Spirorchidiasis in Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta Caretta): Pathology

Loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) (Testudines, Cheloniidae), as a new host of Monticellius indicum Mehra, 1939 (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) and associated lesiond to spirorchiid eggs

“…In all tissues the eggs were surrounded by multinucleated giant cells, forming granulomas with less than 5 eggs, this infection were classifi ed as mild (Santoro et al, 2017). The injuries were compatible with previous fi ndings in the same host (Wolke et al, 1982;Stacy et al, 2010) in the United States and the present paper is one of the fi rst reports outside the USA. Few eggs from the family Spirorchiidae were found in the affected organs, suggesting incidental infection [see Appendix 1 in Stacy et al (2010)].…”

“…Thus, the tissue injuries were mild, although a brain embolism can have serious consequences. Granulomas formed by eggs have been described in different organs in C. caretta (Wolke et al, 1982;Jacobson et al, 2006;Santoro et al, 2017;Stacy et al, 2010). However, the occurrence of eggs in the choroid of the ocular globe in the present study is a new location for eggs of the family Spirorchiidae.…”

“…However, the occurrence of eggs in the choroid of the ocular globe in the present study is a new location for eggs of the family Spirorchiidae. Wolke et al (1982) described eggs from the genus Monticellius as type 1, with the following characteristics: "…yellow-brown, elongate and bore two processes, one of which was frequently hooked…" In the present study, only one egg was found in the uterus and exhibited one of the processes terminating in an oval structure (Fig. 1B), which is the same structure described previously by Santoro et al (2009), but not by Mehra (1939), who described M. indicum eggs as "large with narrow, somewhat curved or hook-shaped prolongations at both ends".…”

“…Type 1 eggs are characterized as being from the genera Learedius, Monticellius, Amphiorchis and Hapalotrema. Type 3 eggs are characterized as being round and without tapering and are characteristic of the genus Neospirorchis (Wolke et al, 1982). For parasite identifi cation, the taxonomic key for genera proposed by Platt (2002), the original description (Mehra, 1939), the redescription by Santoro et al (2009) and comments by were used for both morphological ( Fig.…”

“…heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, , muscle, ovary, pancreas, spleen, small intestine, skyn, thyroid gland, salt gland, eye and were fi xed in 10 % neutral buffered formalin, embedded in paraffi n wax, sectioned (5 μm) and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) for subsequent analysis using an optical microscope. Parasite eggs were classifi ed based on a previously described methodology (Wolke et al, 1982). Type 1 eggs are characterized as being from the genera Learedius, Monticellius, Amphiorchis and Hapalotrema.…”