Epizootiology of Syphacia obvelata from a Domestic Mouse Population on the Subantarctic Kerguelen Archipelago

Abstract

The effects of abundance, age, and sex of feral domestic mice Mus musculus domesticus on infections with the nematode parasite Syphacia obvelata were analyzed during a long-term study of the mouse population on Guillou Island (1.45 km2), a part of the subantarctic Kerguelen Archipelago. The population dynamics of the nematode did not follow the variation in host abundance. However, depending on the year, differences in pinworm abundance were found between the age classes and sex. Such patterns suggest that parasitic infections may have been modulated by host-intrinsic factors, e.g., either by the way of innate or adaptive immunity, rather than extrinsic factors, e.g., host abundance.

Effects of precipitation on parasite burden along a natural climatic gradient in southern Africa - implications for possible shifts in infestation patterns due to global changes

“…Syphacia obvelata was the most abundant nematode species and was recorded from the caecum. This oxyurid nematode species has a world wide distribution and is common mainly in mice and rats (Chan 1951, Bazzano et al 2002, Pisanu et al 2002). Pinworms of the order Oxyurina (e.g.…”

“…For example, T. muris and all other known spiruids have an indirect life cycle that involves an arthropod as an intermediate host (Owen 1992). The life cycles of species within the Nippostrongylinae are direct and include free‐living larval stages suggesting that environmental conditions may have a larger impact on their development compared to the life cycle of for example S. obvelata where the second‐stage larvae are protected within the egg capsule and transmission mainly takes place through direct contact between host individuals (Chan 1951, Grice and Prociv 1993, Pisanu et al 2002). Indeed a stronger correlation was recorded between climatic variables and the prevalence of Nippostrongylinae than compared to S. obvelata .…”