Prevalence and Pathology of Gongylonema Pulchrum in Cattle Slaughtered in Rudsar, Northern Iran
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Sci Parasitol 14(1):37-42, March 2013 ISSN 1582-1366 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Prevalence and pathology of Gongylonema pulchrum in cattle slaughtered in Rudsar, northern Iran Reza Kheirandish 1, Mohammad Hossein Radfar 1, Hamid Sharifi 2, Naser Mohammadyari 3, Soodeh Alidadi 3 1 – Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiology, Kerman, Iran. 2 – Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Food Hygiene and Public Health, Kerman, Iran. 3 – Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kerman, Iran. Correspondence: Tel. (98) 0341 3222047, Fax (98) 0341 3222047, E-mail [email protected] Abstract. The gullet worm, Gongylonema pulchrum Molin, 1857, is a thread-like nematode that occurs in a large variety of animals worldwide. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and histophatology of G. pulchrum in cattle slaughtered in Rudsar slaughterhouse, Gilan Province, northern Iran. During four seasons of 2011, a total of 680 esophagi of native and hybrid breed cattle at Rudsar abattoir were examined parasitologically and pathologically for gongylonemiasis. Cattle were considered in three age groups including less than 2, 2-5 and over 5 years old. Results of our study showed that the prevalence of G. pulchrum in cattle was 16.2%. Prevalence was significantly highest in native cattle and in summer (P<0.05). The highest prevalence was in cattle over 5 years old and males were more infected than females. The age and sex of the cattle had not significant effects on the prevalence of the parasite (P>0.05). No gross lesions was noticed in the infected esophagi but histopathological observations revealed the presence of the sections of parasites in the esophageal epithelium causing moderate to severe eosinophilic esophagitis in a few cases of them. Parasitological, gross and microscopic fidings revealed Gongylonema infection was relatively common in cattle of Rudsar, northern Iran. Keywords: Gongylonema pulchrum; Cattle; Iran. Received 27/11/2012. Accepted 22/02/2013. Introduction mammals and 10 species in birds, is a long, slender whitish spirurid nematode found Gongylonema pulchrum Molin, 1857 , throughout the world (Jelinek and Loscher, belonging to the superfamily Spiruroidea, 1994; Eberhard and Busillo, 1999). This with about 25 species in domestic and wild parasite infects a large variety of animals 37 Sci Parasitol 14(1):37-42, March 2013 ISSN 1582-1366 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE including cattle, sheep, goats, buffaloes, pathology of gongylonemiasis in cattle camels, deers, wild boars, donkeys, pigs, slaughtered at Rudsar slaughterhouse, North of horses, rodents, non-human primates and Iran, and to obtain information about the humans (Waid et al., 1985; Islam et al., 1992; effects of some factors such as season, breed, Kia et al., 2001; Kudo et al., 2005; Sato et al., age and gender on this parasitic infection. 2005; Farooq et al., 2012; Ryan et al., 2012). Rudsar city is located at the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and has a warm and humid These thread-like worms burrow in the climate. The maximum and minimum air mucosa of the upper alimentary tract, including temperatures are in the August and January, the tongue and especially esophagus producing respectively. The air temperature reaches up to white or red blood-filled zigzag tracks in the 26°C in summer (Jamshidi and Abu-Bakar, mucosa. They can be 10 to 15 cm in length and 2010). are easily visible (Jubb et al., 2007). The life cycle of gullet worm is obviously indirect. Materials and methods Embryonated eggs are passed in the feces of the infinitive host and ingested by intermediate Animals and sampling hosts, such as coprophagous beetles and cockroaches. The larvae perform two moults A total of 680 esophagi of cattle (335 native towards the infective third stage (L 3) in about 4 and 345 hybrid breed) were examined for weeks. Animals acquire the infection by gongylonemiasis at meat inspection in an feeding on these insects or ingestion of them abattoir in Rudsar County, Gilan Province, accidentally with their forage (Taylor et al., northern Iran, During four seasons of 2011 2007). Humans also are infected by accidental (spring = 144, summer = 189, autumn = 230, ingestion of the insect host or by drinking winter = 117). Data related to sex, breed, age, contaminated water (Wilson et al., 2001). The as well as date of slaughter were recorded for adult worms spirally embedded in the each animal. The worms embedded in zigzag esophageal mucosa or submucosa by tracks were carefully removed from the protruding of their anterior ends within the esophageal epithelium using fine forceps, lumen. The prepatent period is about 8 weeks preserved and fixed in 70% ethanol containing (Taylor et al., 2007). Their presence is 5% glycerin solution. The collected worms and inconsequential to the host and of no clinical infected esophagi were transported to the significance. Nevertheless, infection may be laboratories of the department of pathobiology, associated with a mild to moderate Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid- lymphocytic and eosinophilic esophagitis (Jubb Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran et al., 2007). for parasitological and pathological investigations. In some areas of Iran, this worm has been demonstrated in cattle (Anwar et al., 1979; These worms were directly observed under a Halajian et al., 2010), sheep (Eslami et al., light microscope, and the figures were drawn 2010), goats, buffaloes, wild boars (Eslami and with the aid of a camera lucida. Measurements Farsad-Hamdi, 1992), donkeys (Movassaghi were made using these drawn figures. For and Razmi, 2008), and humans (Molavi et al., histopathological observations, tissue samples 2006). Anwar et al. (1979) recorded that the of affected esophagi were taken and fixed in 10 infection rate with G. pulchrum has been 49.7% % neutral buffered formalin and processed among 555 cattle slaughtered at the central according to the routine of histopathologic Tehran abattoir in the 1970s. Halajian et al. technique. Paraffin sections at 5μm thickness (2010) reported that the incidence of G. were cut and stained with hematoxylin and pulchrum was approximately 26% of 138 cattle eosin (HE) and examined under ordinary light collected at four local abattoirs in Mazandaran microscope. Prevalence of the disease during Province, northern Iran. four seasons was investigated according to the sex, breed and age groups including less than 2, The aim of this study was to determine the 2-5 and over 5 years old. prevalence of Gongylonema pulchrum and 38 Sci Parasitol 14(1):37-42, March 2013 ISSN 1582-1366 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Statistical analysis observed. In most cases, no inflammatory reaction was occurred around the parasites, and Statistical analysis of the distribution of the in the submucosa. In a few cases, eosinophilic infection according to season, breed, sex and esophagitis was observed that characterized by age groups was performed by the univariate moderate to severe infiltration of eosinophils chi-square test and logistic regression using into the epithelium (eosinophilic pustulosis), the Stata10.1 statistical software. Differences and in the submucoa (figures 3 and 4). were considered statistically significant if the null hypothesis could be rejected with N 95% confidence (P<0.05). Results The collected nematodes were identified as G. pulchrum based on their morphological and parasitological characteristics according to Soulsby (1982). Out of 680 esophagi examined 96 (prevalence = 16.2%) were found to be infected with G. pulchrum . Obtained data about relation between the prevalence of G. pulchrum with season, breed, age groups and sex of cattle are illustrated in tables 1, 2, 3, and 4, Figure 1. Esophagus. The parasite is located in the respectively. The highest and lowest esophageal mucosa as white to pink zigzag tracks prevalence were detected in summer and winter seasons, respectively. The prevalence of Table 1. Seasonal prevalence of gongylonemiasis in the gullet worm was significantly (P<0.05) slaughtered cattle in Rudsar slaughterhouse higher in summer season, as well as in native breed in comparison with hybrid breed. In No. of No. of Infection Season relation to age and sex, the cattle over 5 years examined infected (%) old had higher infection rate than those less Spring 144 24 16.66 than 2 and 2-5 years old; meanwhile, G. Summer 189 36 19.04 Autumn 230 26 11.3 pulchrum infection was more prevalent in Winter 117 10 8.54 males as compared to females. However, no Total 680 96 - significant differences between any of these parameters and prevalence were observed (P>0.05). Careful gross examination of the Table 2. The prevalence of gongylonemiasis related to esophagi revealed that the sections of the breed of slaughtered cattle in Rudsar slaughterhouse parasite were lodged in the esophageal No. of No. of Infection Breed epithelium. They oriented in the longitudinal examined infected (%) axis of esophagi as white to pink zigzag tracks Native 335 78 23.28 in the mucosa of the esophagi. The tracks were Hybrid 345 18 5. 21 composed of white thread- like worms Total 680 96 - embedded in the mucosa. Nearly all tracks were the same color as the surrounding Table 3. The prevalence of gongylonemiasis related to esophageal mucosa (figure 1). age of slaughtered cattle in Rudsar slaughterhouse Histopathologically, the parasites lodged in Age No. of No. of Infection burrowed tunnels in the stratum spinosum and group examined infected (%) stratum corneum of the esophageal epithelium. ≤ 2 43 6 13.95 2-5 545 77 14.12 The walls of these tunnels were composed of >5 92 13 14.13 flattened keratinocytes without any fibrous Total 680 96 - tissue (figure 2). In severe cases, after cases mild acanthosis and hyperkeratosis were 39 Sci Parasitol 14(1):37-42, March 2013 ISSN 1582-1366 ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Table 4. The prevalence of gongylonemiasis on the basis of sex of slaughtered cattle in Rudsar slaughterhouse No.