<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kristina Lehnert</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Eva Schwanke</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Kerstin Hahn</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Peter Wohlsein</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ursula Siebert</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Heart worm (Acanthocheilonema spirocauda) and seal louse (Echinophthirius horridus) infections in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from the North and Baltic Seas</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Sea Research</style></secondary-title><short-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Journal of Sea Research</style></short-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Acanthocheilonema spirocauda</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Harbour sea</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">life-cycle</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">microfilariae</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">parasites</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2016</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Jan-07-2016</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1385110115300150</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">113</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">65 - 72</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;The seal louse (Echinophthirius [E.] horridus) and the heartworm (Acanthocheilonema [A.] spirocauda) are parasites of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). Little is known about the role of the seal louse as a potential vector and its role for the development and transmission of heartworm larvae to their final host, the harbour seal. The life-cycle of the heartworm is still not fully understood. For the presented study, findings of 1191 stranded harbour seals collected along the North- and Baltic Sea coast between 1996 and 2013 were examined. 4.4% (n = 53) of these harbour seals were infected with adult heartworms and 3.4% (n = 40) harbour seals carried seal lice. The highest prevalence and level of infection with adult heartworms (A. spirocauda) (9.3%) and seal lice (E. horridus) (8.9%) were found on yearling harbour seals (7&amp;ndash;18 months) compared to neonate and adult seals. Investigating seal lice (n = 35) for larval heartworm stages one larvae was encountered in an ethanol- fixated seal louse. During a health monitoring survey of live harbour seals, 109 animals were captured and exam- ined during spring and autumn between 2008 and 2014. Blood samples were taken and microfilariae were dis- covered in blood smears in 41% (n = 45) of the examined harbour seals. Yearling seals (n = 21) showed higher prevalence (86%) and level of infection with microfilariae than adults. Microfilariae were identified as A. spirocauda by sequencing the species-specific COI gene in 24 blood samples. The high prevalence of microfilariae of A. spirocauda in blood samples (41%) is in contrast to the low prevalence of mature infections/ adult specimens in stranded seals (4.4%) investigated. Although rare parasites of seals, the recent increase in prevalence of heartworm and seal lice in stranded seals and the relatively high occurrence of microfilaria in the free-ranging population underscore the importance of further studies investigating the immunology of infections and their transmission pathways, as well as the epidemiology of both species.&lt;/p&gt;
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