Gomes-Gonçalves Sara, Feiteiro Maria João, Moreira Guilherme, Cruz Rita, Esteves Fernando, Vala Helena, Mesquita João R
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto (UP), 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, Escola Superior Agrária de Viseu, Campus Politécnico, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal.
Vet Sci. 2025 Apr 2;12(4):325. doi: 10.3390/vetsci12040325.
Research on endoparasites in pet dogs has been growing, but shepherd dogs have largely been overlooked. These dogs frequently share close proximity not only with sheep, which are reservoirs of zoonotic subtypes of , but also with their owners. This close contact increases the potential for shepherd dogs to act as intermediates in the transmission of . To clarify the role of these dogs as reservoirs for this parasite, this study investigated the presence of in shepherd dogs. Stool samples from Portuguese shepherd dogs were analyzed using SYBR-Green-based real-time PCR and melting curve analysis followed by targeted-amplicon NGS for mixed infections detection. Our results revealed a 60% occurrence of sp. in shepherd dog stools and frequent identification of zoonotic subtypes ST1-ST4 and ST14. Additionally, we observed mixed infections and subtype diversity within individual dogs, suggesting a potential role in cross-species transmission between livestock and humans.
对宠物狗体内寄生虫的研究不断增加，但牧羊犬在很大程度上被忽视了。这些狗不仅经常与作为人畜共患亚型宿主的绵羊密切接触，还与它们的主人密切接触。这种密切接触增加了牧羊犬作为中间宿主传播（寄生虫）的可能性。为了阐明这些狗作为这种寄生虫宿主的作用，本研究调查了牧羊犬体内（该寄生虫）的存在情况。使用基于SYBR Green的实时PCR和熔解曲线分析对葡萄牙牧羊犬的粪便样本进行分析，随后进行靶向扩增子NGS以检测混合感染。我们的结果显示，牧羊犬粪便中该寄生虫的检出率为60%，并且经常鉴定出人畜共患亚型ST1-ST4和ST14。此外，我们观察到个体狗体内存在混合感染和亚型多样性，这表明（该寄生虫）在牲畜和人类之间的跨物种传播中可能发挥作用。
