, sarcocysts of S. dubeyi are reported in 11 (30%) of 35 Egyptian water buffaloes from which the esophageal muscles were examined histologically. Sarcocysts were microscopic, measuring 180-250 × 70-110 µm in size. Ultrastructurally, the sarcocyst wall was 3.5-6.5 µm thick and had palisade-like villar protrusions which give it a striated appearance. The villar protrusions contained microtubules that were distributed along the whole villus. This is the first report of S. dubeyi from water buffaloes in Egypt.

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Summary Cystic echinococcosis is one of the most significant cyclo-zoonotic diseases of major economic and public health significance worldwide. The current study was carried out to determine the epidemiological profile of cystic echinococcosis as well as to investigate its molecular and phylogenic status from one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) in the southern region of Egypt. In the present work, 110 camels freshly slaughtered at Daraw abattoirs, Aswan governorate were inspected for the presence of Hydatid cysts (HCs) visually and manually by palpation and incision, over a period of one year (June, 2018 – May, 2019). Furthermore, fourteen fertile hydatid cyst samples were collected from lungs of slaughtered camels. DNA extraction from two fertile samples was successfully achieved followed by phylogenetic analysis on two mitochondrial genes (cox1and nad1). Out of 110 camels slaughtered 11 (10 %) were found harboring hydatid cysts. The infection was found to prevail throughout the year, with the highest peak encountered in winter (45.5 %). The lungs were the most frequently infected organs (72.7 %) with liver cysts occurring at a significantly lower rate (27.3 %). The mean value of total protein, glucose, urea, cholesterol, magnesium, potassium, copper and creatinine was higher in cystic fluid from camels as compared to cattle. Blast and phylogenetic analysis on sequenced genes showed the presence of Echinococcus intermedius, originally the pig genotype (G7) in camels for the first time in Egypt. To the best of our knowledge, the current research provides a description of the current epidemiological and molecular situation of camel hydatidosis in the southern region of Egypt. Furthermore, the current results may have significant implications for hydatid disease control in the studied region.