1. Isolation of Onchocerca lupi in Dogs and Black Flies, California, USA.
- Author
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Hassan HK, Bolcen S, Kubofcik J, Nutman TB, Eberhard ML, Middleton K, Wekesa JW, Ruedas G, Nelson KJ, Dubielzig R, De Lombaert M, Silverman B, Schorling JJ, Adler PH, Unnasch TR, and Beeler ES
- Subjects
- Animals, Base Sequence, California epidemiology, DNA, Intergenic, Dogs, Female, Genes, Protozoan, Molecular Sequence Data, Onchocerca classification, Onchocerca genetics, Sequence Alignment, Dog Diseases parasitology, Onchocerca isolation & purification, Onchocerciasis veterinary, Simuliidae parasitology
- Abstract
In southern California, ocular infections caused by Onchocerca lupi were diagnosed in 3 dogs (1 in 2006, 2 in 2012). The infectious agent was confirmed through morphologic analysis of fixed parasites in tissues and by PCR and sequencing of amplicons derived from 2 mitochondrially encoded genes and 1 nuclear-encoded gene. A nested PCR based on the sequence of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene of the parasite was developed and used to screen Simulium black flies collected from southern California for O. lupi DNA. Six (2.8%; 95% CI 0.6%-5.0%) of 213 black flies contained O. lupi DNA. Partial mitochondrial16S rRNA gene sequences from the infected flies matched sequences derived from black fly larvae cytotaxonomically identified as Simulium tribulatum. These data implicate S. tribulatum flies as a putative vector for O. lupi in southern California.
- Published
- 2015
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