Folia Parasitologica 55[1] 13-16 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.003

Rodents as intermediate hosts of Hepatozoon ayorgbor (Apicomplexa: Adeleina: Hepatozoidae) from the African ball python, Python regius?

Michal Sloboda1, Martin Kamler1, Jana Bulantová2, Jan Votýpka2,3, David Modrý1,3
1 Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého 1-3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic
2 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic
3 Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Two experimental trials were performed to elucidate the role of rodents in the life cycle of Hepatozoon species using snakes as intermediate hosts. In one trial, two ball pythons, Python regius Shaw, 1802 were force fed livers of laboratory mice previously inoculated with sporocysts of Hepatozoon ayorgbor Sloboda, Kamler, Bulantová, Votýpka et Modrý, 2007. Transmission was successful in these experimentally infected snakes as evidenced by the appearance of intraerythrocytic gamonts, which persisted until the end of trial, 12 months after inoculation. Developmental stages of haemogregarines were not observed in histological sections from mice. In another experimental trial, a presence of haemogregarine DNA in mice inoculated with H. ayorgbor was demonstrated by PCR in the liver, lungs and spleen.

Keywords: haemogregarines, Adeleina, Hepatozoon, transmission, ICR mice, life cycle

Received: October 3, 2007; Accepted: November 15, 2007; Published: March 1, 2008  Show citation

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Sloboda, M., Kamler, M., Bulantová, J., Votýpka, J., & Modrý, D. (2008). Rodents as intermediate hosts of Hepatozoon ayorgbor (Apicomplexa: Adeleina: Hepatozoidae) from the African ball python, Python regius? Folia Parasitologica, 55(1), 13-16. doi: 10.14411/fp.2008.003
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