First report of cystic echinococcosis in rhinos: A fertile infection of Echinococcus equinus in a Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) of Kruger National Park, South Africa

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

Kerstin Junker¹  Lin-Mari de Klerk-Lorist²  Raksha Vasantrai Bhoora³  Emily Mitchell⁴  Gianluca P. Zaffarano⁵  Giovanni Poglayen⁶  Danny Govender⁷ 

[1] Corresponding author. Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.;SECOSUD II- Italian Cooperation Project, Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, B7, Av. Julius Nyerere, 1100, Maputo, Mozambique;Agricultural Research Council, Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X05, 0110, Onderstepoort, South Africa;Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, State Veterinary Services, Box 12, Skukuza, 1350, South Africa;Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy;Department of Paraclinical Sciences, and Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, 1 Soutpan Rd, 0110, Onderstepoort, South Africa;Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, 0110, Onderstepoort, South Africa;

关键词: Endoparasites;    Echinococcus;    Conservation;    Rhinoceros;    Wildlife;    South Africa;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Despite being a parasitic disease known since ancient times, some epidemiological aspects of cystic echinococcosis (CE) remain unclear. Many studies describe its prevalence and genotyping in populations of domestic animals and livestock, but data regarding wildlife are often scarce and incomplete. The available literature suggests that CE has never been reported in African rhinos. Considering the fragile conservation status of these species due to continued poaching, this study tries to clarify some neglected epidemiological aspects. In February 2020, an adult female of the Southern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum simum (Burchell, 1817), was killed by poachers. The subsequent necropsy performed by the state veterinary team revealed the presence of seven cysts within the pulmonary tissue (four cysts in the right medio-caudal lobe and three cysts in the left medio-caudal lobe) with a diameter of between 1.5 and 2.3 cm. Given the state of decomposition of the carcass, only two of these were suitable for microscopic examination. Specimens were examined under 10x and 40x microscopic magnification for the confirmation of fertility of the cysts, based on the presence of numerous protoscoleces in different stages of maturation. A histopathological examination was also performed to describe the relationship between parasite and host tissue reaction. Cyst samples were subjected to PCR. The primers successfully amplified the expected fragments of the cox-1 and the nad-1 gene from the isolated genomic DNA, revealing high sequence identity with published sequences of Echinococcus equinus Williams & Sweatman, 1963 isolate G4 and E. equinus isolate SLG5-G4.

【 授权许可】

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