Abstract
BackgroundHippobosca longipennis (the 'dog louse fly') is a blood sucking ectoparasite found on wild carnivores such as cheetahs and lions and domesticated and feral dogs in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including China. Known as an intermediate host for Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides and a transport host for Cheyletiella yasguri, it has also been suggested that H. longipennis may be a vector for other pathogens, including Acanthocheilonema sp.? nov., which was recently reported to infect up to 48% of dogs in northern India where this species of fly is known to commonly infest dogs. To test this hypothesis, hippoboscid flies feeding on dogs in Ladakh in northern India were collected and subjected to microscopic dissection.ResultsA total of 12 infective larvae were found in 10 out of 65 flies dissected; 9 from the head, 2 from the thorax and 1 from the abdomen. The larvae averaged 2, 900 (± 60) μm in length and 34 (± 5) μm in width and possessed morphological features characteristic of the family Onchocercidae. Genetic analysis and comparison of the 18S, ITS-2, 12S and cox-1 genes confirmed the identity of the larvae as the Acanthocheilonema sp.? nov. reported in dogs in Ladakh.ConclusionThis study provides evidence for a potential intermediate host-parasite relationship between H. longipennis and the canine Acanthocheilonema sp.? nov. in northern India.
Highlights
Hippobosca longipennis is a blood sucking ectoparasite found on wild carnivores such as cheetahs and lions and domesticated and feral dogs in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including China
Despite careful examination of different anatomical regions of the flies during dissection, only infective larvae were observed; this is similar to the findings of Nelson [17] who failed to find other developmental stages of larvae of A. dracunculoides except for a single second stage larva found in the abdominal cavity
It is reported that the developmental period from L1 to infective larvae for A. reconditum in fleas and A. dracunculoides in ticks is approximately seven days and thirteen days, respectively [16,27]
Summary
Hippobosca longipennis (the ‘dog louse fly’) is a blood sucking ectoparasite found on wild carnivores such as cheetahs and lions and domesticated and feral dogs in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including China. Nov., which was recently reported to infect up to 48% of dogs in northern India where this species of fly is known to commonly infest dogs To test this hypothesis, hippoboscid flies feeding on dogs in Ladakh in northern India were collected and subjected to microscopic dissection. The family Hippoboscidae is divided into three subfamilies; Lipopteninae, Ornithomyiinae and Hippoboscinae This family represents one of the most important blood-sucking insect groups of birds and ruminants [2], comparatively little attention has been paid to their role as an ectoparasite of dogs and their potential as an intermediate host for canine parasites. The fly has been reported infesting Indian dogs since 1966 and has been reported in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal and the eastern zone of Maharashtra state [3,5,9,10]
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