title: Mediorhynchus gallinarum (Acanthocephala: Gigantorhynchidae) in Helmeted guineafowls, Numida meleagris, in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
abstract: Mediorhynchus gallinarum was recovered from the small intestines of 36 of 50 Helmeted guineafowls sampled from August 1988 to May 1989. The intensity of infection ranged from 1-141 worms per host, with a mean intensity of 23.2 (+/- 34) and a median intensity of 5. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test revealed no significant differences between the mean worm burdens of male and female birds at the 5% level (P > 0.05). Slightly more female than male acanthocephalans were collected. The majority (63.4%) of females had eggs with fully-developed embryos, 9% had immature eggs, 21.2% had no eggs and the egg status of 6.4% could not be determined. No seasonal pattern of intensity of infection emerged from the data, but worm burdens were markedly higher after good rains in February 1989. South Africa constitutes a new geographic record for M. gallinarum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Junker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boomker
mesh_terms: D000049:Acanthocephala / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds; D005260:Female; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D010270:Parasite Egg Count / Q000662:veterinary; D010802:Phylogeny; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology