Genetic and Morphological Identification of <i>Spirometra decipiens</i> in Snakes and Domestic Dog Found in Cuba
Alexander Morales,
Rebeca M. Laird-Pérez,
Virginia Capó,
Enrique Iglesias,
Luis Fonte,
Arturo Plascencia-Hernández,
Enrique J. Calderón,
Keeseon S. Eom,
Yaxsier de Armas,
Héctor R. Pérez-Gómez
Affiliations
Alexander Morales
Pathology Department, Hospital Center, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana 11400, Cuba
Rebeca M. Laird-Pérez
Teaching Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana 11400, Cuba
Virginia Capó
Pathology Department, Hospital Center, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana 11400, Cuba
Enrique Iglesias
Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología, Habana 11400, Cuba
Luis Fonte
Parasitology Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana 11400, Cuba
Arturo Plascencia-Hernández
Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico
Enrique J. Calderón
Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Seville, Spain
Keeseon S. Eom
Department of Parasitology and Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Chungbuk 361-763, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea
Yaxsier de Armas
Pathology Department, Hospital Center, Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí”, Havana 11400, Cuba
Héctor R. Pérez-Gómez
Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44100, Mexico
Spirometra (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidea) affects humans and some species of domestic and wild animals which eventually interact with humans. In this article, we report three new cases of Spirometra decipiens (Diesing, 1850) infection observed in two intermediate hosts and one definitive host, in Cuba. Genetic and morphological identification of S. decipiens in two snakes and a domestic dog were carried out by molecular means and routine histological study using hematoxylin–eosin staining, respectively. Taken together, the anatomical location, the host species infected with the specimens and their morphological and genetic features, all the samples were identified as S. decipiens. In each of the three cases, PCR assays using specific primers amplified bands that corresponded to S. decipiens species. To our knowledge, this paper is the first report of S. decipiens in species of Cuban endemic fauna and in the Caribbean islands. These species constitute a real or potential risk of transmission of Spirometra to humans in Cuba.
