Intestinal Parasites of Pets and Other House-kept Animals in Moscow.

A study screening pet animals (dogs, cats, chinchillas, ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits, primates, reptiles, and hedgehogs) within Moscow city limits for intestinal parasitic diseases has been conducted over a period of 6 years. According to the study, parasitic infections caused by intestinal protozoa are found in pet animals more frequently than by intestinal helminths. Although dogs and cats exhibit the highest level of diversity of intestinal parasite species, in the group of exotic animals, helminth infection are found much less frequently and parasitic fauna is represented mostly by intestinal protozoa with a high percentage of mixed infection. The most widespread helminth infeсtion of dogs and cats is toxocarosis (respectively 2.5 and 5.7 %) and the most widespread protozoan infection is Giardia sp. (9.8 and 4.6 %). Giardia sp. was found in 47.4 % of chinchillas, Cryptosporidium sp. was more frequently found in ferrets (6.55 %), protozoa from the family Trichomonadida was found in guinea pigs (9 %), Eimeria sp. in rabbits (13.9 %), Acanthocephala in primates (15.7 %), and eggs from the generaOxyurida (59 %), along with protozoa from the family Trichomonadida, in reptiles. Capillaria sp. was most prevalent in hedgehogs (33.4 %). Acanthocephala eggs, as well as protozoa from the Giardia and Entamoeba genera, were more frequently found in primates. Parasites common to animals and humans, which may become a source of infection for the latter under certain conditions, have been identified in pet animals.

[RIBOSOMAL DNA INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER 2 SEQUENCE AS A PHYLOGENETIC MARKER FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF TRICHINELLA NEMATODES].

The results of testing several primer combinations were used to choose an optimal pair for the amplification of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of ribosomal DNA (direct: Tri58s F 5 CGG TGG ATC RCT TGG CTC GTA CG and reverse: AB28 Rr (CGA CCG CTT ATT GAT ATG C). This pair of primers yields a 900 bp PCR product. Comparative analysis of obtained ITS2 sequences, for 8 Trichinella isolates from different regions of the Russian Federation permits different species and individual genotypes of these parasitic nematodes to be validly distinguished.