Human alveolar echinococcosis in Slovakia: Epidemiology and genetic diversity of < i > Echinococcus multilocularis < /i > , 2000 –2023

by Daniela Antolov á, Viliam Šnábel, Júlia Jarošová, Serena Cavallero, Stefano D’Amelio, Yaroslav Syrota, Róbert Rosoľanka, Mária Avdičová, Martina Miterpáková Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a serious parasitic disease caused by larval stages ofEchinococcus multilocularis. Between January 2000 and October 2023, 137 AE cases were confirmed in Slovakia. The average annual incidence increased from 0.031 per 100,000 inhabitants between 2000 and 2011, to an average of 0.187 since 2012, i.e. about six times. Among patients, 45.3% were men and 54.7% were women; the mean age at the time of diagnosis was 52.8 years. Most cases were diagnosed in the age groups 51 –60 years and 61–70 years (33 cases each), and eight patients fell into the age category ≤ 20 years. To better recognize the gene diversity in clinical samples, metacestodes from 21 patients collected between 2013 and 2021 were subjected to DNA sequencing of four mitochondrial genes. Using con catenated sequences ofcob (603 bp),nad2 (882 bp) andcox1 (789 bp) gene fragments, 14 isolates (66.7%) were assigned to the European E5 profile ofE.multilocularis, two isolates (9.5%) to the E5a subtype, four isolates (19%) to the E4 profile, and one isolate (4.8%) to haplogroup E1/E2. The E5-type profiles and E4 profiles were distributed throughout the country, whereas the E1/E2 profile was found in the patient from western Slovakia. According to the data obtained and GenBank sequences, the E5-type dispersal ...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research