Paleoparasitological reexamination of rodent coprolites from Argentinean Patagonia, considering current parasitological data

FUGASSA M; PETRIGH R; ROBLES, M. R.

La Plata

Congreso; III Congreso Panamericano de Zoonosis y VIII Congreso Argentino de Zoonosis; 2014

Asociación Argentina de Zoonosis

Previous paleoparasitological studies were developed in Alero Mazquiarán, an archaeological site located in the south of Chubut Province, Argentina. In those studies, coprolites from Cricetidae rodents (don?t identified) were examined and three species of parasites were found(Pterygodermatites sp. Wedl, 1861, Trichosomoides crassicauda Bellingham, 1840 (Nematoda) and Monoecocestus sp. Beddard, 1914 (Cestoda)). Among these parasites, the trichosomoidids are zoonotic nematodes and, in this sense, the paleoparasitological studies will allow to understand the distribution of parasites in time and space. Currently, new parasitological studies in sigmodontine rodents are being carried out in Santa Cruz Province, in an area near to that mentioned archaeological site. In this context, it is interesting to contrast the previously obtained results with the new information presented in the current study, to contributing to the interpretation of epidemiological models. This paper reexamines the paleoparasitological findings reported previously in analyzed rodent coprolites, considering the study of new modern available samples. In particular, in this work, we reexamine the identity of a nematode assigned to the family Trichosomoididae using morphological and molecular studies. The paleoparasitology contributes to know the history of parasite-host relationships and opens a new page to study the spatial and temporal dimension of parasitism. The emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases over time can be better understood with paleoparasitological studies.