Investigation of Echinococcus multilocularis in Environmental Definitive Host Feces in the Asian and the European Parts of Turkey

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GÜRLER A. T., Gori F., Bölükbaş C. S., Umur Ş., Açıcı M., Deplazes P.

FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE, cilt.5, 2018 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 5
  • Basım Tarihi: 2018
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00048
  • Dergi Adı: FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: alveolar echinococcus, echinococcus multilocularis, fox, feces, Turkey, GRANULOSUS, ALVEOLAR
  • Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

A study was carried out to investigate the presence of Echinococcus multilocularis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in two regions of Turkey-central Anatolia (in Asia Minor) and Thrace (in the European part of Turkey). A total of 405 putative fox feces were collected from central Anatolia (186 specimens in 59 locations) and from Thrace (219 specimens in 114 locations). All samples were examined by the flotation and sieving method for taeniid eggs, and positive and putative samples were further analyzed by multiplex PCR. In seven samples from three locations in central Anatolia (5.1%) and in one (0.9%) from Thrace, E. multilocularis DNA was amplified, and this result was confirmed with another PCR specific for E multilocularis. In addition, Echinococcus granulosus s.l. was found in two (0.5%) of the samples. Although alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is known as a serious zoonosis in Turkey, this is the first field study detecting E. multilocularis in collected fecal samples documenting the environmental contamination with eggs of this zoonotic parasite.