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Trichinella zimbabwensis in a naturally infected mammal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

L.J. La Grange ,
G. Marucci  and
E. Pozio
L.J. La Grange*
Affiliation:
Chief Directorate Veterinary Services, Department of Agriculture and Land Administration, Nelspruit, South Africa
G. Marucci
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
E. Pozio
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
*
*Fax +27 13 741 5087 E-mail: louis@nelvet1.agric.za
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Abstract

Trichinella zimbabwensis has been detected in wild and farmed Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) and in wild monitor lizards (Varanus niloticus) of several African countries, but it has never been detected in mammals in nature, in spite of its infectivity to rodents, pigs, foxes and monkeys under laboratory conditions. The aim of this work was to describe the first detection of T. zimbabwensis in a naturally infected lion (Panthera leo) of the Kruger National Park (KNP) of South Africa. The sequence of the expansion segment V, a highly variable non-coding sequence of the large subunit ribosomal RNA of the genus Trichinella, of larvae from the lion was identical to that of larvae of T. zimbabwensis collected from a Nile crocodile originating from the same locality as the lion, suggesting a possible transmission of this parasite between mammals and reptiles. The KNP proves to be a very interesting area for parasites of the genus Trichinella since three taxa (Trichinella nelsoni, Trichinella T8 and T. zimbabwensis) circulate among the wildlife of this protected area.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 84 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 35 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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