Hypolobocera guayaquilensis (Decapoda: Pseudothelphusidae): A New Crab Intermediate Host of Paragonimus mexicanus in Manabí Province, Ecuador

The Korean Journal of Parasitology

Daniel Romero-Alvarez^2¹  Hidekazu Takagi^4²  Hiromu Sugiyama^5³  Melina Rendon^3⁴  Manuel Calvopina^1⁵ 

[1] Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology-Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA^2;Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan^4;Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan^5;Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador^3;OneHealth Group, Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Americas (UDLA), Quito, Ecuador^1

关键词: Paragonimus mexicanus;    Paragonimus kellicotti;    Hypolobocera sp.;    crab;    intermediate host;    trematode;    lung fluke;    food-borne disease;    PCRRFLP;    Ecuador;   

DOI  :  10.3347/kjp.2018.56.2.189

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: The Korean Society for Parasitology

【 摘 要 】

To determine that Paragonimus sp. is actively transmitted in a tropical area of the Pacific region of Ecuador where human cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis have recently been documented, a total of 75 freshwater crabs were collected from 2 different streams in the Pedernales area of Manabí Province, Ecuador. All collected crabs were identified as Hypolobocera guayaquilensis based on morphological characteristics of the male gonopods. The hepatopancreas of each crab was examined by compressing it between 2 glass plates followed by observation under a stereomicroscope. Excysted Paragonimus metacercariae were detected in 39 (52.0%) crabs and their densities varied from 1 to 32 per infected crab. There was a positive relationship between crab size and metacercarial density. Sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA gene of the Paragonimus metacercariae obtained in this study were identical to those of Paragonimus mexicanus deposited in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database. Thus, the present study is the first to confirm that the crab species H. guayaquilensis is the second intermediate host of P. mexicanus in Manabí Province, Ecuador. Because this crab might be the possible source of human infections in this area, residents should pay attention to improper crab-eating habits related with a neglected parasitic disease, i.e., paragonimiasis.

【 授权许可】

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