Paragonimus skrjabini Chen, 1960
ETYMOLOGY:Para = side-by-side and gonimus = gonads along with skrjabini = for Dr. Skrjabin, a Russian helminthologist.
SYNONYMS:Paragonimus szechuanensis Chung and Tsao, 1962.
HISTORY:Paragonimus skrjabini was described from a civet Paguma larvata in China. Chung and Tsao (1962) found the same worm in a cat and described it a as a separate species.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: China.
LOCATION IN HOST: In cysts in the lungs.
PARASITE IDENTIFICATION: Species of Paragonimus are 7 to 12 mm long, 4 to 8 mm wide, and quite thick, i.e., 4 to 6 mm. Differentiation of the Asian species of Paragonimus is discussed under Paragonimus westermani
The eggs have a brown shell, a distinct operculum, and occasionally a knob on the abopercular end; eggs average 80 by 48 µm.
LIFE CYCLE: Similar to that of Paragonimus westermani. The snail hosts are species of Tricula and Akiyoshia and the crab hosts are species of Sinopotamon.
CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND PATHOGENESIS: Not described in cats.
TREATMENT: Probably praziquantel.
EPIZOOTIOLOGY: Hosts include civets, cats, and dogs.
HAZARD TO OTHER ANIMALS: If mammals ingest the infected crab, there is a possibility that larval flukes will penetrate the intestinal wall and migrate into the abdominal cavity. In permissive hosts, the flukes will go onto develop in the lungs while in some hosts the flukes will persist as in the swine paratenic host. In all these hosts, there is the possibility for associated pathology.
HAZARD TO HUMANS: Human infections with Paragonimus skrjabini often present with flukes in ectopic locations, especially in subcutaneous tissues.
REFERENCES:
Chen HT. 1960. Taxonomic consideration of Paragonimus, including morphological notes on P. skrjabini. Acta Zoologica Sinica 12:27-36.
Chung HL, Tsao WC. Paragonimuswestermani (Szechuan variety) and a new species of lung fluke - Paragonimusszechuanensis. Part I. Studies on morphological and life history of paragonimiasis szechuanensis - a new clinical entity. Chin Med J 81:419-434.