Genetic diversity in Echinococcus shiquicus from the plateau pika ( Ochotona curzoniae ) in Darlag County, Qinghai, China

First report on the phylogenetic relationship, genetic variation of Echinococcus shiquicus isolates in Tibet Autonomous Region, China

“…To investigate the genetic diversity, we analysed a total of 35 E. shiquicus nucleotide sequences, including sequences representing the 15 isolates from the current study [Damxung (6) and Nyêmo (9) counties of the Tibet Autonomous region] and 20 complete cox 1- nad 1 sequences from our previous investigation in Darlag county, Qinghai province [ 6 ].…”

“…The geographical distribution, epidemiology and zoonotic potential of E. shiquicus remains poorly understood [ 5 ]. Although initially reported to be limited geographically to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, its presence has since been gradually found in other areas of the plateau [ 6 ], thereby increasing the need to intensify efforts to learn more about this species, especially its prevalence, genetic population structure, and host range, in order to understand its transmission pattern and ultimately achieve control of its spread. The use of improved specific detection and discrimination assays [ 10 , 11 ] in the differential diagnosis of Echinococcus infection in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau cannot be overstated in terms of providing a near-accurate picture of the prevalence of the species in the region.…”

“…The results of this study showed a prevalence of E. shiquicus infection in pikas in Damxung and Nyêmo counties of 3.95 and 6.98%, respectively. With the question of the zoonotic potential of E. shiquicus still unanswered [ 5 , 22 ], the prevalence of E. shiquicus infection observed in the study area and the prevalence of 23.75–37.5% previously reported in Darlag and Shiqu counties of Qinghai and Sichuan provinces, respectively [ 2 , 6 , 23 ], raises concern regarding the significance of E. shiquicus infection for both humans and livestock in the region.…”

“…The concatenated sequence of the E. multilocularis cox 1 and nad 1 genes (GenBank accession no. AB385610 and AB668376, respectively) was considered as an outgroup [ 6 , 10 , 18 ]. In addition, the cox 1- nad 1 sequence of E. shiquicus (AB208064 or NC_009460) was chosen as a reference sequence while sequences from Fan et al [ 18 ] were included in our analysis to provide better insight into the genetic diversity of E. shiquicus in the plateau region as this study is the sole study to date to have investigated the genetic diversity of E. shiquicus using longer mitochondrial DNA sequences (2505 bp).…”

“…Echinococcosis or hydatidosis is a serious cosmopolitan parasitic zoonosis [ 1 – 3 ]. Echinococcus shiquicus , a newly described species of the genus Echinococcus , is currently believed to be limited and endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau region of China [ 4 – 6 ] where the Tibetan fox ( Vulpes ferrilata ) and plateau pika ( Ochotona curzoniae ) commonly serve as the definitive and intermediate hosts, respectively. E. shiquicus was also recently identified in some rodent species, such as voles, in Sichuan province, which further suggests other small mammal species could serve as potential intermediate hosts to this Echinococcus species [ 7 ].…”