Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T19:16:38.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Identification of human hookworm in failed-treatment cases using Chinese hamsters (Cricetulus griseus) and scanning electron microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

A. C. Evans ,
T. J. M. Daly  and
M. B. Markus
A. C. Evans
Affiliation:
Research Institute for Diseases in a Tropical Environment of the South African Medical Research Council, PO Box 634, Nelspruit 1200, South Africa
T. J. M. Daly
Affiliation:
Department of General Anatomy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
M. B. Markus
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An attempt was made to identify the human hookworm involved in failed-treatment cases using abnormal hosts and scanning electron microscopy. Thirty-seven, 2 to 6 month old Chinese hamsters (Cricetulus griseus) from a closed, outbred, conventional colony, were each given between 20 and 120 filariform larvae per os. The larvae were cultured from faeces from mebendazole (Vermox®) 500 mg single-dose, failed-treatment cases living in the lowveld farming area of the Transvaal Province, South Africa. About 60 to 78 days after inoculation, the animals were killed and adult worms were removed from their small intestines. Eleven (30%) of the 37 hamsters harboured a total of 31 adult worms (19 males and 12 females), while 26 hamsters were refractory to infection. The greatest number of worms recovered from a single animal was six. A total of 27 worms (17 males and 10 females) were subjected to examination by scanning electron microscopy. Micrographs showed male and female worms to be morphologically all of the Necator americanus species, as identified by a pair of ventral and dorsal cutting plates, a dorsal tooth and the fused terminus of spicules in the male bursa. The transverse cuticular striations were distinct and smooth. Several points of interest arose from the results of this study and are discussed.

Keywords

mebendazoleNecator americanustreatment failuresCricetulus griseusscanning electron microscopyabnormal hostlarvaeMesocricetus auratushookworm
Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 65 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 67 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beaver, P. C., Jung, R. C. & Cupp, E. W. (1984) Clinical Parasitology, 9th edn.Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Behnke, J. M., Paul, V. & Rajasekariah, G. R. (1986) The growth and migration of Necator americanus following infection of neonatal hamsters. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 80, 146–169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heydon, G. M. (1927) The differences between the infective larvae of the hookworms of man. Medical Journal of Australia, 1, 531–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajasekariah, G. R., Dhage, K. R., Bose, S. & Deb, B. N. (1987) Human hookworm Necator americanus in the intestines of young hamsters. Journal of Parasitology, 73, 1252–1254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schad, G. A. (1979) Ancylostoma duodenale: maintenance through six generations in helminth-naive pups. Experimental Parasitology, 47, 246–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, H. G. & Seth, D. (1967) Complete development of the human hookworm, Necator americanus, in golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus. Nature, 213, 609–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Kline & French Laboratories. (1988) Zentel®: comparative data in common helminth infections. Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Tanabe, K. (1962) An experimental study on the migration route and the development of Necator americanus in pups after cutaneous infection. Journal of the Kyoto Prefectural Medical University, 71, 513–537.Google Scholar
Wells, C. & Behnke, J. M. (1988) The course of primary infection with Necator americanus in syngeneic mice. International Journal for Parasitology, 18, 47–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoshida, Y. & Fukutome, S. (1967) Experimental infection of rabbits with human hookworm, Necator americanus. Journal of Parasitology, 53, 1067–1073.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoshida, Y., Matsuo, K., Kondo, K., Arizona, N. & Ogino, K. (1974a) Scanning electron microscopy of hookworms. 1. Adult and infective stage larvae of Necator americanus (Stiles, 1902). South-East Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, 5, 510–514.Google ScholarPubMed
Yoshida, Y., Matsuo, K., Kondo, K., Arizona, N. & Ogino, K. (1974b) Scanning electron microscopy of hookworms. 2. Adults and infective stage larvae of Ancyclostoma duodenale (Dubini, 1843). South-East Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, 5, 515–519.Google Scholar
Yoshida, Y., Okamoto, K., Higo, A. & Imal, K. (1960) Studies on the development of Necator americanus in young dogs. Japanese Journal of Parasitology, 9, 735–743. (English summary).Google Scholar
Yoshida, Y. & Okano, K. (1959) Development of Ancylostoma duodenale in pups. Tokyo Medical Journal, 76, 213–216 (In Japanese—cited by Yoshida et al., 1974b).Google Scholar