Molecular screening for Blastocystìs sp. in canine faecal samples in Greece

Abstract

• Μοριακή αναζήτηση της Blastocystìs sp. σε κόπρανα σκύλου στην Ελλάδα. ABSTRACT.Blastocystìs is an anaerobic parasitic microorganism which has been found in the intestinal tract of many vertebrates including humans and dogs. Recently, members of Blastocystìs sp. were classified into nine sub-types, based on phylogenetic trees derived from sequence analysis of the small sub-unit ribosomal RNA gene. The pathogenesis of Blastocystìs in the dog remains uncertain and the existence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic sub-types is under investigation. Feacal samples from 30 privately owned and 42 stray dogs, originated from central and northern Greece, were examined by both light microscopy and PCR assays for the detection of Blastocystìs sp. All samples were found to be negative by both assays. It seems that, in Greece, the dog is unlikely to be a "reservoir" of Blastocystìs sp., although a large scale epidemiologic study is needed to be carried out in order for more conclusive results to be drawn.Keywords: Blastocystìs, dog, light microscopy, PCR, Greece ΠΕΡΙΑΗΨΗ. Η Blastocystìs είναι ένα αναερόβιο παράσιτο που έχει βρεθεί στο έντερο πολλών σπονδυλωτών, περιλαμβανομένων του ανθρώπου και του σκύλου. Πρόσφατα, η Blastocystìs ταξινομήθηκε σε εννέα υπότυπους, βάσει των φυλογενετικών δένδρων που προέκυψαν από την ανάλυση της αλληλουχίας της μικρής υποομάδας του rRNA γονιδίου. Η παθογένεια της Blastocystìs στο σκύλο παραμένει ασαφής και η ύπαρξη παθογόνων και μη-παθογόνων υπότυπων ακόμη ερευνάται. Δείγματα κοπράνων από 30 δεσποζόμενους και 42 αδέσποτους σκύλους, προερχόμενους από την Κεντρική και Βόρεια Ελλάδα εξετάστηκαν μικρο σκοπικά και με τη μέθοδο PCR για τυχόν ανίχνευση της Blastocystìs sp. Όλα τα δείγματα βρέθηκαν αρνητικά και με τις δύο μεθόδους. Φαίνεται ότι στην Ελλάδα ο σκύλος μάλλον δεν συνιστά «δεξαμενή» της Blastocystìs sp., αν και απαιτείται επιδημιολογική μελέτη μεγάλης κλίμακας για να εξαχθούν ασφαλή συμπεράσματα.

Prevalence, Subtype Distribution and Zoonotic Significance of Blastocystis sp. Isolates from Poultry, Cattle and Pets in Northern Egypt

“…The occurrence of the parasite was reported to be about only 3.0% using direct -light microscopy in a population of 130 domestic dogs from the Sharkia and Qalyubia governorates, also located in northern Egypt [35]. Using molecular methods, the parasite was not identified in dogs in numerous countries, including Spain [58], Poland [59] and Greece [60], but was found with low occurrence in France (3.4%) [61], Australia (2.5%) and Cambodia (1.3%) [62]. In a survey conducted in Southern China [63], the authors showed significant differences in the prevalence of Blastocystis sp.…”