Metastrongylus		Contents		Rev 09/21/2024
Lungworms of Swine		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Metastrongylus Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Metastrongylidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

  Rhabditia

    Rhabditida

      Metarongyloidea

        Metastrongylidae

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Morphology and Anatomy:

The utility of morphological features for Metastrongylus species identification is supported by molecular analyses (Conole et al. 1999). Metastrongylus species can be relatively easily differentiated by microscopic study of morphological features, mainly spicule and bursa charcteristics of males and pre- and post-vulval swellings in females.  (Gassu et al., 2014).

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Distribution:

Widely distributed in swine poulations, both wild and domestic.

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Feeding:

  Earthworms are intermediate hosts and pigs are the definitive hosts.

Metastrongylus species are parasites of the respiratory tract of swine (Vanparijs and Thienpont 1982).

These widely distributed helminths are particularly prevalent and abundant in young swine hoats, with acquired immunity usually developing in adults (Heise-Pavlov and Heise-Pavlov 2003). The Metastrongylus infection is ever-present in wild swine populations and in extensively raised domestic pigs (Gassu et al., 2014).

Metastrongylus infection causes dyspnea and progressive weight loss due to the destruction of interstitial tissues, obstruction of the lungs (Alcaide et al. 2005), with those animals showing moderate or severe immunodepression more susceptible to negative health impacts. Concomitant infection, such as with circovirus, can cause fatal bronchopneumonia (Marruchella et al. 2012)

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

Metastrongylus species are parasites of the respiratory tract of swine with indirect life cycles in several earthworm species (Vanparijs and Thienpont 1982).

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

Anthelminthics: treatment with flubendazole.

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References:

Alcaide, M., Frontera, E., Rodríguez, M.J., Sáez, I.E., Domínguez-Alpízar, J.L., Reina, D., Navarrete, I. 2005 Parasitosis pulmonares del cerdo ibérico Situación actual de la metastrongilosis en España. Mundo Ganadero 176:40-44.

Conole, J.C., Chilton, N.B., Järvis, T., Gasser, R.B. 1999 Intraspecific and interspecific variation in the second internal transcribed spacer sequence for Metastrongylus (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) detected by high resolution PCR-linked restriction fragment length polymorphism. Int. J Parasitol 29:1935-–1940. doi:10.1016/S0020-7519(99) 00149-6

Gassu, D., Rossi, L., Mentaberre, G., Casas, E., Velarde, R., Nosal, P., Serrano, E., Segales, J., Fernandez-Llario, F., Feliu, C. 2014. An identification key for the five most common species of Metastrongylus. Parasitol. Res. 113:3495-3500 DOI 10.1007/s00436-014-4001-y

Heise-Pavlov, P.M,, Heise-Pavlov, S.R. 2003 Feral pigs in tropical lowland rainforest of northeastern Australia: ecology, zoonoses and management. Wildl Biol 9:21-27

Marruchella G, Paoletti B, Speranza R, Di Guardo G (2012) Fatal bronchopneumonia in a Metastrongylus elongatus and Porcine circovirus type 2 co-infected pig. Res Vet Sci 93:310–312. doi:10. 1016/j.rvsc.2011.05.016

Vanparijs, O., Thienpont, D. 1982 The earthworm Eisenia foetida as intermediate host for artificial infection of pigs with Metastrongylus apri and treatment with flubendazole. Parasitology 84:R-45

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: September 21, 2024.

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