Some Pathological Features of Lungs from Domestic and Wild Ruminants with Single and Mixed Protostrongylid Infections

Abstract

Lungs of 40 ruminants from Bulgaria with natural small lungworm (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) infections were investigated, including 16 goats, 15 sheep, 7 mouflons, and 2 chamois. Muellerius capillaris, M. tenuispiculatus, Cystocaulus ocreatus, Neostrongylus linearis, and Protostrongylus brevispiculum infections were predominantly associated with nodular lesions, and Protostrongylus rufescens, Protostrongylus hobmaieri and Protostrongylus rupicaprae were associated with extensive lesions located mainly along the length of the large bronchi. The extent of lung abnormalities was most severe in the sheep. Alveolitis, parasite granulomas, damage of the alveolar septa, hyperplasia of the lung associated lymphoid tissue, and sclerosis of the parenchyma were found upon microscope examinations. In the goats compared to the sheep and mouflons, the terminal bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli were more affected than the interstitium. Our research shows that the pathological lesions in the lungs of ruminants infected with protostrongylids depend on both the helminth and the host species. To our knowledge, this work is the first to provide data on the pathomorphological lesions in mouflon lungs infected with protostrongylids.

Pathomorphological studies on wild boars infected with Metastrongylus spp., Ascarops strongylina, and Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus

“…The lesions in the lungs of wild boars were irregular in form, pale greyish in colour, and compact in consistency, and nodules with sizes between that of a pea and a bean could be palpated in them. Comparing the macroscopic view of the changes that we found with that observed in previous studies of other animal species infected with lung worms (11, 12) we see that they are different. In goats, the gross lung lesions associated with Muellerius capillaris infections were mainly nodular, firm, and grey.…”

“…Nodular lesions were also perceptible in the cases of M. tenuispiculatus, Cystocaulus ocreatus, Neostrongylus linearis , and Protostrongylus brevispiculum infections in the different ruminants. P. rufescens , P. hobmaieri , and P. rupicaprae produced large, diffuse dark red macroscopic lesions, commonly situated along the large bronchi (11). Brown-black nodes clearly differentiated from the surrounding tissue were the changes in red deer lungs infected with Varestrongylus sagittatus .…”

Lungworm Infection in Small Ruminants in and Around Wolaita Soddo Town, Southern Ethiopia

“…In the laboratory, the Baermann technique was employed for the extraction of lungworm larvae from the faecal samples as described by Foreyt [16]. Identification of the species of lungworm encountered was carried out based on the characteristic morphological features described in literature by Taylor et al and Bowman [3,4].…”

“…D. filaria is one of the most pathogenic lungworm of sheep and goats which lives in the lumen of the bronchial tree and commonly associated with chronic bronchitis and localized occlusion of the bronchial tree with atelectasis [3]. P. rufescens and M. capillaris are located in the lung parenchyma [3] and infections with these parasites are mainly associated with respiratory disturbances, development of focal pneumonia, and secondary bacterial infections of the lungs [4]. Infections with lung worms are either clinical or sub clinical [3].…”

Coprological survey of protostrongylid infections in antelopes from Souss-Massa National Park (Morocco)

“…These nematodes are not only the primary infectious agents of the classical verminous pneumonia, but they also make damaged lung tissue susceptible to secondary bacterial infections (Kaufmann, 2013). Symptoms of infection in wildlife are not visibly obvious, and differ from one host to another, and the health impacts vary from sporadic observance upon necropsy (Kabakci et al, 2007;Panayotova-Pencheva & Alexandrov, 2010) to massive associated mortality (Forrester, 1971;Demartini & Davies, 1977). Prevalent worldwide, protostrongylids are more widely studied in domestic ruminants (Kuchboev et al, 2017;Ahmadi et al, 2018;De Macedo et al, 2020) due to our economic interest in them, than in wild fauna.…”