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1 October 1992 Sparganosis in the Monotremes Tachyglossus aculeatus and Ornithorhynchus anatinus in Australia
Richard Whrttington, David Middleton, David M. Spratt, Fenella Muntz, Brendan Carmel, Helen E. McCracken, Michael R. Strakosch, Jill Stephanson-Shaw, Peter A. W. Harper, W. J. Hartley
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Abstract

Sparganosis in the echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus, is characterized by large subcutaneous masses that may be confused with neoplasms. Plerocercoids, believed to be Spirometra erinacei, were found in the ventral or lateral subcutaneous tissues of three echidnas. In each case there was a prominent fibrous mass ≤12 cm in diameter enclosing plerocercoids, which were surrounded by an intense inflammatory infiltrate dominated by plasma cells and lymphocytes, with focal suppuration. Multiple, small (≤2 mm) plerocercoids were present in the lungs and pleural cavity of a fourth echidna that died due to severe pneumonitis. Several plerocercoids also were found in the lung of a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) associated with parenchymal compression and focal pneumonia.

Whrttington, Middleton, Spratt, Muntz, Carmel, McCracken, Strakosch, Stephanson-Shaw, Harper, and Hartley: Sparganosis in the Monotremes Tachyglossus aculeatus and Ornithorhynchus anatinus in Australia
Richard Whrttington, David Middleton, David M. Spratt, Fenella Muntz, Brendan Carmel, Helen E. McCracken, Michael R. Strakosch, Jill Stephanson-Shaw, Peter A. W. Harper, and W. J. Hartley "Sparganosis in the Monotremes Tachyglossus aculeatus and Ornithorhynchus anatinus in Australia," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 28(4), 636-640, (1 October 1992). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-28.4.636
Received: 16 August 1991; Published: 1 October 1992
KEYWORDS
Australia
case reports
cestodes
echidna
monotreme
natural infection
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
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