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On the recovery of horsehair worms, Gordius sp. (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) from pork in Shillong, India

Journal of Parasitic Diseases volume 41, pages 302–304 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

The members of the phylum Nematomorpha, called as horsehair or gordian worms, are the parasites of arthropods and emerge from their host for reproduction and early development in water. There are about 360 species of nematomorphs described till date. Although, horsehair worms are parasites of arthropod species, sporadic cases of their occurrence have also been reported from several other hosts, including man. This paper describes a case history of the occurrence of two nematomorph worms in the meat of a pig in Shillong, India. The worms were reported to have emerged in live condition from pork bought by a consumer from local market in Shillong. One of the recovered specimens was studied by scanning electron microscopy for species determination and identified as Gordius sp., mainly on the basis of flat polygonal areoles and fine bristles on the cuticle.

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Acknowledgments

We thank SAIF, NEHU, Shillong for SEM facilities. R Laha and A Sen thank the Director, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam for providing the necessary facilities.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, 793022, India

    Arun K. Yadav

  2. Zoological Museum, University Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa

  3. Division of Animal Health, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, 793103, India

    R. Laha & A. Sen

Authors
  1. Arun K. Yadav
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  2. Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa
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  3. R. Laha
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  4. A. Sen
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Correspondence to Arun K. Yadav.

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Yadav, A.K., Schmidt-Rhaesa, A., Laha, R. et al. On the recovery of horsehair worms, Gordius sp. (Nematomorpha: Gordiida) from pork in Shillong, India. J Parasit Dis 41, 302–304 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-016-0789-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-016-0789-y

Keywords

  • Nematomorpha
  • Gordian worms
  • Pig meat
  • Infection