Name
Greek: stoma = mouth. Latin: oesophagus = oesophagus; dentatus = with teeth; radiates = radiating; venulosus = in veins; bifurcatus = with two terminal spikes; quadrispinulatus = with four spines. English: nodular worms.
Geographic Distribution/Epidemiology
Worldwide. Human cases due to O. bifurcatus in West Africa (Togo, Ghana), which normally occurs in monkeys, have a considerable local medical importance. In European pig farms, Oesophagostomum worms reach prevalence rates of up to 80 %.
Morphology/Life Cycle
Important Oesophagostomum species are
- 1.
O. dentatum, O. quadrispinulatum in pigs and boars
- 2.
O.venulosum, O. radiatum, O. columbianum in ruminants
- 3.
O. bifurcatus in monkeys and humans
The adult worms appear yellow white and live mainly in the colon but also in the cecum, where they induce name-giving nodule formation (Fig. 1). The males measure 6–17 mm in length, while the females reach up to 24 mm. Their mouth capsules are short and rather broad, being surrounded by...
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Joachim A et al (1997) Use of random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction for the definition of genetic markers for species and strains of porcine Oesophagostomum. Parasitol Res 83:646–654
Ondrovicy M et al (2013) Proteomic analysis of Oesophagostomum dentatum during larval transition. PLoS One 8(5):e63955
Petersen HH et al (2014) Parasite population dynamics in pigs infected with Trichuris suis and Oesophagostomum dentatum. Vet Parasitol 199:73–80
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© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mehlhorn, H. (2016). Oesophagostomum Species. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_2191
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_2191
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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