Some studies on spontaneous Hymenolepis diminuta infection in laboratory rats

Hymenolepis diminuta is a tapeworm that occurs worldwide. It is known to be found commonly in areas where large amounts of food grains or other dry feed products, which are the favorite foods for rats. Transmission of disease to human is uncommon; however, it may be a serious threat for population who are living in rural areas which are suffering from excessive rodents. Here, this study had done on spontaneous H. diminuta infection in laboratory rats as a model. Out of thirty five adult laboratory rats investigated for parasitic diseases only nine (25.71%) were diagnosed positive for spontaneous H. diminuta infection. Four of them (44.44%) were found losing of weight and lacking of motility, while the others were normal. On microscopic examination, H. diminuta eggs had been found in their stool. On autopsy, small intestines were found to contain from 5-6 multi-segmented tapeworms in each rat. Histopathologically, intestinal lumen showed varying sections of H. diminuta segments with serrated borders. H. diminuta infection caused multiple mucosal ulcers with absence of intestinal villi from the surface epithelium and excessive mucin. Moreover, inflammatory cells infiltration in the connective tissue core of the villi. Furthermore, the Toluidine blue stain showed that there are Mastiocytosis. Additionally, there were goblet cells hyperplasia on using PAS. Moreover, there were high expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and inducible Nitric-Oxide Synthase (iNOs). This implicate, strong correlation between COX-2, TNF-α and iNOs expression and inflammation induced by H. diminuta.