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The fox tapeworm, Echinococcus multilocularis, in grey wolves and dogs in Slovakia: epidemiology and genetic analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2020

J. Jarošová Open the ORCID record for J. Jarošová [Opens in a new window] ,
D. Antolová ,
V. Šnábel ,
N. Guimarães ,
J. Štofík ,
P. Urban ,
S. Cavallero  and
M. Miterpáková
J. Jarošová*
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01Košice, Slovakia University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, 041 81Košice, Slovakia
D. Antolová
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01Košice, Slovakia
V. Šnábel
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01Košice, Slovakia
N. Guimarães
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Prešov, 081 16Prešov, Slovakia
J. Štofík
Affiliation:
ŠOPSR – Správa NP Poloniny, 067 61Stakčín, Slovakia
P. Urban
Affiliation:
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Matej Bel University, 974 01Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
S. Cavallero
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185Rome, Italy
M. Miterpáková
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01Košice, Slovakia
*
Author for correspondence: J. Jarošová, E-mail: jarosova@saske.sk
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Abstract

Echinococcus multilocularis, the causative agent of human alveolar echinococcosis, is an important emerging parasite in the northern hemisphere. In epidemiological studies, the highest attention is being paid to foxes as the main reservoir hosts responsible for geographic expansion from multiple focal populations and the invasion of urban habitats, but little information is available on the parasite distribution in other carnivores. Hence, the study was designed to obtain updated information about the occurrence and genetic diversity of E. multilocularis in grey wolves and dogs in Slovakia. Faecal samples of wolves were collected from three locations under a certain level of environmental protection in the central and eastern parts of the country, and the presence of the parasite DNA was detected in 35.7% of 112 samples, with the highest rate (51.2%) recorded in the Poloniny National Park in north-eastern Slovakia. Among 110 faecal dog samples, E. multilocularis was detected in three faeces from segregated Roma settlements in the eastern part of the country, which accounted for an overall positivity of 2.7%. Sequence analysis of two mitochondrial genes, 12S rRNA and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1, revealed four haplotypes in 13 isolates from wolves and dogs originating from four sites in eastern and central Slovakia, with all samples bearing a European-type pattern of E. multilocularis. The more than one-third positivity rate of E. multilocularis in wolf faecal samples dispersed over a large part of the country has corroborated the extensive circulation of the parasite in wildlife and confirmed the need to improve intervention control strategies.

Keywords

Echinococcus multiloculariswolvesdogsgenetic diversitySlovakia
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 94 , 2020 , e168
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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