AUTHOR=Gürler Ali Tümay , Gori Francesca , Bölükbas¸ Cenk Soner , Umur Şinasi , Açıcı Mustafa , Deplazes Peter 

TITLE=Investigation of Echinococcus multilocularis in Environmental Definitive Host Feces in the Asian and the European Parts of Turkey

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00048

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2018.00048

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>A study was carried out to investigate the presence of <italic>Echinococcus multilocularis</italic> in red foxes (<italic>Vulpes vulpes</italic>) in two regions of Turkey—central Anatolia (in Asia Minor) and Thrace (in the European part of Turkey). A total of 405 putative fox feces were collected from central Anatolia (186 specimens in 59 locations) and from Thrace (219 specimens in 114 locations). All samples were examined by the flotation and sieving method for taeniid eggs, and positive and putative samples were further analyzed by multiplex PCR. In seven samples from three locations in central Anatolia (5.1%) and in one (0.9%) from Thrace, <italic>E</italic>. <italic>multilocularis</italic> DNA was amplified, and this result was confirmed with another PCR specific for <italic>E. multilocularis</italic>. In addition, <italic>Echinococcus granulosus</italic> s.l. was found in two (0.5%) of the samples. Although alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is known as a serious zoonosis in Turkey, this is the first field study detecting <italic>E. multilocularis</italic> in collected fecal samples documenting the environmental contamination with eggs of this zoonotic parasite.</p>