Rural and urban distribution of wild and domestic carnivore stools in the context of Echinococcus multilocularis environmental exposure.

Rural and urban distribution of wild and domestic carnivore stools in the context of Echinococcus multilocularis environmental exposure. Int J Parasitol. 2018 Aug 01;: Authors: Knapp J, Giraudoux P, Combes B, Umhang G, Boué F, Said-Ali Z, Aknouche S, Garcia C, Vacheyrou M, Laboissière A, Raton V, Comte S, Favier S, Demerson JM, Caillot C, Millon L, Raoul F Abstract In zoonotic infections, the relationships between animals and humans lead to parasitic disease with severity that ranges from mild symptoms to life-threatening conditions. In cities and their surrounding areas, this statement is truer with the overcrowding of the protagonists of the parasites' life cycle. The present study aims to investigate the distribution of a parasite, Echinococcus multilocularis, which is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis, using copro-sampling in historically endemic rural settlements of the eastern part of France and in newly endemic areas including urban parks and settlements surrounding Paris. Based on 2741 morphologically identified and geolocalized copro-samples, the density of fox faeces was generally higher in the surrounding settlements, except for one rural area where the faeces were at larger density downtown in the winter. Fox faeces are rare but present in urban parks. Dog faeces are concentrated in the park entrances and in the centre of the settlements. DNA was extracted for 1530 samples that were collected and identified...
Source: International Journal for Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: Int J Parasitol Source Type: research