title: First report of Thelazia callipaeda infection in wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Portugal.
abstract: Thelazia callipaeda is a zoonotic nematode that affects the eyes of domestic and wild animals, including dogs, cats and red foxes. This parasitic eye worm is transmitted by Phortica variegata, which is a zoophilic fruit fly spread in Europe. Two wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) found dead in north-eastern Portugal were submitted to necropsy.
  
  
  
  Both animals presented gross lesions compatible with haemorrhagic viral disease. Eye examination revealed the presence of six worms (three in each animal, on both eyes). Out of the six nematodes, five females and one male were morphologically and molecularly identified as T. callipaeda.
  
  
  
  This is the first report of T. callipaeda in wild rabbits from Portugal, which reveals a new host for this parasite in southern Europe and emphasizes the importance of including thelaziosis in the differential diagnosis of ocular alterations in both animals and humans from areas where the eye worm is endemic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Laboratory of Histology and Pathology, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real, Portugal.|Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Adelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Laboratory of Histology and Pathology, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real, Portugal.|Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.affiliation: Municipality of Vinhais, Vinhais, Portugal.
authors.forename: Márcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canado
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Laboratory of Parasitology, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.affiliation: Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.|Department of Veterinary Sciences, Laboratory of Parasitology, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Patrícia
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Stefania
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Latrofa
authors.affiliation: Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal. lcardoso@utad.pt.|Department of Veterinary Sciences, Laboratory of Parasitology, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal. lcardoso@utad.pt.
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy.|Department of Immunology, Aggeu Magalhães Research Centre, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dantas-Torres
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Otranto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018428:Drosophilidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D005123:Eye / Q000469:parasitology; D015822:Eye Infections, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal; D011817:Rabbits / Q000469:parasitology*; D017205:Spirurida Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013802:Thelazioidea / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: European rabbit; Eye worm; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Portugal; Thelazia callipaeda; Wild; Zoonosis; cox 1