Differential Detection of Echinococcus Spp. Copro-DNA by Nested-PCR in Domestic and Wild Definitive Hosts in Moghan Plain, Iran

Abstract

Background: Despite Echinococcus granulosus, there are merely two old reports of E. multilocularis in-fection among Iranian canids of Moghan Plain, the only area known endemic for the species. We detected specific DNA markers in fecal samples by PCR (Copro-PCR) for differential diagnosis of Echinococcus species in living canids. Methods: Totally 144 fecal samples from domestic dogs, red foxes and a golden jackal were exam-ined for genus-specific Echinococcus coproantigens using ELISA. Forty two positive or ambiguous samples were further examined for Echinococcus species-specific DNA markers by two different set of nested-PCR. Results: Twenty five out of 144 (17.4%) animals were contaminated with E. granulosus including 14 (23.7%) domestic dogs, 10 (11.9%) red foxes and one (100%) golden jackal. But none of them har-boured E. multilocularis species-specific Copro-DNA. The overall prevalence of E. granulosus and E. multilocularis infections in canids of the area was estimated to be 17.4% and 0.0%, respectively. There was a significant relation between the results of Copro-PCR and CA-ELISA. Conclusion: The lack of E. multilocularis infection, compared to previous reports may be due to the differences in used diagnostic methods and/or recently limited territories of wild canids and altered their food resources in this particular area.

Keywords

• Canids
• Copro-DNA
• Echinococcus
• Iran