Thelazia callipaeda in mustelids from Romania with the European badger, Meles meles, as a new host for this parasite

Parasites & Vectors

Gheorghe Florin Stan¹  Georgiana Deak²  Călin Mircea Gherman²  Angela Monica Ionică²  Andrei Daniel Mihalca²  Gianluca D’Amico²  Menelaos Lefkaditis³  Ioana Cristina Constantinescu⁴  Costică Adam⁴  Gabriel Bogdan Chișamera⁴ 

[1] Department of Anatomy, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca;Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca;Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly;“Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History;

关键词: Thelazia callipaeda;    Host;    Mustelidae;    Meles meles;    Martes foina;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-019-3631-4

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Thelazia callipaeda (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) is a vector-borne zoonotic eye worm with a broad host spectrum. In Europe, it is an emerging threat, having greatly expanded its geographical distribution during the past two decades. In Romania, T. callipaeda has been previously reported in domestic and wild canids and felids. The aim of the present study was to assess the occurrence of T. callipaeda in mustelids in the country. Methods Between March 2015 and April 2019, 77 road-killed mustelids (3 pine martens, Martes martes; 6 European polecats, Mustela putorius; 13 beech martens, Martes foina; and 55 European badgers, Meles meles) were examined by necropsy. If present, all ocular nematodes were collected and stored in absolute ethanol, for subsequent morphological and molecular identification. Results Two animals were found to be infected with T. callipaeda: one European badger and one beech marten. The molecular analysis revealed a 100% nucleotide similarity to T. callipaeda haplotype h1 for all the sequenced specimens. Conclusions To our knowledge, the present study demonstrates for the first time the occurrence of T. callipaeda in mustelids from Romania, records the easternmost locality of the parasite in Europe, and represents the first report of T. callipaeda in the European badger, Meles meles, extending the known host range for this parasite in Europe.

【 授权许可】

Unknown