Parametorchis complexum

Parametorchis complexum

<p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Parametorchis complexum</b></i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> (Stiles and Hassall, 1894) Skrjabin, 1913</b></span></span></p> <p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>(Figure 2-41)</b></span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>ETYMOLOGY:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Para</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> = near,</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> meta </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">= posterior and </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>orchis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> = testis [thus, near </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Metorchis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">] along with </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>complexum </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">= for the complex coiling of the uterus at the level of the acetabulum.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>SYNONYMS:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Distoma complexum</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Stiles and Hassal, 1894.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>HISTORY:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Parametorchis complexum</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> was described from trematodes collected from cats in New York, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., USA. (Stiles and Hassall, 1894).</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Northeastern USA; it was reported in 1965 from two cats in New Jersey (Burrows and Lillis, 1965).</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>LOCATION IN HOST:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Bile ducts.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>PARASITE IDENTIFICATION:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Specimens of </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Parametorchis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> differ from those of </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Metorchis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> in that the vitelline glands on both sides of the body become confluent anterior to the ventral sucker. </span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Adult flukes measure from 5 to 7 mm in length with widths of 1.5 to 2.0 mm. The oral sucker is about the same size as the ventral sucker. The testes are situated in the third quarter of the body, tandem or slightly oblique, and tend to be lobate (3 to 8 lobes) in outline. The eggs measure 24 µm long by 12 µm wide.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>LIFE CYCLE:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Not described.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND PATHOGENESIS:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Not described.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>TREATMENT:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Praziquantel is likely to prove successful in eliminating these trematodes from many treated cases.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>EPIZOOTIOLOGY:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Other hosts have not been described as infected with this parasite, including raccoons. It would appear that carnivores in Russia are infected with a related species.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>HAZARD TO OTHER ANIMALS: </b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Not known.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>HAZARD TO HUMANS: </b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> It is possible that humans could become infected if they were to ingest the infected intermediate host.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>REFERENCES:</b></span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Burrows RB, Lillis WG. 1965. Trematodes of New Jersey dogs and cats. J Parasitol 51:570-574.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stiles CW, Hassall A. 1894. Notes on parasites - 21. A new species of fluke (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Distoma</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> [</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dicrocoelium</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">] </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>complexum</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">) found in cats in the United States, with bibliographic and diagnoses of allied forms. Vet Mag 1:413-432.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Figure 2-41.</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Parametorchis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>complexum</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> collected from a raccoon in Virginia, USA. Although the vitellaria are rather light in this preparation, they can be observed to extend along the lateral sides of the trematode and to come together anterior to the dark, egg-filled uterus that fills the middle of the second fourth of the body.</span></span></p>