Beverley-Burton M, Crichton V F
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 Sep;25(5):704-8. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1976.25.704.
Dracunculus medinensis and D. insignis are morphologically indistinguishable. Experiments to test the susceptibility of various mammalian hosts to these two guinea worm species are described. Infective 3rd-stage larvae of D. medinensis were administered to each of four raccons (Procyon lotor): infective 3rd-stage larvae of D. insignis were administered to a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), two dogs, two ferrets (Mustela putorius furo), and a marten (Martes americana). D. medinensis was not found in the raccoons when necropsies were performed on days 247, 283, 354, and 390 post-infection, respectively. Nine female D. insignis containing eggs, embryos, and motile 1st-stage larvae were found in the rhesus monkey 180 days post-infection. Lesions had not formed and the larvae were presumed to be immature and not yet infective as they were comparatively inactive and attempts to infect suitable copepods failed. D. insignis was not found in the dogs or the marten, although both ferrets were successfully infected. Variations in susceptibility of various mammalian species to the guinea worm are discussed together with comments on variations in migration routes and sites of emergence in hosts which may be partially refractory. D. insignis and D. medinensis may represent physiological strains of a single species, or they may in fact be two distinct species which have evolved in different geographical locations.
麦地那龙线虫和微小龙线虫在形态上无法区分。本文描述了测试各种哺乳动物宿主对这两种几内亚龙线虫易感性的实验。将麦地那龙线虫的感染性第三期幼虫分别接种到四只浣熊（北美浣熊）体内；将微小龙线虫的感染性第三期幼虫接种到一只恒河猴（猕猴）、两只狗、两只雪貂（欧洲雪貂）和一只貂（美洲貂）体内。在感染后第247、283、354和390天分别对浣熊进行尸检时，未发现麦地那龙线虫。在感染后180天，在恒河猴体内发现了九条怀有卵、胚胎和活动的第一期幼虫的雌性微小龙线虫。未形成病变，推测幼虫未成熟且尚未具有感染性，因为它们相对不活跃，并且感染合适桡足类动物的尝试失败。在狗和貂体内未发现微小龙线虫，尽管两只雪貂均成功感染。讨论了各种哺乳动物物种对几内亚龙线虫易感性的差异，以及对宿主中可能部分具有抗性的迁移途径和出现部位差异的评论。微小龙线虫和麦地那龙线虫可能代表单一物种的生理菌株，或者它们实际上可能是在不同地理位置进化而来的两个不同物种。
