Ascaris species (human/veterinary parasitology) Nematode parasites found in the intestine of many animal species.

The organisms are members of the family Ascarididae. Species includes: Ascaris columnaris, a parasite of wild animals; Ascaris equorum, a parasite of horses; Ascaris lumbricoides, a parasite of humans; Ascaris schroederi and Ascaris suum, parasites of pigs; and Ascaris vitulorum, a parasite of cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats. Ascaris lumbricoides can reach a length of 30 cm and in large numbers can block the gut and kill the host.

Parascaris equorum (veterinary parasitology) (synonym: Ascaris equorum) A species of roundworms in the genus Parascaris that may be found in the small intestine of horses and zebras. In foals up to 9 months of age heavy infestation with migrating larvae causes coughing. Heavy burdens of adult worms may cause diarrhoea (USA: diarrhea), debility, and potbelly in young animals

Host: Pig. Site: Small intestine. Species:

Ascuris srrrrm.

Distribution: Worldwide.

IDENTIFICA TlON
A. suum is by far thc largcst nematode of the pig: the

femalcs arc up to 40.0cm long, and could only be confuscd with M~rr/ilonlhorhyncuws here this occurs. The egg is ovoid and yellowish, with a thick shcll. the outer layer of which is irregularly mamillaled (Fig. 48).

LIFE CYCLE
The life cycle is direct. Though the singlc prcparasitic moult occurs at about three weeks aftcr the egg is passed, a period of maturation is nccessary. and it is not infective until a minimum of four weeks after being passed, even in thc optimal temperature range of 22-26C. The egg is very resistant to temperature extremes, and is viable for more than four years. After infection, the egg hatches in the small intesFig. 48 Eggs of Ascaris suum (60fim x 50fim)

tine and the L, travcls to the liver, where the first parasitic moult takes place. The I,, then pasces in the bloodstream to the l u n ~ast id thence to the small intestine via the trachea. ~ n i hien testine the final two parasitic moults occur. If the eggs arc ingcstcd by an earthworm or dung heetlc thcy will hatch, and the L, travel to the tissues

of thcsc paratenic hosts, where they can remain, fully infective for pigs, for a long period. The prepatent period is between 6 and 8 wccks, and each female womi is capable of producing more than 200000 eggs per day.

PATHOGENESIS
The migrating larval stages in largc numbcrs may cause a transient pneumonia, hut it is now recognized that many cases of so-called 'Ascaris pneumonia' may be attributable to othcr infections, or to piglet anacmia. In the liver, the migrating L, and L, can cause 'milk spot' which appears as cloudy whitish spots of up lo l.0cm in diameter. and renresents thc fibrous reoair of inflammatory reactions t; the passage of larvaein the livers of oreviouslv sensitized u.i z. s (,P late 1V). The adult worms in the intestine cause little apparent damage to the mucosa, but occasionally, if largc numbers are present, there may be obstruction. and rarelv a worm mav migrate into the bilc duct, causiny obstructive jaund&e and carcass condemnation. Experimental infections have shown that in young pigs ihc important effect of alimentary ascariosis & economic, with poor feed conversion and slower weight gains, leading to an extension of thc fattening period by 6-8 weeks.

CLINICAL SIGNS
The main elfect of the adult worms is to cause production loss in terms of diminished weight gain. Othcrwise, clinical signs are absent cxccpt in the occasional case of intestinal or biliary obstruction. In piglets under four months old, larval activity during the pulmonary phasc of migration may cause a clinically evident pncumonia which is usually transient and rapidly resolving.

EPIDEMIOLOGY
A partial age immunity operates in pigs from ahout four months of age onwards, and this, coupled with the fact that the worms themselves have a limited life-span of several months, would suggest that the main source of infection is the highly resistant egg on the ground, a common characteristic of the ascaridoids. Hence 'milk spot', which is economically very important, since it is a cause of much liver condemnation, presents a continuuus problem in some pig estahlishmcnts. This condition has bccn widely noted to have a distinct seasonality of occurrence, appearing in greatest inlidence in temperalc arcas during the warm summer months, and almost disappearing when the temperaturesof autumn, winter and spring arc toolow to allow dcvclopment of eggs to the infective slagc. A, suzrnl may occasionally infect cattle, causing an acute, atypical, interstitial pneumonia, which may prove fatal. In most cases reported the cattle have had access to housing previously occupied by pigs, sometimes 9everal years beforc, or to land fertililed with pig manure. In lambs. A. suum may also bc a cause of clinical pncumonia as well as 'milk spot' lesions, resulting in condemnation of livers. I n ~liosct ases lambs

have been grazcd on land fertilized with pig manure or slurry. such paslurc rcmaining infective for lambs, even after ploughing and cropping. Young adults of A. .suum are occasionally found in thc small intestine of ahccp. Thcrc arc a few recorded cases of patenl A. suum infection in man. farrowing pen, and young pigs should receivc anthelmintic treatment whcn purchased or on entry to the finishing house and 8 wccks later; hoars should be trcatcd every 3 4 months. [Ascariosis in man: The type species, Ascaris lurnbricaides, occurs in man, and at one time it was nol differentiated from A. suum, so that the pig was thought to present a zoonolic risk for man. With morphological distinction now possible, A. lumhricoidrs is acccptcd as specific for man, and is irrelevant to veterinary

medicine.]