Resendes A R, Amaral A F S, Rodrigues A, Almeria S
Department of Biology, University of the Azores, Apartado 1422, 9501-855 Ponta Delgada, Portugal.
Vet Parasitol. 2009 Mar 23;160(3-4):340-3. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.11.001. Epub 2008 Nov 11.
Calodium hepaticum (Syn. Capillaria hepatica) is a zoonotic liver nematode of mammals distributed worldwide. Rodents are believed to be the main reservoirs of this nematode. In this paper, prevalence of the parasite was analyzed in liver histological sections from 51 house mice (Mus musculus) caught in human-inhabited houses, from two localities (Furnas and Rabo de Peixe) on São Miguel island from the Azores archipelago (Portugal). Mean prevalence of infection was 19.6%, with 33.3% prevalence in Furnas and 4.1% in Rabo de Peixe (P=0.07). No significant differences were found between the prevalence of infection and the age, body weight and the sex of mice. Hepatic lesions found were either acute and/or chronic stage and consisted of moderate to severe multifocal pyogranulomatous hepatitis with encapsulated eggs with typical bipolar plugs and moderate to severe necrotizing hepatitis consistent with larva tracks. Periportal inflammatory infiltration, hepatocyte regeneration and bile duct hyperplasia were also noted. In most cases, hepatic lesions occupied more than 50% of the liver, but despite severe lesions, in some mice, no signs of hepatic failure were noticed. The high rate of infection found in the present study suggests that house mice are an important reservoir for this parasite in the Azores and could have a role in human transmission.
肝毛细线虫（同义词：肝毛细首线虫）是一种寄生于哺乳动物肝脏的人畜共患线虫，分布于世界各地。啮齿动物被认为是这种线虫的主要宿主。在本文中，对从葡萄牙亚速尔群岛圣米格尔岛两个地点（富尔纳斯和拉沃迪佩克塞）人类居住房屋中捕获的51只家鼠（小家鼠）肝脏组织切片中的寄生虫感染率进行了分析。平均感染率为19.6%，富尔纳斯的感染率为33.3%，拉沃迪佩克塞的感染率为4.1%（P = 0.07）。在感染率与小鼠的年龄、体重和性别之间未发现显著差异。发现的肝脏病变处于急性和/或慢性阶段，包括中度至重度多灶性脓性肉芽肿性肝炎，伴有带有典型双极塞的包囊虫卵，以及与幼虫轨迹一致的中度至重度坏死性肝炎。还注意到汇管区炎性浸润、肝细胞再生和胆管增生。在大多数情况下，肝脏病变占肝脏的比例超过50%，但尽管病变严重，在一些小鼠中未发现肝功能衰竭的迹象。本研究中发现的高感染率表明，家鼠是亚速尔群岛这种寄生虫的重要宿主，可能在人类传播中起作用。
