Folia Parasitologica 67:014 (2020) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2020.014

Dispersal and molecular characterisation of the Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786) complex isolated from various intermediate hosts in the Calabria region, southern Italy

Grazia Pavia1, Federica De Gori1, Lucia Ciambrone1, Natalino De Gori2, Rosanna Musarella1, Francesco Casalinuovo1
1 Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Section of Catanzaro, Italy;
2 Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale di Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease caused by the tapeworms of the Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato complex, which have worldwide distribution. No data on the circulation of genotypes of the E. granulosus complex in intermediate hosts in endemic areas in Calabria are available. The aims of our study were to evaluate the dispersal of genotypes of the E. granulosus complex in Calabria and to characterise parasite isolates by Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. We collected 71 animal samples from pigs, wild boars, sheep, cattle and goats. The first PCR screening analysis targeted three partial genomic regions: the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), calreticulin protein (cal) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1); this identified 28 parasitic cysts. Bidirectional sequencing of cox1 amplicons and phylogenetic analysis allowed us to characterise all isolates. Molecular analyses of 28 newly generated cox1 sequences revealed that most wild boars (n = 16) and three pigs were parasitised by the larval stage of Taenia hydatidena Pallas, 1766, called cysticercus tenuicollis. Two isolates from wild boars were identified as Echinococcus canadensis Webster and Cameron, 1961 (G7), while five sheep and two goats were infected with E. granulosus G1 (sheep strain) and G1 microvariant (previously reported as G2 genotype or Tasmanian sheep strain), respectively. These molecular findings should prompt further and more extensive studies, to elucidate regional transmission patterns and to guide control programs.

Keywords: Echinococcus canadensis G7, G1 microvariant of E. granulosus s.s., Cystic echinococcosis, wild boars, goats, zoonoses, sanger sequencing, molecular characterisation, genotyping

Received: September 27, 2019; Revised: February 28, 2020; Accepted: March 5, 2020; Published online: May 22, 2020  Show citation

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Pavia, G., De Gori, F., Ciambrone, L., De Gori, N., Musarella, R., & Casalinuovo, F. (2020). Dispersal and molecular characterisation of the Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786) complex isolated from various intermediate hosts in the Calabria region, southern Italy. Folia Parasitologica, 67, Article 2020.014. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2020.014
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