Genomic DNA extracted from laboratory and wild subspecies of the trichostrongyle nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus were compared using RFLP and DNA/DNA hybridization techniques. Eight restriction endonuclease digests of the genomic DNA of the two subspecies were hybridized with heterologous ribosomal DNA probes and the total radio-isotope labelled DNA of the laboratory subspecies. DNA hybridization of the two subspecies of H. polygyrus yielded different banding patterns when probed with the rDNA clones in Pvu II digests and when total genomic DNA was used as the probe in Hind III and Pvu II digests. The remaining hybridization profiles of both subspecies were identical.

Groups of C57BL/6J mice, orally infected with 300 larvae each of Trichinella spiralis or T. pseudospiralis were injected with [3H]-alanine, tyrosine, tryptophan or glycine. The incorporation of isotope labelled amino acids into larval proteins was measured at 2, 6, and 12 months post-infection. It was shown that there is a significant increase in the in vivo uptake of isotope labelled amino acids with time by the larvae of T. spiralis and T. pseudospiralis. The level of uptake was highest for tyrosine followed by tryptophan, alanine and then glycine, for both species. The in vivo uptake of amino acids by T. pseudospiralis larvae was always higher than T. spiralis or the host at 6 and 12 months post-infection. At 2 months post-infection, T. spiralis uptake of these amino acids was higher, except for tyrosine. This may be related to the special needs of these larvae during the process of encystation. The higher metabolic requirements of T. pseudospiralis may be related to the higher energy needs of these non encapsulated, highly motile and mobile muscle larvae.

Twelve enzymes (encoded by 14 loci) in liver flukes of Fasciola species originating from Japan (parthenogenetic triploids), Korea (parthenogenetic diploids), the United States of America (USA) and Australia (all sexual diploids) were analysed using starch gel electrophoresis. Variation in electrophoretic patterns between samples was detected at five enzyme loci (Ak, Got, Gpi, 6-Pgd and Pgm-2). Japanese worms (31, of which six were established as uniparental laboratory strains), which reproduce by parthenogenesis, exhibited three different isozyme patterns. This indicates that triploidy has arisen more than once in Japanese flukes. Japanese Fasciola sp. can be separated into three types on morphological grounds. For the six laboratory strains of Japanese worms, the parental morphological type was known. Each of the three isozyme patterns observed was restricted to one morphological type. Most alleles detected in the Japanese triploids were also found in diploid worms from the other countries: the only alleles not represented elsewhere were four at the Got locus and two at the Pgm locus. Flukes from a laboratory strain derived from a single Korean diploid worm resembled the Japanese worms in genotype more closely than did American (seven uniparental laboratory strains) or Australian (30 worms) specimens. Worms from the last two countries were closely related.

An analysis of Hymenolepis diminuta specific antigens in infected rat faeces was carried out. Using a capture type antibody sandwich ELISA assay based on a hyperimmune rabbit anti-worm somatic antisera it was demonstrated that, although antigen was present in faeces before patency, the onset of egg production led to a sharp increase in the levels of parasite antigen in the faeces. Levels of antigen in host faeces were independent of worm burden. Parasite eggs did not contribute significantly to faecal antigen levels. Western blot analysis indicated a number of highly specific antigens at around Mr 69,000, Mr 37,000, Mr 50,000 and Mr 27,000 with a low molecular weight smear at between Mr 30,000 and Mr 34,000 present in the faeces of H. diminuta infected rats. Some cross reaction occurred with an antigen of around Mr 66,000 in the faeces of non H. diminuta infected rodents. Antibody activity against this antigen was removed by affinity adsorption of the antibody solution against normal rat faeces.

Levels of intestinal nematode infections were assessed six months after a two year trial of ivermectin for efficacy against onchocerciasis had ended. In the trial the inhabitants of six villages in Sierra Leone were offered treatment with ivermectin or placebo at six monthly intervals for four rounds in total. Quantitative faecal egg counts were carried out on stool samples provided by 202 subjects, all of whom had received all four rounds of treatment, in two of the villages (Dodo and Mogibisi). These data were analysed by a novel procedure in which a 3-way ANOVA with negative binomial errors enabled village and host gender influences on the outcome of treatment to be identified. Necator americanus was the most common species showing an overall prevalence of 90% but a higher intensity in Mogibisi relative to Dodo, particularly among male subjects. Neither prevalence nor intensity of infection were altered in ivermectin-treated compared with placebo-treated subjects. Trichuris trichiura was the least common species with a prevalence of 15%. It was concluded that there was no significant protection from infection with this species among the ivermectin relative to the placebo-treated subjects. Ascaris lumbricoides, with an overall prevalence of 39%, was more common among female (50%) compared with male (27%) villagers. Prevalence was not significantly affected by ivermectin but the intensity of infection declined by 91.3% in Dodo whilst in Mogibisi intensity was only reduced by 14.6%. The results indicate that the long-term benefits of treatment of necatoriasis and trichuriasis with ivermectin are likely to be minimal whilst those of ascariasis will depend on the individual characteristics of local communities and may differ quite markedly within a limited geographical area. Possible explanations for the discrepancy in efficacy between villages are considered.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae) were isolated from Sri Lankan soils using the Galleria baiting technique. Samples collected from different agro-ecological regions and different habitat types revealed that the presence of nematodes was restricted to sandy coastal soils. Two heterorhabditid and three steinernematid RFLP types were discovered within 5–100 m of the sea. Members of both families were equally prevalent. However, no parasitized insects were found although insect species were encountered which are potentially natural hosts. These nematodes were present at high temperatures (some above 30°C) and neither the monsoon rain nor the drought had any effect on their prevalence.

The duration of primary infections with T. spiralis was dose-dependent with greater proportional loss of worms from heavily infected hamsters and longer persistence of worms in syngeneic DSN hamsters carrying initially low intensity infections. Intestinal worms were lost more rapidly from challenged immunized animals with over 80% loss of established worms by day 6 post infection, but survival of residual worms for a further 2 weeks. Hamsters carrying initially more than 140 intestinal worms began to lose weight during the second week indicating severe pathology at this stage of infection. Mucosal mast cell numbers increased from 50 cells/20 villus crypt units in uninfected animals to a peak in excess of 150 during week 4 pi, although intestinal mastocytosis persisted long after the loss of the majority of adult worms. Serum antibody responses to muscle stage larval antigen were detected in week 3 and increased subsequently. Both mastocytosis and antibody responses were more intense on secondary exposure to infection. Hamsters vaccinated with muscle stage larval antigen showed only a moderately accelerated loss of the intestinal phase but the fecundity of worms was severely suppressed. Overall it was concluded that the hamster host provided a model of trichinellosis that, in many respects was closer than mice and rats to the pattern of infection seen in economically and clinically important host species.

Restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA was carried out in order to differentiate diploid and triploid types of Paragonimus westermani originating from Japan. It was found that out of 16 restriction enzymes. PstI, HaeIII and RsaI revealed consistently different cleavage patterns between the two types.

The rhythmicity of egg production by Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Nematoda) in wild caught wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) was studied. Faecal production followed a 24 h cycle, with peaks at 0400 h and troughs at 1300–1900 h. The patterns in eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) and total eggs were similar to each other, though the former was more accentuated. Both of these followed a 24 h cycle, with peaks coinciding with troughs in faecal production and vice versa. Faecal weight was inversely correlated with EPG, but was not significantly correlated with total eggs. The pattern in EPG presumably reflected the effect of faecal production on the total eggs excreted in each 3 h period. The observed cycle in total eggs probably describes the pattern of egg production by the worm, although other factors, such as the host's intestinal rhythms, may contribute to this cycle.

The relationship between different climatic factors (temperature, relative humidity and rainfall) and the pattern of lungworm larval excretion was studied in sheep under a continuous grazing pattern in North-west Spain, where the climate is intermediate between sub-humid Mediterranean with an Atlantic tendency and European Atlantic. Over a period of one year, 44 animals were sampled once a month at random from a flock of 80 Galician breed sheep, all over 4 years old. Faeces were taken directly from the rectum and the number of first stage larvae per gram of faeces was determined for each animal, and the species of Protostrongylidae (Nematoda) identified. Larval excretion was irregular during the study. The prevalence and intensity of infection were greater in the colder months (40.9%; x=12.3 ± 40.4) and less in the warmer months The species of Protostrongylidae identified and prevalences (%) were Neostrongylus linearis (71.5), Muellerius capillaris (18.8) and Cystocaulus ocreatus (9.7). Between November and March, with low temperatures, the prevalence and intensity of parasitism with N. linearis and M. capillaris were greater than in the months with high temperatures (May to September). Multiple linear regression analysis showed statistical correlation between temperature, relative humidity and rainfall considered together and the number of N. linearis larvae per gram of faeces. Linear regression showed a correlation between the temperature and the percentage of sheep that passed M. capillaris. In general, the prevalence and intensity of infection of the sheep with N. linearis, M. capillaris and C. ocreatus larvae decrease when the temperature increases and increase when the relative humidity and rainfall increases.

A total of 358 cattle was examined for schistosome infection in Zambian slaughterhouses. A total of 542 worms collected from 104 infected individuals was examined for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphoglucomutase using isoelectric focusing. The overall prevalence of infection was 51%. Ninety three percent of the infected animals had less than 100 worm pairs in the mesenteric veins. Schistosoma mattheei was the predominant species (75%); S. leiperi (12%) and S. margrebowiei (2%) were also identified. The remaining 11% of the worms showed one of two distinct heterozygote patterns. Pattern A is identical to that of a laboratory-produced Fl S. mattheei × S. haematobium hybrid, but could also represent a S. mattheei × S. leiperi hybrid. Further studies are required to elucidate the origins of pattern B.

Migration and development of the larvae of Gnathostoma nipponicum in the rat as second intermediate or paratenic host and the weasel as definitive host were examined to clarify the pathogenesis in each animal. The advanced third-stage larvae (AdL3) given orally to rats remained in the stomach for 12 h post-infection (PI). After that, larvae transiently invaded various organs and finally moved into the muscle within 48 h. The percentage of eosinophils in the blood taken from the jugular vein of rats infected with AdL3 reached a maximum (about 6%) on day 20 PI and then decreased. IgG antibody titre for G. nipponicum measured by ELISA began to increase on day 5 PI and reached a plateau on day 20 PI. The AdL3 given orally to weasels moved from the stomach into the muscle and then increased in size. Half of them invaded the muscle within 5 days, whereas the majority of them invaded the muscles within 20 days PI. Morphology of worms which invaded the muscles indicated that they were still the larval form with three rows of hooklets on the head bulb. The larvae in the muscles developed to young adult worms with seven rows of hooklets on the head bulb within 40 days PI. These young adult worms invaded the oesophageal wall and formed a tumour within 60 days PI. It was presumed that worms invaded the oesophageal wall though the adventitia. Ferret and mink were shown to be potential final hosts of G. nipponicum.

Female ICR mice, 6–8 weeks old, were exposed to 6 (group A) or 25 (group B) metacercarial cysts/host of Echinostoma caproni to determine the effects of these cyst dosages on infectivity, growth, distribution and fecundity of worms in the small intestines. All 30 mice exposed (15 in group A and 15 in group B) were infected and there was no significant difference in the percentage of worm recovery between group A and B at 2, 4 and 8 weeks postinfection (PI). Growth was rapid in both groups with worm body areas increasing from about 3mm2 at 2 weeks PI to about 7 mm2 at 8 weeks PI. More worms from group B were in the anterior sections of the small intestines at 2 and 4 weeks PI than those from group A. However, at 8 weeks PI more worms from Group A were in the anterior sections of the small intestines than those from group B. There were marked differences in our findings on infectivity, growth and distribution of E. caproni in ICR mice using 6 and 25 cyst inocula compared to a previous study using the same echinostome and cyst inocula in NMRI mice, presumably related to the mouse strain. Fecundity studies were somewhat comparable in both studies showing an approximate three to four times increase in the average number of eggs/gram of faeces in mice receiving 25 versus 6 cyst inocula.

DNA from species and races of plant parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne, Globodera and Heterodera) and a human parasitic nematode (Trichinella) were subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification using one arbitrary primer (M-10). This technique results in relatively simple DNA profiles that include polymorphic markers known as random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs). The RAPD profiles of the plant nematode species of Meloidogyne made possible the identification of M. incognita and M. hapla, but no differences were found between the patterns of M. javanica, M. arenaria and M. graminicola. Moreover, the four races of M. incognita were indistinguishable by this primer. In contrast, when races of the plant nematode Globodera rostochiensis (Ro1 and Ro2/3) were studied under the same RAPDs conditions, a race specific profile allows these two most devastating races to be differentiated. When DNAs of eight Trichinella isolates were subjected to RAPD studies, four different patterns were identified, corresponding to the four Trichinella clusters previously defined by isozyme polymorphism.

Fasciola hepatica miracidia were experimentally introduced into five sites colonized by Lymnaea palustris over a period of 4 or 6 years. In the first four ponds, a progressive increase in the prevalence of the spring-generation juvenile snails was observed (from 0.4 to 18.1%), with a corresponding increase in the shell height of infected snails (from 3.6 to 7.8 mm). In the fifth habitat, the pond dried in 1990 causing the prevalence to drop as compared with the initial values and to subsequently increase in 1991–1992.

Six nocturnal microfilarial carriers (three with Wuchereria bancrofti and three with Brugia malayi) from mainland China were selected to determine the earliest appearance and peak count of microfilariae (mf) administration of DEC at noon. Before diethylcarbamazine (DEC) administration, blood samples of 60μl were obtained by finger-prick at 2 h intervals for 24 h. A blood sample was then taken just before each carrier intaking 100 mg, 150 mg or 200 mg of DEC orally at noon. After drug administration, blood samples were obtained at 45 and 60 sec and at 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90 and 120 min. Samples were then taken at 2 h intervals for the next 2 h and at 6 h intervals for the next 7 days. Both W. bancrofti and B. malayi showed typical nocturnal periodicity. One mf was first detected in the peripheral blood 45 sec in a mf. carrier. The mf peak counts were found 1–40 min after DEC administration at noon. The nocturnal cycle was distributed during the first two days after DEC administration. It became regular with a much lower peak count by the third day after administration. The results of the present study indicate that the provocative effect of DEC on the mf is very fast; the first appearance in the peripheral blood vessels could be under 45 sec.

Detailed studies were carried out to assess the infection characteristics of the antelope schistosomes in BALB/c mice and Mastomys coucha. Both schistosome species reached sexual maturity in these hosts. However, they differed markedly in terms of egg production rates and preferred sites of tissue egg deposition. Tissue egg deposition commenced between 4 and 5 weeks in the case of Schistosoma margrebowiei and between 6 and 7 weeks in the case of S. leiperi. Tissue egg accumulation rates of S. leiperi were calculated to be 334 and 311 eggs/gravid worm pair/day in mice and M. coucha, respectively. The fecundity of S. margrebowiei was found to be substantially greater (approximately 5 times; daily output ranging from 1600–1900 eggs/gravid worm pair). While S. leiperi infections remained relatively stable in both hosts during the study period (i.e. up to 15 weeks after onset of egg laying), S. margrebowiei infections were observed to deteriorate rapidly in M. coucha.

Development of Neostrongylus linearis larvae was studied in the snail intermediate hosts Oestophora (Oestophora) barbula, Oestophorella buvinieri, Cepaea nemoralis and Helix (Cryptomphalus) aspersa. The molluscs of each species, all adults, were divided into groups of 40 for infection purposes. The infection doses for the first two snail species were 90 and 50 first stage larvae (L1) of N. linearis, respectively. For C. nemoralis two batches were tested: one with 200 L1 kept at 19°C and the other with 250 L1 at a temperature of 21°C. The same was done with Helix (C.) aspersa with 200 L1 at a temperature of 21°C, on the one hand and 300 L1 at 24°C on the other. One or two molluscs of each species were killed in series from the 6th day post-infection (p.i.) until the 44th. Percentage values for total larvae (1, 2 and 3) and L3 were higher with the lower dose for C. nemoralis, whilst the same was true with the higher dose in Helix (C.) aspersa. In both cases, the higher temperature appeared to contribute to cycle acceleration. Using one way analysis of variance, statistically significant differences were detected between the species of molluscs tested concerning percentages of L1 which penetrated, total larvae and L3. According to our results, the decreasing order of susceptibility of these species of molluscs as experimental intermediate hosts of N. linearis is: O. buvinieri, Oestophora (O.) barbula, C. nemoralis and Helix (C.) aspersa. It is the first time that Oestophora (O.) barbula and Oestophorella buvinieri have been named as experimental intermediate hosts of N. linearis.