Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 12. (Budapest, 1979)

1. Cysticercus taeniae ovis krabbei Verster, 1969 (Figs. 2-6 and 8) Intermediate hosts: Capreolus capreolus, Cervus elaphus, Dama dama, Ovis musimon.- Localization: Cardiac and skeletal musculature. - Extensity: 32% in C. capreolus, 18% in C. elaphus, 6% in D. dama, 12% in O. musimon. - Intensity: 1-145 cysticerci. - Occurs all over Hungary (Tables 2-5). Description of deer measles: Oval cysticerci which are situated on the surface, occasionally on the inside of the muscles. The wall of the cyst on the surface of muscles is a thin, transparent "window", usuaUy slightly protruding from the surface. Measurements of cysts range from 2x2 to 5x8 mm. The cyst is entirely filled with the larva, which is transparent as well, an oval or globular caudal bladder of a diameter of 2-3.5 mm, with invaginated scolex and neck, although they may sometimes be extroverted (Fig. 3). The interior of Cysticercus is filled with transparent liquid in which the scolex appears to be a white spot to the naked eye. The diameter of scolex is 0. 65 mm, length of neck and scolex is 2 mm. Four suckers (0. 26-0. 28 mm in diameter) and a double circle of hooks are found on the scolex. In a sample of 100 cysts from roe deer, hooks numbered 24-31 (average 28), large hooks 0. 143-0. 171 mm long (av. 0. 163 mm), small hooks 0. 096-0. 127 mm long (av. 0. 109 mm). The same data for 10 specimens obtained from red deer: hooks 27-36 in number, large hooks 0. 149-0. 177 mm long, small hooks 0.096-0. 122 mm long. There is little variation in size between specimens from the various intermediate hosts. Often (especially in roe deer older than one year, in red deer, in aU fallow deer and mouflon) the caudal bladder is fiUed with cheesy, yeUow excrement. Hooks may also be found occasionally in these bladders, but never in cysts in moufflon and fallow deer which probably kill the cysticerci by violent immune reaction before the scolex develops. Deer measles were found in 113 roe deer (32%) and in 13 red deer (18%). Infection rates are probably higher, because in roe and red deer carcasses which afforded the possibility of a painstaking examination of the entire musculature the ratio of infected specimens to the number examined was 26/28 (92%) and 6/8 (75%), respectively. Larvae number 1-145 per intermediate host (average of 13 for 17 thoroughly examined roe deer). In one red deer, from which only the heart and diaphragm were sent in for examination, 23 larvae were found, so presumably over 200 cysticerci might have occurred in the animal. According to our observations, C. ovis krabbei may settle in any part of the skeletal musculature (most often in muscles of the scapula and upper hind limb, less often in intercostal, cervical, thoracic, lumbal and abdominal musculature, and muscles of the upper and lower forelimb and lower hind limb). Occasionally cysts were found in lingual and cardiac musculature. The frequency of occurrence of deer measles in the heart of thoroughly examined and otherwise infected animals is 4/17 (23%). Cysts are mostly just below the surface of the muscles (when they may be detected by the naked eye), in many cases however they may be situated deep in the muscle. Definitive hosts: Adult Taenia ovis krabbei specimens were found in stray dogs which had been infected naturally; in the laboratory foxes and dogs were succesfully infected by measles from roe deer. Reinfection of sheep and goats was also attempted, but only dead measles without hooks were developed. Notes. In the course of taxonomical revision of the genus Taenia L., 1758, VERSTER (1969) examined the type-specimens of Taenia krabbei Mordez, 1879, T, cervi Christiansen, 1931, and T. djeirani Boev, Sokolova and Tazieva, 1964. Based upon these specimens, she described the subspecies T. ovis krabbei Verster, 1969, of T. ovis (Cobbold, 1869). Taeniids in fact morphologically closely resembling T. ovis were relegated to a subspecies characteristic for the Northern Hemisphere, which is differentiated by a different host spectrum (

C. ovis in sheep, the species grouped under the name C. ovis krabbei in Cervidae species). T. krabbei Moniez, 1879, T. cervi Christiansen, 1931, and T. djeirani Boev, Sokolova and Tazieva, 19 64, are in synonimy with T. ovis krabbei Verster, 1969. We agree with VERSTER; the morphological examination of Hungarian deer measles shows that the structure of cysts and the measurements of scolices and hooks correspond with the averages given by VERSTER. Sheep measles have not been found in sheep by meat inspectors over the last few decades in Hungary. Dr. Olga LEPOJEVA (1979, pers. comm.) examined 10 000 sheep in Yugoslavia and found no infection by C. ovis

. In Roumania (CIUREA, 1921), the frequency of sheep measles was 1. 41%. Therefore sheep is not a characteristic