Open AccessParasitological and molecular study of Toxocara spp. in Lumbericus terrestricus earthworms
Author(s) -
Seyed Erfan Rasouli,
Mohammad Zibaei,
Saeed Bahadory,
Hamid Hosseini,
Farzaneh Firoozeh
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
bulgarian journal of veterinary medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1311-1477
pISSN - 1313-3543
DOI - 10.15547/bjvm.2019-0014
Subject(s) - toxocara canis , toxocara cati , paratenic , lumbricus terrestris , biology , visceral larva migrans , larva , toxocariasis , veterinary medicine , oligochaeta (plant) , zoology , larva migrans , earthworm , nematode , canis , helminths , ecology , medicine
Soil-associated invertebrates which are coprophagic are capable of acting as paratenic hosts for Toxocara species larvae eggs. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of Lumbricus terrestris earthworms as potential intermediate host for Toxocara species. A total of 240 earthworms were collected from the public places in four areas of Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran. The subjects of the study were digested to detect Toxocara species using microscopy and molecular analyses. Toxocara larvae and larval eggs were recovered from 1.7% (4/240) of the sampled earthworms. The recovery rate in Shah'Abbasi and Talaghani regions in the studied areas was higher than that of the other regions. In the mentioned area, 8.3% (4/48) of earthworms were revealed to be positive for Toxocara species by microscopic observation and only one was confirmed to be positive for Toxocara canis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This is the first molecular report of Toxocara canis infective larvae in Lumbricus terrestris earthworms that could be demonstrated in common environment.