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Dracunculus Species in Meso-mammals from Georgia, United States, and Implications for the Guinea Worm Eradication Program in Chad, Africa
- Source :
- The Journal of parasitology. 106(5)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- The prevalence and diversity of parasitic nematodes in wildlife have been well studied for certain species, yet for others considerable gaps in knowledge exist. The parasitic nematode Dracunculus insignis infects North American wildlife, and past research on this species has led to an increased understanding of the potential host diversity and transmission of the closely related human Guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis (which is currently the focus of a global eradication program). Many definitive hosts have been documented for D. insignis; however, the life cycle has been studied only in laboratories, and only a single phylogenetic study has been conducted on D. insignis (from Canada). The goals of the present study were to investigate the prevalence of infections with Dracunculus species among wildlife at a single site (Di-Lane plantation) in the southeastern United States, evaluate the genetic diversity of parasites at this site, and investigate potential paratenic hosts that may be involved in transmission. Over 3 yr, we sampled 228 meso-mammals, reporting an overall prevalence of infection with Dracunculus insignis of 20% (46/228). Amphibians and fish were sampled in the same geographic area as infected meso-mammals. Dracunculus insignis third-stage larvae were recovered from 2 different species of amphibians, but all fish sampled were negative. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene showed very little diversity of Dracunculus at Di-Lane; however, we did recover a single nematode from a Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) that falls outside of the D. insignis clade, more closely aligns with Dracunculus lutrae, and may represent an undescribed species. This work documents the occurrence of D. insignis in frogs, a potential transmission pathway for D. insignis at a single geographic site in nature. When applied to the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program, and Chad, Africa, in particular, this work increases our knowledge of the potential role of aquatic animals in the transmission of Dracunculus species and informs on potential intervention strategies that may be applied to the eradication of Guinea worm in Africa.
- Subjects :
- Male
Armadillos
Georgia
Chad
Virginia opossum
030231 tropical medicine
Wildlife
Zoology
Animals, Wild
Coyotes
030308 mycology & parasitology
Amphibians
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Paratenic
Geographic site
biology.animal
parasitic diseases
Prevalence
Animals
Ponds
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Phylogeny
Mammals
0303 health sciences
Genetic diversity
Life Cycle Stages
biology
Dracunculiasis
Fishes
Genetic Variation
Opossums
Dracunculus Nematode
biology.organism_classification
Dracunculus (nematode)
Nematode
Parasitology
Female
Raccoons
Dracunculus medinensis
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19372345
- Volume :
- 106
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The Journal of parasitology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e4a8d714484d75739ba8e7cc03371c37