Studies over the past 20 years have clearly shown the potential for developing vaccines against larval cestode infections of man and animals. The important larval cestode infections of man (Echinococcus granulosus--hydatidosis: Taenia solium--cysticercosis) involve domesticated animals as intermediate hosts in their natural life-cycles. These animals develop strong immunity against reinfection,...

Cestode parasites are important because they cause production losses, particularly in the sheep, beef and pig meat industries, and because some species are zoonotic parasites which cause serious disease in humans. Research on the development of vaccines to prevent infection with cestode parasites has concentrated on the taeniid cestodes. Two strategies can be adopted for vaccine research: vacci...

The aim of the present study was to assess whether there is a difference in accumulation of heavy metal ions (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in hosts (small mammals) infected by cestode parasites when compared to those without cestode infection. The abundance of gastrointestinal parasites and bioaccumulation of heavy metals in host livers and kidneys were measured. Contents of heavy metals in h...

Globally, cestode zoonoses cause serious public health problems, particularly in Asia. Among all neglected zoonotic diseases, cestode zoonoses account for over 75% of global disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. An international symposium on cestode zoonoses research and control was held in Shanghai, China between 28th and 30th October 2012 in order to establish joint efforts to study an...

The efficacy of an oral formulation of ivermectin plus praziquantel in the reduction of nematode and cestode egg counts in horses was assessed in 273 horses under field conditions at 15 sites in North America (n = 6) and Europe (n = 9). Horses were confirmed by fecal examination to have natural infections of strongyles (100%) and tapeworms (76%). Replicates of four horses were formed at each si...

Several randomization methods have been used to investigate the influence of competitive interactions in shaping parasite community structure. Marine fish parasite communities have often been regarded as unstructured assemblages with little or no resource limitation and, therefore, not prone to competitive influences. In this study, null models were used to assess the niche overlap of cestode c...

The ultrastructure of the 'cuticle' of Dipylidium caninum is described. The presence of mitochondria within the 'cuticle' and the connexion between it and subcuticular cells indicates that the outer covering of this cestode is of living cells forming an epidermis. On its external surface the epidermis is folded into finger-like microthriches and its thickness is pierced in places by pore-canals...

The helminths of the following red duikers, Cephalophus natalensis, were examined: 24 from 3 game reserves in Natal and 1 that had originated from Charters Creek, Natal, shortly before it died in the National Zoological Gardens, Pretoria. The 21 animals from Charters Creek harboured 16 nematode species, a nematode genus, 2 cestode species and paramphistomes. The 2 red duiker from Fanies Island ...

Grouping behaviours (e.g. schooling, shoaling and swarming) are commonly explicated through adaptive hypotheses such as protection against predation, access to mates or improved foraging. However, the hypothesis that aggregation can result from manipulation by parasites to increase their transmission has never been demonstrated. We investigated this hypothesis using natural populations of two c...