A sample of 22 Echinococcus granulosus isolates collected from 12 sheep and ten humans from a focus of cystic echinococcosis in western Turkey was examined by DNA sequencing of four mitochondrial genes (cox1, atp6, nad1, rrnS). Results demonstrated the presence of two species of E. granulosus complex, E. granulosus sensu stricto and E. canadensis. Of E. granulosus sensu stricto, the G1 genotype (including three microvariants) was found in 17 isolates from humans and sheep, the G3 genotype and an intermediate form G1/G3 in one isolate each (both from sheep). Of E. canadensis, the pig strain G7 was found in three isolates from sheep and human. This is the first report of this strain in Turkey. Its presence has implications for local control programs due to its shorter maturation rate in dogs compared with E. granulosus sensu stricto. Goat and/or wild boar are likely reservoirs for G7 in the region. We provided further data on the pattern and frequency of nucleotide substitutions within the G1/G3 cluster. Based on our results and GenBank records, G2 (Tasmanian sheep strain) is not considered as a discrete genotypic unit, as its sequences at polymorphic sites conform to microvariants of both G1 and (more often) G3.

Summary In Turkey, cyst hydatid disease (CHD) or cystic echinococcosis (CE) is publicly known as “dog cyst”, a fatal and serious disease not only affects livestock husbandry and human health but also brings about economic loss to our country. According to the data of the Ministry of Health; number of annual cases was 408 in 2008, and this number reached 1,867 by the end of 2019. Cystic echinococcosis is especially taken up during childhood and emerged at an older age. They become exposed to the eggs of the tapeworm after close contact with an infected dog or its contaminated environment. The infected dogs also pass in their feces E. granulosus eggs that adhere to the dogs’ hairs, and pass on to the children who are in the course of playful and intimate contact with the infected dogs. This study was to create the awareness of risk factors of CE among 10 different districts of Izmir province. Awareness raising seminars are essential component of this study because local people living in CE endemic areas, are crucial to continue and sustain the long-time effort that is needed to tackle this disease. In each district, 3 awareness raising seminars were held to the target groups: (a) in schools for students, teachers, administrators, (b) for general public, (c) for healthcare professionals. 4090 students attended to the trainings, 242 administrators and teachers who attended to the presentations together with the students, 524 people were attended to the trainings and 327 health workers attended to the trainings from different institutions. This study helped improving this situation by organising educational events for the rural populations for preventing transmission of the disease. This is the first educational intervention study regarding creating awareness on CE in Izmir Province which includes 10 districts between January 2019 to January 2020.

SummaryThe aim of this study was to investigate whether Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA) and Western Blotting (WB) methods could contribute to the assessment of clinical outcomes in genotype-defined cystic echinococcosis (CE) patients. Twenty-nine human isolates and blood samples have been taken from patients who underwent surgery or percutaneous aspiration (PAIR) for therapeutic purposes at Ege University and Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospitals. All sera of patients were screened for the presence of E. granulosus IgG antibodies using in-house approved ELISA and WB methods. According to the ELISA results, five patients had high, thirteen patients had medium and eight patients had low specific antibody level response which ranged 1/640 -1/5000. Despite confirmed WB positivity three patients were found to be negative by ELISA. Immunoblot analysis of EgAg showed many protein bands with size of 8, 12, 20, 22, 24, 36, 75 and 90 kDa. Among of them, 8 – 12 kDa bands (90 %), 20 – 22 kDa and 36 kDa bands presented strong reactivity against human serum specimens. No serum samples from healthy control reacted with EgAg. Phylogenetic analysis of resulting COX1 and NAD1sequences has revealed that all patients in our study were infected with the E. granulosus G1-G3 genotype. There was no consistent correlation between results of ELISA and WB, the number or size of cysts and genotype. Our study brings a unique contribution in terms of relationship between serological investigation, disease genotypes and clinical outcomes.