PubMed · 14933475
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D BELL, A BOWMAN. 1952. Operation hookworm.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14933475/
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Bloodfeeding (hematophagous) parasites have evolved effective means of inhibiting mammalian thrombosis, thereby facilitating the acquisition and digestion of a bloodmeal. To date, specific inhibitors of coagulation and platelet function have been identified from numerous invertebrate species, representing an impressive array of convergent functional strategies. These parasite antithrombotics, in addition to playing a critical role in the diseases caused or transmitted by bloodfeeding invertebrates, may also serve as potentially useful therapeutic agents for the treatment of a variety of conditions associated with activation of thrombosis. A number of naturally occurring anticoagulants and platelet inhibitors have been evaluated in vivo, with some currently in varying stages of preclinical and clinical development. Because of the unique specificity and potency of parasite antithrombotics, these invertebrate natural products hold great promise for improving the treatment of a variety of human illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
During a study on the mortality of California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups born on San Miguel Island, California in 2002, two adult female hookworms (Uncinaria spp) were found penetrating the serosal surface of the intestinal wall and protruding into the peritoneal cavity of one pup. Documentation and a description of this unexpected finding and associated lesions are presented here. Also, adult hookworms were found in the peritoneal fluid of two other dead Z. californianus pups.
Considerable effort has been put into detecting and identifying parasitic nematodes in live ruminants, but to date most studies are limited to a small group of nematodes and/or to experimentally infected sheep. In this study, a PCR-based assay using species-specific primer pairs, located in the second internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA, was developed to identify nine different species from six different families of parasitic nematodes in a wild, unmanaged and naturally infected population of sheep. Each primer pair was tested for its specificity and sensitivity and it exclusively amplified the species it was designed for and exhibited a high degree of sensitivity. The method was applied to eggs and cultured larvae to identify the parasitic nematodes present in a pooled faecal sample from several host individuals with unknown parasite burden. To test detection reliability, a faecal sample from an individual with known parasite burden (through post-mortem analysis) was also examined. All species present could be correctly identified by PCR, but detecting very low levels and/or early stages of infection proved to be difficult. The method was also tested for its applicability to high through-put screening of faecal samples.