Procerovum varium

Procerovum varium

<p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Procerovum varium</b></i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> Onji and Nishio, 1916</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>Procer</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> = stretched out and </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>ovum</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> = uterus along with </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>varium</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> = varied</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>Haplorchis sisoni</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Africa, 1938; </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haplorchis minutus</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Kobayashi, 1942; </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haplorchis macrovesica</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Kobayashi, 1942; </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haplorchis hoihowensis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Kobayashi, 1942; </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haplorchis cordatus</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Kobayashi, 1942; </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;"> This species was originally recovered from a cat that was experimentally infected with metacercariae from infected fish (Onji and Nishio, 1916).</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;"> This trematode has been reported from Japan, China, the Philippines, Australia, and Malaysia (Pearson, 1964).</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;"> Small intestine.</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;"><i>Procerovum</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> specimens differ from those of </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haplorchis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> is that they possess a highly muscular ejaculatory duct called an "expulsor." The species </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Procerovum varium</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> can be differentiated from </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Procerovum calderoni</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> by the presence of a much longer expulsor in the latter and by having small spines on the gonotyle.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> This small pyriform trematode is 0.26 to 0.38 mm long and 0.13 to 0.16 mm wide. The eggs are 25 to 29 µm long by 12 to 14 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;"> The life cycle has elucidated by the feeding of infected brackish-water mullet (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Mugil</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> spp.) to dogs and cats.</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 reported but thought to be asymptomatic.</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;"> Probably praziquantel, but not reported.</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;"> Cats become infected by eating raw fish. Other hosts that ingest infected raw fish are also likely to become infected. The normal natural hosts include cats, pelicans (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Pelecanus conspicillatus</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">), egrets (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Egretta alba</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Egretta intermedia</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">), the water rat (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Hydromys chyrsogaster</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">), herons (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Notophoyx novaehollandiae</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Nycticorax caledonicus</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">), and a whistling eagle (</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Haliastur sphenurus</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">).</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;"> None known; however, due to the requirements for two intermediate hosts, it is unlikely that an infected cat would pose a direct threat to other animals.</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;"> Humans probably could be infected by the ingestion of the infected fish intermediate hosts.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>CONTROL/PREVENTION:</b></span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The prevention of the ingestion of raw fish.</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;">Onji Y, Nishio T. 1924. On the intestinal distomes. Chiba Igakki Zasshi 2:352-399.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pearson JC. 1964. A revision of the subfamily Haplorchiinae Looss, 1899 (Trematoda: Heterophyidae). Parasitology 54:601-676.</span></span></p>