Crustacea

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PARASITES



Introduction

Linguatula serrata

150px - copyright Cooper Curtice (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1890) Wikimedia Commons
  • Also known as the 'tongue worm'

Recognition

  • Tongue-like appearance
    • Expanded anteriorly
  • Adults are over 10cm in length
    • Females measure betwen 30-130mm in length
    • Males measure up to 20mm in length
  • Transversely striated

Life Cycle

  • 6 month life cycle
  • Adults inhabit the nasal passages of dogs and sometimes cats
  • Eggs are expelled by coughing and sneezing or are passed out with the faeces
  • Herbivorous intermediate hosts ingest the eggs
  • Eggs hatch in the herbivore intestine
  • Larvae migrate to the mesenteric lymph nodes and encyst to become infective nymphs
    • Cysts measure 1mm in diameter
  • When a dog eats infeced uncooked viscera the life cycle is completed
  • Infective nymphs migrate from the viscera during chewing and crawl up into the nasal cavity via the soft palate
  • Infective nymphs mature to adults in the nasal cavities and can survive for a year in the final host

Pathogenesis

  • Heavy infection leads to coughing, sneezing and nasal discharge

Sea Lice

Links

Pathology of Linguata serrata in the nasal passages