Cystic echinococcosis in donkeys in eastern Africa.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is endemic in humans and domestic animals in eastern Africa. All the species of the sensu lato complex have been reported in this region except for , possibly due to the small number of studies involving equids. This study reports the frequency of different species in donkeys from eastern Africa. A total of 5961 donkeys were examined during meat inspection in 3 slaughterhouses in Kenya. Identification of spp. was achieved through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-length polymorphism and sequencing of the mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase subunit 1 gene. The prevalence of CE was 5.7% (337/5961). The 263 genotyped cysts belonged to ( = 163), sensu stricto ( = 70), (G6/7) ( = 26) and ( = 4). One donkey harboured a metacestode of . All cases, except 2, originated from southern Ethiopia, whereas the other species were more evenly distributed across the study area. Most of the cysts belonging to were fertile (111/163), while those of the other species were non-fertile. This is the first report of spp. in donkeys from sub-Saharan Africa and the first confirmation of in East Africa. The frequent fertility of cysts in donkeys affirms their suitability as intermediate hosts of this species, while low frequency and cyst fertility suggest a marginal role of donkeys in the transmission of s. s., (G6/7) and .