Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by hydatid cysts, is a widespread and hazardous disease in humans and animals worldwide. The aim of the current study was to investigate the genetic variations among Echinococcus granulosus cyst strains isolated from sheep, camel, pig, and donkey using RAPD-PCR analysis. Seven primers of arbitrary sequences were used in the PCR reactions. The screened primers gave total patterns ranging from 27 to 39 reproducible bands for each isolate. Each population isolate gave its specific pattern. Although distinct polymorphic patterns were obtained among the four isolates, there were several shared bands among them in each primer used. A comparison of the different RAPD-PCR patterns showed that primers P1, P3, and OPH 04 yielded band patterns that revealed a high degree of divergence among the four isolates of E. granulosus that allowed easy distinction between them. The remaining primers (P2, P4, P5, and OPH14) amplified DNA fragments that were common to two or more isolates but diversified in the other two or three isolates. The study revealed that the most closely related isolates were of donkey and camel where the similarity coefficent between them ranging from 53 % to 78 %, followed by isolates of pig and sheep (sc = 40 % to 68 %), while the similarity coefficent between isolates of camel and sheep was 33-45 %, between camel and pig was 36 to 57 %, between donkey and pig was 37 to 52 %, and between donkey and sheep was 35 to 54 % which means that they more or distant from each other. In conclusion, hydatid cysts isolated from camel may have the genotypic characters of donkey strain.
The liver fluke Fasciola is one of the commonest causative agents of liver disease in the world. Infection with this organism is of veterinary and medical importance, particularly in areas of high-density cattle and sheep production. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) has been suggested for use in the control of Fasciola transmission. The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of NaOCl on the eggs and their intermediate hosts (Lymnaea natalensis snails) by scanning electron microscopy. Exposure of eggs to NaOCl had markedly deleterious effects on the whole body surface, from smooth to oedematous and disrupted, and on their integrity. These effects were concentration-dependent. Treatment of the intermediate host with various concentrations of NaOCl increased the mortality rate, and the effect was also dependent on concentration and length of exposure. Scanning electron microscopy of the snail foot region showed extensive alterations of the surface, with damage in some areas, after treatment with 10 ppm NaOCl for 15 min. Sodium hypochlorite may therefore be a useful control measure for eliminating both Fasciola eggs and the intermediate snail host.
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