An epidemiological study of hydatid cyst of Echinococcus granulosus isolated from sheep, goats and cattle in Sulaimani province, Kurdistan Regional-Iraq.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a parasitic zoonosis caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato with medical importance and economic effect. This study was carried out in Sulaimani province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq from October 2020 to November 2021. The study focused on the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered animals. The total prevalence was 8% (1324/16524), with a high rate in sheep (5.3%) and low rates in goats and cattle (1.9% and 0.76%, respectively). With respect to abattoirs involved in the study, the highest prevalence was detected in Kalar abattoir (16.8%) and the lowest in Sulaimani abattoir (4.4%). Among the infected animals, sheep in Kalar abattoir recorded the highest prevalence, while cattle in Sulaimani abattoir recorded the lowest prevalence (11.7% and 0.4%, respectively). Males of sheep, cattle, and female goats showed higher prevalence (66.7%, 76.2%, and 58.6%, respectively). Regarding organ involvements, males of cattle and sheep showed high liver involvement (81.25% and 72.2%, respectively), while females of goat showed the highest liver involvement (76%). Females of cattle and sheep showed high lung involvement (46.7% and 28.5%, respectively), but the males of goats showed the highest lung involvement (53.8%).

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Echinococcus granulosus Sensu Lato Eggs among Stray Dogs in Sulaimani Province-Kurdistan, Iraq.

The main goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus among stray dogs, as well as its potential impact on the environmental contamination in the Kurdistan-Iraq using microscopic examination and the Copro-PCR method. The presence of taeniid eggs was recorded in 400 dog faeces collected from the four different regions in the Sulaimani Governorate. The parasite eggs were recovered from fresh and aged faecal samples of the dogs using two isolation techniques, a flotation method (Sheather's solution, modified; specific gravity: d = 1.27) and a sedimentation method (formal-ether) in which the sediments from dog faeces were collected. Both methods were used for Copro-PCR to detect the presence of Echinococcus species egg through DNA using common primers designed to amplify a partial gene of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COX1). The results of the microscopic examination showed a higher prevalence rate, i.e., 97 (24.25%) of E. granulosus among stray dogs generally in Sulaimani Governorate. The prevalence of E. granulosus among stray dogs according to the district area was 40, 24, 23, and 20.8% in Rzgari, Kalar, Sulaimani, and Halabja, respectively. The positive samples (n = 50) were selected for molecular confirmation, the DNA was extracted from the sediment of the positive samples and 40 (80%) samples were successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The sequences show that all samples belong to the Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (G1-G3), with slight genetic variation. It was concluded that the sediment of dog faeces can be used for DNA extraction, which is a new method that increases the sensitivity of the test, and the amount of DNA yield would be higher than the routine method, which directly uses faeces of the dogs. In addition, the molecular diagnosis was more sensitive than the microscope examination for the presence of E. granulosus eggs. The prevalence of E. granulosus in both the final hosts and the intermediate hosts must be regularly monitored.

Two haplotype clusters of Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto in northern Iraq (Kurdistan region) support the hypothesis of a parasite cradle in the Middle East.

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus s.s. is a major public health problem in Iraqi Kurdistan with a reported surgical incidence of 6.3 per 100,000 Arbil inhabitants. A total of 125 Echinococcus isolates retrieved from sheep, goats and cattle were used in this study. Our aim was to determine species/genotypes infecting livestock in Iraqi Kurdistan and examine intraspecific variation and population structure of Echinococcus granulosus s.s. in this region and relate it to that of other regions worldwide. Using nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox 1) we identified E. granulosus s.s. as the cause of hydatidosis in all examined animals. The haplotype network displayed a double-clustered topology with two main E. granulosus s.s. haplotypes, (KU05) and (KU33). The 'founder' haplotype (KU05) confirmed the presence of a common lineage of non-genetically differentiated populations as inferred by the low non-significant fixation index values. Overall diversity and neutrality indices indicated demographic expansion. We used E. granulosus s.s. nucleotide sequences from GenBank to draw haplotype networks for the Middle East (Iran, Jordan and Turkey), Europe (Albania, Greece, Italy, Romania and Spain), China, Mongolia, Russia, South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico) and Tunisia. Networks with two haplotype clusters like that reported here for Iraqi Kurdistan were seen for the Middle East, Europe, Mongolia, Russia and Tunisia using both 827bp and 1609bp cox1 nucleotide sequences, whereas a star-like network was observed for China and South America. We hypothesize that the double clustering seen at what is generally assumed to be the cradle of domestication may have emerged independently and dispersed from the Middle East to other regions and that haplotype (KU33) may be the main haplotype within a second cluster in the Middle East from where it has spread into Europe, Mongolia, Russia and North Africa. Further studies using metacestodes of human origin are required to investigate the biological importance of E. granulosus s.s. haplotypes/clusters and their association, if any with clinical manifestations of CE infection.