Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, 3-5 Calea Mănătur, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory, Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases of Cluj-Napoca, 23 Iuliu Moldovan, 400348, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Parasit Vectors. 2024 Oct 28;17(1):441. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06534-9.
Angiostrongylus vasorum, commonly known as the "French heartworm," is a nematode belonging to the Metastrongyloidea superfamily. This parasite was first identified in Toulouse, France in 1853 infecting the pulmonary arteries and the right side of the heart of a Pointer dog. Angiostrongylosis is an important infection due its severe clinical signs and potential for causing high morbidity and mortality in domestic dogs. This nematode has not been studied in Algeria. The aim of this study was investigate the presence of lungworms among different mammal species in a number of Algerian regions.
Between February 2022 and September 2023, 47 road-killed animals were collected from six administrative units (departments) in Algeria. All carcasses underwent a full parasitological necropsy, and lung tissues were preserved in 10% buffered formalin and concentrated ethanol for further study. All collected samples were subjected to histological and PCR (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene) analyses for lungworm identification.
Histological examination revealed the presence of nematode eggs and larvae in the alveolar space and chronic obstructive vascular changes were detected in a single golden African wolf (Canis lupaster) collected from the department of Constantine. First-stage larvae were collected and morphologically identified as Angiostrongylus spp. The molecular identification confirmed the presence of A. vasorum. All other animals tested were negative for lungworms.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of A. vasorum infection in an African golden wolf (Canis lupaster). We report a new host association, highlighting the importance of further studies to update the geographical distribution of A. vasorum and its epidemiology across Algeria.
血管圆线虫，俗称“法国心丝虫”，是一种属于旋尾目超科的线虫。这种寄生虫于 1853 年在法国图卢兹首次被发现，感染了一只指针犬的肺动脉和心脏右侧。血管圆线虫病是一种重要的感染病，因为它的临床症状严重，并且有可能导致家犬的发病率和死亡率很高。这种线虫尚未在阿尔及利亚进行研究。本研究的目的是调查在阿尔及利亚的多个地区不同哺乳动物物种中肺线虫的存在情况。
2022 年 2 月至 2023 年 9 月期间，从阿尔及利亚的六个行政单位（部门）收集了 47 只道路死亡的动物。所有尸体都进行了全面的寄生虫学剖检，肺组织保存在 10%缓冲福尔马林和浓缩乙醇中，以备进一步研究。对所有收集的样本进行组织学和 PCR（细胞色素 c 氧化酶亚单位 1 基因）分析，以鉴定肺线虫。
组织学检查显示，在肺泡空间中存在线虫卵和幼虫，并且在从君士坦丁省收集的一只金豺（Canis lupaster）中检测到慢性阻塞性血管变化。收集到的第一期幼虫被形态学鉴定为血管圆线虫属。分子鉴定证实存在血管圆线虫。所有其他测试的动物均未检测到肺线虫。
据我们所知，这是首次在非洲金豺（Canis lupaster）中报告感染血管圆线虫。我们报告了一个新的宿主关联，强调了进一步研究的重要性，以更新血管圆线虫在阿尔及利亚的地理分布及其流行病学。
