Molecular epidemiology of Echinococcus granulosus strains in domestic herbivores of Lorestan, Iran

Introduction and objective: Hydatidosis is one of the most important common zoonosis diseases in most parts of the world. This parasite causes many damages to animal husbandry. Several strains of this parasite have been identified based on the biologic and epidemiologic characteristics of strains and this is important for the improvement of the control and prevention of this disease. As the aim of the present study, identification of these strains and their incidence can help recognition of the biologic cycle of the parasite in Lorestan province.

Materials and methods: One hundred and forty livestock isolates from sheep, goat and cow were collected from the abattoir of the Lorestan province. To investigate the genetic variation of the isolates, after the extraction of DNA, PCR-RLFP analysis of a fragment of ribosomal DNA was performed using four different restriction enzymes of TaqI, HpaII, RsaI and AluI.

Results: The amplified PCR product for all isolates was a 1000bp band which is the same as the expected band in sheep strain. The results of RFLP analysis also were the same for all isolates.

Conclusion: The results of PCR and the RFLP analysis showed that only the sheep strain of this parasite is present in Lorestan province and based on RFLP pattern all the sheep, cow and goat isolates are infected with sheep strain.