<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This is a report of lesions associated with the nematode Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from the proventriculus of the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo (L. 1758). The study was undertaken as part of a health monitoring program for P. carbo, which is endangered and thus protected within the European continent. Cormorants were collected by gun-shot from north-eastern Poland in the spring of 2006, four birds were necropsied on site and the gastrointestinal tract was examined for the presence of nematodes. The birds came from a region with noted increases in the cormorant population over the last decade. Esophageal and gastric sections with parasites in situ were fixed in formalin and processed routinely for paraffin embedding, stained with H&amp;E and examined by brightfield microscopy. Parasite associated lesions consisted of severe, ulcerative gastritis at the attachment sites, and diffuse granulomatous gastritis in adjacent areas. Eosinophilic material speculated to be the parasite-derived excretory-secretory product was consistently forming the parasite-host boundry at the attachment points. Although the parasite-associated gastric lesions were focally severe, all examined birds appeared in good body condition. Because only four birds were investigated in this study, the potential contribution of C. rudolphii to morbidity and mortality in great cormorants needs to be examined further.</p></abstract>

This is a report of lesions associated with the nematode Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from the proventriculus of the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo (L. 1758). The study was undertaken as part of a health monitoring program for P. carbo, which is endangered and thus protected within the European continent. Cormorants were collected by gun-shot from north-eastern Poland in the spring of 2006, four birds were necropsied on site and the gastrointestinal tract was examined for the presence of nematodes. The birds came from a region with noted increases in the cormorant population over the last decade. Esophageal and gastric sections with parasites in situ were fixed in formalin and processed routinely for paraffin embedding, stained with H&E and examined by brightfield microscopy. Parasite associated lesions consisted of severe, ulcerative gastritis at the attachment sites, and diffuse granulomatous gastritis in adjacent areas. Eosinophilic material speculated to be the parasite-derived excretory-secretory product was consistently forming the parasite-host boundry at the attachment points. Although the parasite-associated gastric lesions were focally severe, all examined birds appeared in good body condition. Because only four birds were investigated in this study, the potential contribution of C. rudolphii to morbidity and mortality in great cormorants needs to be examined further.

Pathology associated with Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) infection in the great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (L. 1758)

Department of Invertebrate Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Poland

Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland

Department of Biology, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, USA

Helminthologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

This is a report of lesions associated with the nematode Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from the proventriculus of the great cormorant,...

Pathology associated with Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) infection in the great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (L. 1758)

Published Online: Mar 11, 2011

Page range: 29 - 35

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11687-011-0006-6

Keywords
great cormorant, Contracaecum rudolphii, parasitic gastritis, Phalacrocorax carbo, secretory product

© 2011 Institute of Parasitology, SAS, Košice, Slovakia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Pathology associated with Contracaecum rudolphii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) infection in the great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (L. 1758)

Published Online: Mar 11, 2011

Page range: 29 - 35

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11687-011-0006-6

Keywordsgreat cormorant, Contracaecum rudolphii, parasitic gastritis, Phalacrocorax carbo, secretory product

© 2011 Institute of Parasitology, SAS, Košice, Slovakia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
great cormorant, Contracaecum rudolphii, parasitic gastritis, Phalacrocorax carbo, secretory product