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Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a severe parasitic disease caused by the species complex Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. Human infections are most commonly associated with E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.), comprising genotypes G1 and G3. The objective of the current study was to provide first insight into the genetic diversity and phylogeography of genotype G3. Despite the epidemiological importance of the genotype, it has remained poorly explored due to the ambiguity in the definition of the genotype. However, it was recently demonstrated that long sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) provide a reliable method to discriminate G1 and G3 from each other. Therefore, we sequenced near-complete mtDNA of 39 G3 samples, covering most of the known distribution range and host spectra of the genotype. The phylogenetic network revealed high genetic variation within E. granulosus s.s. G3 and while G3 is significantly less prevalent worldwide than G1, the genetic diversity of both of the genotypes is equally high. We also present the results of the Bayesian phylogeographic analysis, which yielded several well-supported diffusion routes of genotype G3 originating from Turkey and Iran, suggesting the Middle East as the origin of the genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we examine 3157 foxes from 6 districts of the Slovak Republic in order to determine for the first time the distribution, prevalence and identity of Mesocestodes spp. endemic to this part of central Europe. During the period 2001–2006, an average of 41·9% of foxes were found to harbour Mesocestoides infections. Among the samples we confirmed the widespread and common occurrence of M. litteratus (Batsch, 1786), and report the presence, for the first time, of M. lineatus (Goeze, 1782) in the Slovak Republic, where it has a more restricted geographical range and low prevalence (7%). Using a combination of 12S rDNA, CO1 and ND1 mitochondrial gene sequences together with analysis of 13 morphometric characters, we show that the two species are genetically distinct and can be differentiated by discrete breaks in the ranges of the male and female reproductive characters, but not by the more commonly examined characters of the scolex and strobila. Estimates of interspecific divergence within Mesocestoides ranged from 9 to 18%, whereas intraspecific variation was less than 2%, and phylogenetic analyses of the data showed that despite overlapping geographical ranges, the two commonly reported European species are not closely related, with M. litteratus more closely allied to North American isolates of Mesocestoides than to M. lineatus. We confirm that morphological analysis of reproductive organs can be used to reliably discriminate between these often sympatric species obtained from red foxes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]