Dioctophyma Renale Flashcards
Found in?
Europe, north america, south america and china
Known as the largest parasitic nematode of domesticated
animals
Dioctophyma renale
Synonym
Eustrongylus gigas
Common name
Giant kidney worm
Color of adults
Blood red
Infective stage
3rd stage larva
Habitat
Kidney (typically the right kidney) and less frequently
to the abdominal cavity of mammals
It destroys the kidney substance leaving an
enlarged cystic shell containing the coiled worm
and purulent material.
o If both kidneys were invaded, the host would die
and the worm would become extinct.
D. renale
Definitive hist
Mink, dogs, foxes, and other carnivores;
fish eating mammals
Intermediate host
Oligochaete, annelids, earthworm
Paratenic
Fish and frogs
Lifespan
5 yrs
Diagnosis
Eggs in urine
Urine sedimentation
Clinical signs of infection
Usually the left kidney is able to serve the entire body and the infection is asymptomatic
CLINICAL SIGNS OF INFECTION:
Vomiting often occurs when the third larval stage penetrates
into the wall of the stomach
TREATMENT
