Sharifdini Meysam, Eslahi Aida Vafae, Pirestani Majid, Asghari Ali, Sgroi Giovanni, Hajialilo Elham, Karimi Arian Ghannadi, Diakou Anastasia, Badri Milad
Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.
Medical Microbiology Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 Apr 25;21(1):289. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04752-6.
Dogs and cats can harbor hookworms, which may contribute to zoonotic infections. This study investigates hookworm infections in carnivores from the Caspian Sea littoral region of northern Iran, focusing on molecular and morphological identification.
A cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2015 and October 2024, involving 172 road-killed carnivores including 78 stray dogs (Canis familiaris), 62 golden jackals (Canis aureus), and 32 stray cats (Felis catus), all collected from the northern Iranian provinces of Guilan and Mazandaran.
Overall, 46 (26.74%) animals tested positive for hookworms. Among these, Ancylostoma caninum was found in dogs and golden jackals, Ancylostoma tubaeforme in cats, and Uncinaria stenocephala in dogs and golden jackals. Morphological analyses confirmed key differences between A. caninum and A. tubaeforme, including size, esophageal features, and bursal structure. Molecular identification was supported by 18S, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA, 28S, and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COX1) gene sequences, demonstrating high similarity with previously identified isolates in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS and COX1 sequences revealed distinct clades for each species, with A. caninum and A. tubaeforme clustering together in the Ancylostoma spp. group.
These results provide important insights into hookworm diversity and highlight the zoonotic risks posed by these parasites.
狗和猫可能携带钩虫,这可能导致人畜共患感染。本研究调查了伊朗北部里海沿岸地区食肉动物的钩虫感染情况,重点是分子和形态学鉴定。
2015年9月至2024年10月进行了一项横断面研究,涉及172只道路死亡的食肉动物,包括78只流浪狗(家犬)、62只金豺(金豺)和32只流浪猫(家猫),均采集自伊朗北部的吉兰省和马赞德兰省。
总体而言,46只(26.74%)动物钩虫检测呈阳性。其中,犬钩口线虫在狗和金豺中被发现,管状钩口线虫在猫中被发现,狭头弯口线虫在狗和金豺中被发现。形态学分析证实了犬钩口线虫和管状钩口线虫之间的关键差异,包括大小、食管特征和尾囊结构。分子鉴定得到了18S、ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA、28S和线粒体细胞色素c氧化酶1(COX1)基因序列的支持,表明与GenBank中先前鉴定的分离株高度相似。ITS和COX1序列的系统发育分析揭示了每个物种的不同进化枝,犬钩口线虫和管状钩口线虫在钩口线虫属组中聚集在一起。
这些结果为钩虫多样性提供了重要见解,并突出了这些寄生虫带来的人畜共患风险。