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P Tassi

Publications and source records attributed to P Tassi.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

[Echinococcus granulosus infection in urban areas].

In a previous survey, carried out in 100 dogs in Rome by Tassi and Widenhorn (1977), two animals, which always lived in the urban area, were found infected by Echinococcus granulosus. An urban infection was therefore hypothized. During a following experiment 6 three-month old Beagle dogs were fed for nine months with raw meat sold in the butcheries of Rome as "food for pets". Two dogs of the same breed and origin were fed for the same period with canned food and were kept as control animals. At the end of the experiment three of the six dogs were found infected by E. granulosus, while the renmant three and the two controls resulted negative. An additional similar trial was carried out in Bologna. Three dogs were fed for seven months with the same kind of raw meat sold in three butcheries of Bologna, and a fourth dog was kept as control. At the end of the seven months also one of the three dogs was found infected by E. granulosus. These results seem to confirm the hypothesis of an urban infection by E. granulosus in dogs. Various possibilities of contamination of raw meat sold in butcheries as food for animals are discussed.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Ivermectin against larval stages of Dirofilaria repens in dogs.

The prophylactic efficacy of ivermectin against Dirofilaria repens infections in dogs was investigated. A first trial was carried out on 15 dogs exposed to four inoculations of L3 larvae at 15-day intervals and treated, in groups of five, with 0, 6 or 12 micrograms/kg body weight of ivermectin given per os 30 and 60 days after the first inoculation. Necropsy, performed about 9 months later, revealed that worm burdens were reduced by 86.6 and 92.8% for the 6 and 12 micrograms/kg dose levels, respectively. In a second trial with an otherwise identical protocol, a dose rate of 24 micrograms/kg of ivermectin was tested in 12 dogs. Only one of the six treated dogs was found worm free at necropsy. The worm burden was reduced by 87.9% in treated animals as opposed to controls. A lengthening of the prepatent periods, which might be considered dose related, was apparent in all treated groups. Ivermectin was not completely effective in preventing establishment of experimental infections with D. repens in dogs.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Infection by the warble fly Przhevalskiana silenus Brauer, 1858, in the Italian goats. An update up to 1988.

This paper is a review of the work done at the University of Bari on the goat warble fly Przhevalskiana silenus Brauer, 1858. It reports data concerning taxonomy, biology, and epidemiology of the goat warble fly, as well as therapy against the infection. Grunin in 1962, and later Madel in 1969, were the first researchers to reach the conclusion that the three species of Przhevalskiana up to then recognized--namely P. silenus, P. aegagri, and P. crossii--should be unified in just one--Przhevalskiana silenus. The genetical studies conducted by us on the third instar larvae with the use of 9 gene-enzyme systems confirmed the assumption that P. silenus is the only species which parasitizes goats. Studies were conducted on the external life-cycle of the parasite with the purpose of elucidating the relationship existing among time of dropping, length of time needed for adults to emerge from pupae, and temperature of the environment. Both total sum of temperature and length of time seem to play an important role in determining the duration of the pupal stage. Epidemiological data derived from a two-year survey carried out in six infected groups of goats are also reported. The interrelationship existing among prevalence, mean intensity, variance, variance/mean rate, and parameter K of the negative binomial are presented. It appears that age, parameter K, and variance of infection intensity are closely related. A trial experiment was also carried out to evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin against a natural infection with P. silenus larvae. A single subcutaneous injection of 1% ivermectin was given, at doses of 50, 100 or 200 micrograms/kg b.w. The drug was found to be fully effective at all three doses.

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PubMedDate not supplied

[Research on intestinal parasitic diseases in dogs of the city of Rome].

A survey on the diffusion of intestinal parasites of dogs in the town of Rome. The results of a survey on the diffusion of cestodes and nematodes in a hundred dogs in Rome are reported. The dogs were subjected to fecal examinations --- using both the flottation method and the McMaster method -- and to the post-mortem examination of the intestine. At post-mortem examination 25 dogs were found parasitized by one or more species of nematodes, 19 by one or more species of cestodes and 12 both by cestodes and nematodes for a total of 56 animals parasitized. The parasites were identifed with the following frequency: Dipylidium caninum 28 per cent, Toxocara canis 17 per cent, Uncinaria stenocephala 15 per cent, Trichuris vulpis 10 per cent, Toxascaris leonina 9 per cent, Taenia pisiformis 4 per cent, Echinococcus granulosus 2 per cent, Ancylostoma caninum, T. hydatigena and Mesocestoides lineatus 1 per cent each. The most frequent parasite found in stray dogs was U. stenocephala (33.3 per cent) while among the dogs with owners the most frequent one was D. caninum (31.8 per cent) which was also identified most frequently in dogs over a year of age (31.1 per cent). The dogs under one year of age were more often affected by T. canis (43.7 per cent). In the paper a review of similar Italian surveys is also given.

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