1. First report of Thelazia callipaeda in a free-ranging Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) from Spain
- Author
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Fernando Nájera, Giada Annoscia, Ángel Vela, Jesús de Lucas-Veguillas, Rafael Calero-Bernal, Domenico Otranto, Manuel Mata-Huete, Manuel López-Fernández, Pedro Martínez-Martínez, and Javier Cáceres-Urones
- Subjects
Male ,Zoology ,Spirurida Infections ,Disease Vectors ,Eye ,Electron Transport Complex IV ,Zoonoses ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Natural reservoir ,Spirurida ,Iberian wolf ,Systemic lupus erythematosus ,Wolves ,General Veterinary ,biology ,Haplotype ,Zoonosis ,General Medicine ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Europe ,Infectious Diseases ,Canis ,Genes, Mitochondrial ,Haplotypes ,Spain ,Insect Science ,Thelazioidea ,Parasitology ,Thelazia callipaeda ,Female - Abstract
Thelazia callipaeda (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) is a vector-borne zoonotic eyeworm able to infect a broad spectrum of carnivores. Here, we describe the first case of bilateral infection by T. callipaeda in the eyes of an adult female Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) in central Spain. Nematodes collected were morphologically identified (n = 42), and two specimens were molecularly characterized. At the sequence analysis of the partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene, T. callipaeda haplotype 1 (the only haplotype circulating in Europe) was detected. The role of the Iberian wolf as a natural reservoir for T. callipaeda in the life cycle of this emerging zoonosis and the implications in conservation are discussed.
- Published
- 2020