Numerous factors, such as soil fertility, climatic conditions, human activity, pests, and diseases, limit agricultural yields. Pesticides and fertilizers have become indispensable tools to satisfy the global food demand. However, its adverse environmental effects have led to the search for more sustainable and ethical techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the winter of 2022-2023, hundreds of the Atlantic puffins () appeared dead in the coast of the Canary Islands, a rare event considering their cold-living habits, normally occupying the North Atlantic Ocean. In this work, investigation about the parasites present in the Atlantic puffins found in the biggest islands of the Archipelago was carried out from a population portion. Necropsies of 39 birds were made and, during the examination of the urinary tracts, helminths were found.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a metastrongyloid nematode and the etiologic agent of angiostrongyliasis, a disease characterized by eosinophilic meningitis. This emerging zoonotic parasite has undergone great expansion, including in some regions of Europe and America. In the Canary Islands, the parasite was first discovered parasitizing on the island of Tenerife in 2010.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLizards belonging to the genus are native to America and have been introduced in many parts of the world. In this work, a gastrointestinal microbiological analysis from sp. introduced to Tenerife, Canary Island, was carried out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study aimed to perform the molecular identification of larvae in commercial fish from the coast of the Canary Islands and to provide data on their infection level for the host and the species of this nematode parasite that we could find in several species of commercial interest in the Canary Archipelago. Fish specimens (n = 172) from the Canary coasts were examined for parasites. In total, 495 larvae were identified; PCR was carried out for the entire ITS rDNA and cox2 mtDNA region, obtaining sixteen sequences for the entire ITS rDNA region and fifteen for the cox2 mtDNA, this being the first contribution of nucleotide sequences of species of fish caught from the Canary Islands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cat flea Ctenocephalides felis is the main vector of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, the causative agents of cat-scratch disease (CSD) and the spotted-fever agent Rickettsia felis. In spite of their worldwide distribution, there are no data on the occurrence of CSD-causing Bartonella species or the prevalence of Rickettsia species in the Canary Islands, Spain. Therefore, the aim of our study was to screen cat and dog fleas for both pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBecause isolated ecosystems contribute to species variability, especially oceanic island ecosystems, the present work focused on the study of the Bartonella species and haplotypes in Lanzarote and El Hierro, two Canary islands with evident bioclimatic differences between them. A total of 123 rodents and 110 fleas from two islands were screened for the presence of Bartonella by PCR analysis of the gltA and nuoG genes. The overall prevalence was 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActinomycetes are a wide group of Gram positive prokaryotes, the soil being their most characteristic habitat, where they play important ecological functions. Their immense biotechnological potential as producers of bioactive molecules of great commercial and industrial interest is exemplified by most antibiotics for clinical use being derived from this group of bacteria. In this work several methodologies and culture media were tested for the isolation of actinomycetes in soils from three different edafoclimatic areas of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain): an arid zone of the southeast coast of the island, a humid area in the laurel forest and the Canary high mountain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRoads fragment vertebrate populations and affect the dynamics and dispersal patterns of vertebrate parasites. We evaluated how vertebrate ticks distribute near roads and road underpasses in human-caused road-fragmented landscapes in Seville, SW Spain. We sampled 49 stations with 93 individualized sampling points and assessed tick abundance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper reports the role of darkling beetles Pimelia laevigata costipennis and Hegeter amaroides (Tenebrionidae) as intermediate hosts of spiruroid nematodes parasites of the black rat and house mouse of El Hierro (Canary Islands). Larvae of spiruroid species were found in the two tenebrionids (18.1% in P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe flagellated parasite Giardia duodenalis is known as one of the most common causes of protozoal diarrhoea in both humans and animals worldwide. The aim of the present work was to perform the first study of G. duodenalis in rodents in the Canary Islands (Spain) and analyse the level of genetic variation and the potential zoonotic role of the isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe parasite fauna (protozoa, helminths and insects) of the two most widespread Murinae rodents in El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain), the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) was studied. Faunistic, ecological, ecotoxicological data, as well as information on the biology of some nematode parasites of R. rattus are provided.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work the influence of oxygen injection on the inactivation of microbiological indicators during reclaimed wastewater transportation was studied. Experiments were carried out in a completely filled gravity pipe (62 km long), at two different periods of the year and with three different oxygen doses (7, 15 and 30 mg L(-1)). Microbiological parameters studied were faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci and somatic coliphages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParastrongylus cantonensis is a parasite of murid rodents that can infect humans and cause health problems as eosinophilic meningitis. Although it is endemic in south Asia, the Pacific islands, Australia, USA, and a few Caribbean islands, it has been extended to new geographical regions. In the Canary Islands (Spain) a survey of helminths of Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus domesticus was carried out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Egypt, the genotyping study of Giardia intestinalis in human is limited. To determine the prevalence of G. intestinalis, faecal samples were collected from Egypt.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGiardia duodenalis (syn. Giardia lamblia, Giardia intestinalis) is a wide-spread intestinal protozoa of both humans and animals. Although giardiosis in goat is commonly asymptomatic, young kids may bear an enteric disease associated with persistent diarrhoea and delayed weight gain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntestinal helminths and blood protozoa are common parasites of lizards. In captivity they can be a serious problem, but no information on treatments is available. In this study, several antiparasitic drugs were studied in Gallotia caesaris (Lacertida) from La Gomera, the Canary Islands, Spain.
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