Some Morphological Data of Various Stages of Linguatula Serrata

Linguatula serrata is a zoonotic parasite causing visceral and nasopharyngeal linguatulosis in humans. Dog and other canines are the main definitive hosts while most of herbivores, including ruminants serve as intermediate hosts for linguatulosis. The current abattoir survey aimed to assess some morphological characterizations of different stages (egg, nymphs, male and female adults) of L. serrata. Upper respiratory tract of stray dogs and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of domestic ruminants (goats, buffaloes, cattle and sheep) were examined for the presence of L. serrata. Eggs, adults and nymphal stages of L. serrata were analyzed for morphometric traits. No significant differences were observed in the size of various parts of nymphs collected from different hosts. Larger body size and absent of spines in adult forms were the major different in compared to the nymphs. Eggs were ovoid shape with semi-thickness shell. Probably, semi-thickness shell in eggs protected them from environmental condition and help to transmission of infections to intermediate hosts.