Parabronema skrjabini (Nematoda: Habronematidae) infection and development in the intermediate host-Haematobia irritans (Linnaeus, 1758) in Inner Mongolia, China

Parabronemosis is a disease that severely threatens camel health, causing huge economic losses to industries involved in camel husbandry. Previous studies have reported that horn flies (Haematobia irritans) act as intermediate hosts of Parabronema skrjabini; however, the infection and developmental processes of P. skrjabini in horn flies remain unclear. In the present study, the infection rates of P. skrjabini were determined in morphologically and molecularly identified horn flies collected from Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) producing regions in Inner Mongolia, China that have high P. skrjabini infection rates. The horn flies were dissected to obtain the nematode larvae at various instar stages. The P. skrjabini found in the different instar stages of horn fly instars were counted and identified to assess the infection and developmental status. Nematode larvae at different developmental stages were obtained from the horn fly instars for further molecular analysis. Sequencing results confirmed that the nematode larvae were P. skrjabini. Furthermore, we found that the mean growth rate of the nematode larva increased as the horn fly instars develops. The results suggested that P. skrjabini infected the horn flies at the larval instar stage, and that the nematode larvae developed simultaneously with the horn fly instars stages. Our findings provide useful information into the elucidation of P. skrjabini infection and life history by studying horn fly development.