Mahdavi Farzad, Asghari Ali, Shahabi Saeed, Shamsi Laya, Soltani-Jazi Farzaneh, Sadrebazzaz Alireza, Shams Morteza
Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2022 Sep;88:101848. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2022.101848. Epub 2022 Jun 16.
The common intestinal protist, Blastocystis sp., is a highly frequent parasitic agent in human and animal fecal samples, globally. The current study evaluated the prevalence of this parasite and involved subtypes (STs) in examined pet dogs in Shiraz, southwestern Iran. A number of 100 fresh fecal specimens were randomly collected from pet dogs referred to the veterinary clinics and pet shops in Shiraz during July 2021-January 2022. The genomic DNA was extracted from fecal samples and a conventional PCR was performed. Next, sequencing of the positive samples was done based on the small subunit ribosomal rRNA gene. The results showed that 5 % (5 out of 100) of the examined samples were positive for Blastocystis. As anticipated, three known Blastocystis subtypes with zoonotic concern, ST1 (60 %, n = 3), ST2 (20 %, n = 1) and ST3 (20 %, n = 1), were characterized. Based on phylogenetic analysis, these subtypes showed 100% identity with their reference counterparts. In conclusion, the zoonotic subtypes found in pet dogs in Shiraz can pose a drastic challenge to their pet owners and other domestic animals. Albeit the role of dogs as a potential natural reservoir of Blastocystis sp. stays unknown, it appears that these animals could represent possible reservoirs of zoonotic transmission of Blastocystis sp. Still, there is paucity of data on the epidemiology of Blastocystis and its subtypes in dogs in Iran.
常见的肠道原生生物，芽囊原虫（Blastocystis sp.），是全球人类和动物粪便样本中极为常见的寄生因子。本研究评估了这种寄生虫及其相关亚型（STs）在伊朗西南部设拉子市受试宠物狗中的流行情况。2021年7月至2022年1月期间，从设拉子市的兽医诊所和宠物店随机收集了100份宠物狗的新鲜粪便样本。从粪便样本中提取基因组DNA，并进行常规PCR。接下来，基于小亚基核糖体rRNA基因对阳性样本进行测序。结果显示，5%（100份样本中有5份）的受试样本芽囊原虫呈阳性。正如预期的那样，鉴定出了三种已知的具有人畜共患病风险的芽囊原虫亚型，即ST1（60%，n = 3）、ST2（20%，n = 1）和ST3（20%，n = 1）。基于系统发育分析，这些亚型与其参考对应物显示出100%的同一性。总之，在设拉子市宠物狗中发现的人畜共患亚型可能对其宠物主人和其他家畜构成严峻挑战。尽管狗作为芽囊原虫潜在自然宿主的作用尚不清楚，但这些动物似乎可能是芽囊原虫人畜共患传播的潜在宿主。然而，关于伊朗狗中芽囊原虫及其亚型的流行病学数据仍然匮乏。
