Characterization of Ascaris from Ecuador and Zanzibar. Issue 4 (July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sparks, A.M.; Betson, M.; Oviedo, G.; Sandoval, C.; Cooper, P.J.; Stothard, J.R.
• Is Part Of: Journal of helminthology. Volume 89:Issue 4(2015)
• Page Start: 512
• Page End: 515
• Publication Date: 2015-07
• Subjects: Helminthology -- Periodicals; 592.3
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022149X14000431
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-149X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>To shed light on the epidemiology of ascariasis in Ecuador and Zanzibar, 177 adult worms retrieved by chemo-expulsion from either people or pigs were collected, measured and subjected to polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Upon double digestion with <italic>Rsa</italic>I and <italic>Hae</italic>III, PCR-RFLP analysis revealed the presence of <italic>A. lumbricoides</italic> in people and <italic>A. suum</italic> in pigs in Ecuador. In contrast, while there are no pigs on Zanzibar, of the 56 worms obtained from people, one was genotyped as <italic>A. suum</italic>. No additional genetic variation was detected upon further PCR-RFLP analysis with several other restriction enzymes. Upon measurement, worm mass and length differed by location and by species, <italic>A. suum</italic> being lighter and longer. While there is no evidence to suggest zoonotic transmission in Ecuador, an enduring historical signature of previous zoonotic transmission remains on Zanzibar.</p> </abstract>