SKRJABINEMA OVIS (SKRJABIN, 1915) WERESCHTSCHAGIN, 1925, AN
OXYURID PARASITE OF THE GOAT (CAPRA HIRCUS) IN INDIA
By S. N. VAIDYANATHAN, G.M.V.C., Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Parasitology Section,
Madras Veterinary College
(Received for publication on 9 November 1942)
ABDUSSALAAM [1938] appears to be the only
worker who has recorded Skrjabinema ovis in
India. His collection consisted of two female
worms which were recovered alive from a speck of
mucus passed by a one-year-old fat-tailed sheep
suffering from diarrhoea at Jahania (Punjab).
According to him, the specimens are in conformity
with the Russian and British specimens, in all
important measurements.
During the contagious caprine pleuro-pneumonia
experiments conducted at the Madras Veterinary
College, the writer, in 1939, while collecting
parasites from goats, came across members, both
males and females, of an oxyurid parasite indis-
tinguishable from Skrjabinema ovis in the colon
of several goats; so opportunity is taken to record,
for the first time, their incidence in goats in India.
The following is a brief description of the worm,
from typical specimens of the Madras collection.
A very marked feature is the difference in size of
the sexes. The male measures up to 3.50 mm.
and the female 7.00 mm. A small buccal cavity
bounded by a complicated arrangement of lips
and interlabia of the tri-radiate type can be made
out. The head end bears a cuticular inflation
which is more marked in the female than in the
male. A pair of lateral alae, bearing fine stria-
tions, run along from behind this inflation.
The lateral alae are less prominent in the
male than in the female. In the female the alae
extend almost the entire length of the worm, except
for a short distance from the hind end. The
lateral alae in the male appear to be contiguous
with a caudal alar expansion. The oesophagus is
cylindrical, with a large spherical bulb posteriorly.
The cylindrical portion measures 0.35 mm. in the
male and 0.60 mm. in the female. The diameter
of the posterior bulb is 0.12 mm. and 0.20 mm. in
the male and female respectively.
The caudal alar expansion of the male is almost
circular in shape and held in position by a pair of
pre and post anal processes. The preanal processes
are much larger of the two and bear at their tips
a small papilla each. The papillae at the end of
the processes protrude outside the alar expansion.
Between the bases of the processes and situated
adanally, may be seen a pair of swellings behind
the cloaca, each bearing three minute papillae.
The tail of the male ends in a short, conspicuous
spike. A single stout spicule measuring 0.08 mm.
glides on an accessory piece 0.023 mm. long.
The female has a distinct tail measuring 0.80
mm.; the vulva is situated anterior to the middle
of the worm. It leads into a broad vagina,
directed obliquely forward.
Pathogenesis
According to Abdussalaam [1938], 'the
diarrhoea and other symptoms in the host animal
at Jahania (Punjab) were too severe to be attri-
butable to the presence of this parasite'. Monnig
[1934] considers they are 'apparently not patho-
genic, but may be mistaken for young forms of
other nematodes'. The writer did not observe any
symptoms in the goats, from which these speci-
mens were obtained, that could be attributed to
this parasite.
Incidence
Out of 70 goats subjected to a random
examination as many as nine had Skrjabinema
ovis. These were found mostly amongst the
younger lots. The percentage incidence of
Skrjabinema ovis in goats, judging from the supply
for the contagious caprine pleuro-pneumonia
experiments, from different localities, not only
in and around Madras but also places far off,
suggests the possible distribution of this parasite
throughout this part of the country.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The writer is indebted to Rao Sahib M.
Anant Narayan Rao, Lecturer in Parasitology,
Madras Veterinary College, for kindly confirming
the identity of the specimens.
REFERENCES
Abdussalaam, M. (1938). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 8, 15-7
Monnig, H. O. (1934). Veterinary Helminthology and
Entomology. Bailliere, Tindall & Cox, London
240