Phuentshok Yoenten, Choden Kinley, Alvarez Rojas Cristian A, Deplazes Peter, Wangdi Sonam, Gyeltshen Kuenzang, Rinzin Karma, Thapa Nirmal Kumar, Tenzinla Tenzinla, Dorjee Dechen, Valitutto Marc, Gilbert Martin, Siriaroonrat Boripat, Jairak Waleemas, Piewbang Chutchai, Sharma Puspa Maya, Dema Tshewang, Gurung Ratna Bahadur
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Bangkok, 10200, Thailand.
Nature Conservation Division, Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Taba, Bhutan.
Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2021 Feb 10;14:150-156. doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.02.003. eCollection 2021 Apr.
The endangered Bengal tiger () is a keystone species playing an essential role in ecology as well as in the social and spiritual lives of the Himalayan people. The latest estimate of the Bengal tiger population in Bhutan accounts for 103 individuals. Infectious organisms, including zoonotic parasites causing high burden in human health, have received little attention as a cause of mortality in tigers. Taeniosis/cysticercosis, caused by the cestode , is considered one of the major neglected tropical diseases in Southeast Asia. We present here a case of neurocysticercosis in a Bengal tiger showing advanced neurological disease outside Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan. After palliative care, the animal died, and necropsy revealed multiple small cysts in the brain. Here we show the presence of two genetic variants of . in the parasite material collected based on PCR and sequencing of the complete and genes. The sequences form a discrete branch within the Asia plus Madagascar cluster of the parasite. On other hand, tests for feline morbillivirus, feline calicivirus, canine distemper virus, Nipah, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, feline leukaemia and feline immunodeficiency virus were negative. In contrast, PCR for feline herpesvirus was positive and a latex agglutination test revealed an elevated antibody titer against (titer 1:256). The molecular examination of taeniid eggs isolated from the tiger faeces produced sequences for which the highest homology in GenBank is between 92% and 94% with . This fatal case of neurocysticercosis, a disease previously unrecorded in tigers or other non-domestic felids, demonstrates an anthropogenically driven transmission of a deadly pathogen which could become a serious threat to the tiger population.
濒危的孟加拉虎（）是一种关键物种，在生态以及喜马拉雅地区人民的社会和精神生活中发挥着至关重要的作用。不丹孟加拉虎种群的最新估计数量为103只。包括对人类健康造成沉重负担的人畜共患寄生虫在内的传染性生物，作为老虎死亡的一个原因几乎未受到关注。由绦虫引起的绦虫病/囊尾蚴病被认为是东南亚主要的被忽视热带病之一。我们在此报告一例位于不丹首都廷布以外、患有晚期神经疾病的孟加拉虎的神经囊尾蚴病病例。经过姑息治疗后，这只动物死亡，尸检发现脑部有多个小囊肿。在此我们展示了在基于PCR以及完整的和基因测序所收集的寄生虫材料中存在两种的基因变体。这些序列在该寄生虫的亚洲加马达加斯加簇内形成一个离散分支。另一方面，猫瘟病毒、猫杯状病毒、犬瘟热病毒、尼帕病毒、狂犬病病毒、日本脑炎病毒、猫白血病病毒和猫免疫缺陷病毒的检测均为阴性。相比之下，猫疱疹病毒的PCR检测呈阳性，乳胶凝集试验显示针对（滴度1:256）的抗体滴度升高。从老虎粪便中分离出的带绦虫卵的分子检测产生的序列，在GenBank中与的最高同源性在92%至94%之间。这例致命的神经囊尾蚴病病例，一种此前未在老虎或其他非家养猫科动物中记录的疾病，证明了一种致命病原体的人为驱动传播，这可能对老虎种群构成严重威胁。
