Hajipour Nasser, Ghorani Mohammadreza, Ketzis Jennifer
Department of Food Hygiene and Aquatic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabrizopposite to Khavaran Towneast Azerbaijan Province, Shohadaye Ghavvas Blvd, Tabriz, 5166616471, Iran.
Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 Mar 4;21(1):141. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04582-6.
Linguatula serrata is a cosmopolitan zoonotic parasite. Canids serve as definitive hosts, while herbivores acts as intermediate hosts. Adult L. serrata are found in the nasal and respiratory passages, whereas the immature stages are located in the mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, lungs, and, occasionally in other organs. Humans can serve as intermediate hosts, with visceral infections, or as definitive hosts with nasopharyngeal infections. This study aimed to investigate the infection rate of stray and road-killed dogs with L. serrata and to explore its phylogeny.
A total of 150 stray dogs and 100 road-killed dogs were examined for L. serrata eggs in feces and nasal secretions using microscopy and molecular tests, and for adult L. serrata through necropsy.
The results showed that 174 of 250 (69.6%) studied dogs were positive for L. serrata by at least one of the examination methods. The prevalence in road-killed and stray dogs was determined to be 72% and 68%, respectively. The L. serrata infection rate based on fecal microscopy in the road-killed and stray dogs was 29% and 46.7%, respectively, and by fecal PCR was 59% and 48.7%, respectively. The rate of infection with L. serrata based on nasal secretions in road-killed and stray dogs was 14% and 26%, respectively, using microscopy, and 44% and 43.3%, respectively, using PCR. In the road-killed dogs, based on necropsy, 46% were positive. The results of this study show that PCR is more effective than microscopy for detecting L. serrata infections in dogs. PCR amplicon of the expected size for Linguatula of approximately 595 bp for 18S rRNA were generated from the L. serrata isolates using described specific primers.
It can be concluded that the rate of infection in dogs and possibly other carnivores, herbivores, and man, is high in this locality; hence, strict control measures should be conducted to overcome the risk of infection with this zoonotic disease.
锯齿舌形虫是一种世界性的人畜共患寄生虫。犬科动物作为终末宿主，而食草动物作为中间宿主。锯齿舌形虫成虫存在于鼻腔和呼吸道，而未成熟阶段位于肠系膜淋巴结、肝脏、脾脏、肺，偶尔也存在于其他器官。人类可作为中间宿主发生内脏感染，或作为终末宿主发生鼻咽部感染。本研究旨在调查流浪犬和道路死亡犬感染锯齿舌形虫的比率，并探索其系统发育。
共检查了150只流浪犬和100只道路死亡犬的粪便和鼻分泌物中的锯齿舌形虫卵，采用显微镜检查和分子检测方法，通过尸检检查锯齿舌形虫成虫。
结果显示，250只被研究犬中，有174只（69.6%）通过至少一种检查方法检测出锯齿舌形虫呈阳性。道路死亡犬和流浪犬的感染率分别确定为72%和68%。道路死亡犬和流浪犬基于粪便显微镜检查的锯齿舌形虫感染率分别为29%和46.7%，基于粪便PCR的感染率分别为59%和48.7%。道路死亡犬和流浪犬基于鼻分泌物的锯齿舌形虫感染率，采用显微镜检查分别为14%和26%，采用PCR分别为44%和43.3%。在道路死亡犬中，基于尸检，46%呈阳性。本研究结果表明，PCR在检测犬类锯齿舌形虫感染方面比显微镜检查更有效。使用所述特异性引物从锯齿舌形虫分离株中产生了预期大小约为595 bp的18S rRNA锯齿舌形虫PCR扩增子。
可以得出结论，该地区犬类以及可能其他食肉动物、食草动物和人类的感染率很高；因此，应采取严格的控制措施以降低感染这种人畜共患病的风险。
