A Pilot Study on Deworming Wild Foxes for Echinococcus spp. in Qinghai, China

Background: Wild foxes play an important role in echinococcosis epidemics. There have been a few studies investigating Echinococcus spp. in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau area, China, but none on the prevention and control of Echinococcus spp. in wild foxes. Methods: From 2016 March through December 2019, two wild fox dens were selected as two test sites based on prior long-term camera screening and observation. Anthelmintic praziquantel tablets were placed near the two dens of wild foxes, and the wild foxes freely consumed the anthelmintic drugs. Morphological methods were used to detect initially the parasite species, and PCR molecular methods were used to identify accurately parasite and host species. Results: Parasite eggs of E. multilocularis (2/11, 18.2%) were found in 11 fecal samples. Importantly, the eggs of E. multilocularis (1/21, 4.8%) were found again in the feces of the foxes one year later; moreover, the eggs of E. multilocularis (2/19, 10.5%) still existed in the feces of the foxes two years later. Conclusion: Wild foxes were repeatedly infected with E. multilocularis and that deworming for prevention and control is required at least twice per year. Prevention and control methods for echinococcosis in wild foxes were explored, providing a scientific basis for the prevention and control of echinococcosis in wild animals.

Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis Secondary to Cirrhosis of the Liver due to Echinococcosis: Case Report in Brazilian Indigenous

Background: Echinococcosis is an endemic disease in the Neotropical region of the Americas caused by Echinococcus spp. Most of the cases come from the Amazon region, where a disease is popularly called “paca disease”, due to the population's habit of eating the meat of Cuniculus paca. Case Report: We report 72-year-old Indigenous male presents cirrhosis complications caused by echinococcosis since 2010 confirmed by serological examination (titer 1:2560) and inactive cysts in imaging methods. Conclusion: Inactive cysts in echinococcosis are a source of complications such as liver cirrhosis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Bioinformatic Comparison of Kunitz Protease Inhibitors in Echinococcus Granulosus and E. Multilocularis and the Genes Expressed in Different Developmental Stages of E. Granulosus

Background: Cystic and alveolar echinococcosis caused by the tapeworms Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis, respectively, are important zoonotic diseases. Protease inhibitors are crucial for the survival of both Echinococcus spp. Kunitz-type inhibitors play a regulatory role in the control of protease activity. In this study，we identified all the Kunitz-type protease inhibitors present in the genomes of these two tapeworms and analyzed the gene sequences using computational, structural bioinformatics and phylogenetic approaches to evaluate the evolutionary relationships of these genes. Results: A total of 19 genes from E. multilocularis and 23 genes from E. granulosus contained single or multiple Kunitz-domains. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree indicated that the E. granulosus and E. multilocularis Kunitz domain peptides were divided into three branches containing 9 clusters. Based on available transcriptome data, we analyzed the expression of these Kunitz-domain protease inhibitors in four major developmental stages of E. granulosus and found they were differentially expressed.Conclusion: We identified 19 and 23 Kunitz protease inhibitors in E. multilocularis and E. granulosus respectively; the majority of these genes were expressed in one or four stages of E. granulosus with some being highly expressed in adult worms indicating that these genes likely play different roles in the different developmental stages.

Correction to: The effects of dog management on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in villages on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.