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Capillaria Species of Humans

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Parasitology

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Name

Latin: capillus = hair of head; philippinensis =belongs to the Philippines. English: capillary.

Geographic Distribution/Epidemiology

Worldwide occurrence in different densities; epidemics in crowded farms or in rural regions.

Morphology/Life Cycles

There are several species, which use different animals as final hosts (see Capillaria species of animals); however, some of them (e.g., Capillaria aerophila, C. hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum) or C. philippinensis) parasitize also in humans (Fig. 1). The adults live in species-specific organs (C. philippinensis in the small intestine; C. hepatica in liver). Adults of C. hepatica are long (♀ = 8–10 cm, ♂ = 3 cm), while those of C. philippinensis are tiny (♀ = 3 cm, ♂ = 3 mm). The larva 1 develops inside excreted eggs within 1–2 weeks. These larvae 1 may be ingested directly by the final hosts or by an earthworm (e.g., C. aerophila), wherein the larva 3 develops as it occurs in the eggs of the other species. In the case of C....

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Further Readings

  • Führer HP (2013) An overview of the host spectrum and distribution of Calodium hepaticum (syn. C. hepatica), part 2: Mammalia. Parasitol Res. doi:10.1007/s00436-013-3692-9

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  • Führer HP et al (2011) Capillaria hepatica in man – an overview of hepatic caparillosis and spurious infections. Parasitol Res 109:969–979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li CD et al (2010) Capillaria hepatica in China. World J Gastroenterol 16:698–702

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Traversa D et al (2010) Canine and feline cardiopulmonary parasitic nematodes in Europe: emerging and underestimated. Parasitol Vectors 3:62–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Traversa D et al (2011) New insights into morphological and biological features of Capillaria aerophila. Parasitol Res 109:S97–S104

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Zoomorphologie, Zellbiologie und Parasitologie Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

Authors
  1. Heinz Mehlhorn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heinz Mehlhorn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoomorphology and Parasitology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Mehlhorn, H. (2015). Capillaria Species of Humans. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_3911-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_3911-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27769-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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