Abstract
Diphyllobothriid tapeworms of the genus Spirometra are causative agents of sparganosis, food-borne zoonotic parasitic disease. They have been recorded in broad spectrum of hosts, including humans, in all continents except Antarctica. Spirometra tapeworms have been intensively studied in several Asian countries; however, they have been rather neglected in Europe. The aim of this study was to provide a pilot screening of Spirometra spp. in Latvia, where data on sparganosis are not available. Tapeworms morphologically identified as diphyllobothriid species were isolated from grey wolves Canis lupus and Eurasian lynxes Lynx lynx from Latvia during the hunting periods 2013–2019. The parasites were subjected to molecular genotyping using sequences of the partial large (LSU rDNA; 615 bp) and small (SSU rDNA; 720 bp) subunits of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene and complete (1566 bp) cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of the mitochondrial DNA (cox1 mtDNA). Analyses of both ribosomal subunits of 13 tapeworms revealed no intraspecific variation within the respective rDNA subunits. On the other hand, sequence analysis of mitochondrial cox1 revealed intraspecific polymorphism displayed by 12 cox1 haplotypes. Comparison of the current data with sequences of the corresponding DNA regions deposited in the GenBank revealed 99.3–99.5% (LSU rDNA), 99.2% (SSU rDNA) and 99.6–100% (cox1 mtDNA) identity of studied tapeworms with Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, which provided the first confirmation of this diphyllobothriid tapeworm in Latvia. Since S. erinaceieuropaei is probably prevalent in Latvian wildlife and may also occur in other potential host species, further studies are needed in order to acquire complex data on its geographic distribution and transmission in the natural environment of Latvia, as well as on the spectrum of its intermediate, paratenic, and definitive hosts.
Highlights
IntroductionSparganosis is a food-borne zoonosis caused by larval stages (plerocercoids) of diphyllobothriid tapeworms of the genus
Sparganosis is a food-borne zoonosis caused by larval stages of diphyllobothriid tapeworms of the genusSection Editor: Hiroshi SatoSpirometra (Liu et al 2015)
Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (Rudolphi 1819) is the species most often identified in natural environments in Europe (Kondzior et al 2018; Kołodziej-Sobocińska et al 2019; Scholz et al 2019; Kuchta et al 2020); recent data reported the first confirmation of S. mansoni in amphibians in Romania (Kuchta et al 2020)
Summary
Sparganosis is a food-borne zoonosis caused by larval stages (plerocercoids) of diphyllobothriid tapeworms of the genus. They have been recorded in humans, domesticated and wild animals in all continents except Antarctica (Scholz et al 2019). Several species have been recognized in the genus, the taxonomy of Spirometra tapeworms is not fully resolved and requires further clarification (Kuchta et al 2020). Spirometra erinaceieuropaei (Rudolphi 1819) is the species most often identified in natural environments in Europe (Kondzior et al 2018; Kołodziej-Sobocińska et al 2019; Scholz et al 2019; Kuchta et al 2020); recent data reported the first confirmation of S. mansoni in amphibians in Romania (Kuchta et al 2020). The life cycle of S. erinaceieuropaei involves copepods (Cyclops sp.) as the first intermediate hosts, in which the first stage larva (procercoid) develops.
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