Background: Echinococcus granulosus (sensu lato) (s.l.) and Echinococcus vogeli are causative agents of chronic zoonotic diseases such as cystic and polycystic echinococcosis, respectively. In Brazil, polycystic echinococcosis has a restricted geographical distribution in the North Region, while cystic echinococcosis is observed in the South Region. Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) fed with raw viscera represent a risk factor for E. granulosus (s.l.) infection in the South Region. Although this practice is frequent, it remains unclear whether domestic dogs are infected with E. vogeli in the state of Acre, located in the Amazon basin in the North Region of Brazil. The aim of this study was to investigate this gap in the polycystic echinococcosis epidemiology.
Methods: Sixty-five fecal samples were collected from the ground in five municipalities (Sena Madureira, n = 14; Rio Branco, n = 06; Bujari, n = 06; Xapuri, n = 30; and Epitaciolândia, n = 09) located in the state of Acre, northern Brazil. The samples were screened for parasites by copro-PCR using the cox1 gene associated with automated sequencing.
Results: Echinococcus vogeli was molecularly confirmed in a sample from Sena Madureira and E. granulosus (sensu stricto) (s.s.) (G1) in a sample from Rio Branco.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that molecular assays are useful in typing Echinococcus taxa from fecal samples of dogs in northern Brazil. The present study is the first molecular record of E. vogeli in domestic dogs found in the state of Acre, reinforcing their role as a source of infection for humans. Because E. granulosus (s.s.) (G1) was detected for the first time in the North Region, from the epidemiological standpoint this finding is highly relevant, because it expands the known geographical distribution, which was previously restricted to the South Region of Brazil.
Keywords: Acre; Canis familiaris; Copro-PCR; Echinococcosis; Echinococcus granulosus (sensu stricto); Echinococcus vogeli.