High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador.
BACKGROUND:Amphimerus sp. is a liver fluke which recently has been shown to have a high prevalence of infection among an indigenous group, Chachi, who reside in a tropical rainforest in the northwestern region of Ecuador. Since it is unknown which animals can act as a reservoir and/or definitive hos...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:5ce88c2b8036430f969db51f4fb2ce5c 2023-05-15T15:13:31+02:00 High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. Manuel Calvopiña William Cevallos Richard Atherton Matthew Saunders Alexander Small Hideo Kumazawa Hiromu Sugiyama 2015-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003526 https://doaj.org/article/5ce88c2b8036430f969db51f4fb2ce5c EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4315407?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003526 https://doaj.org/article/5ce88c2b8036430f969db51f4fb2ce5c PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 9, Iss 2, p e0003526 (2015) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003526 2022-12-31T11:51:04Z BACKGROUND:Amphimerus sp. is a liver fluke which recently has been shown to have a high prevalence of infection among an indigenous group, Chachi, who reside in a tropical rainforest in the northwestern region of Ecuador. Since it is unknown which animals can act as a reservoir and/or definitive hosts for Amphimerus sp. in this endemic area, a study was done to determine the prevalence of infection in domestic cats and dogs. This information is important to understand the epidemiology, life cycle and control of this parasite. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS:In July 2012, three Chachi communities located on Rio Cayapas, province of Esmeraldas, were surveyed. A total of 89 of the 109 registered households participated in the study. Of the 27 cats and 43 dogs found residing in the communities, stool samples were collected from 14 cats and 31 dogs (total of 45 animals) and examined microscopically for the presence of Amphimerus eggs. The prevalence of infection was 71.4% in cats and 38.7% in dogs, with similar rates of infection in all three communities. Significantly more cats were infected than dogs (p = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The data show a high rate of Amphimerus sp. infection in domestic cats and dogs residing in Chachi communities. It can be concluded that these animals act as definitive and reservoir hosts for this liver fluke and that amphimeriasis is a zoonotic disease. These findings provide important epidemiological data which will aid in the development and implementation of control strategies against the transmission of Amphimerus. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 9 2 e0003526 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Manuel Calvopiña William Cevallos Richard Atherton Matthew Saunders Alexander Small Hideo Kumazawa Hiromu Sugiyama High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND:Amphimerus sp. is a liver fluke which recently has been shown to have a high prevalence of infection among an indigenous group, Chachi, who reside in a tropical rainforest in the northwestern region of Ecuador. Since it is unknown which animals can act as a reservoir and/or definitive hosts for Amphimerus sp. in this endemic area, a study was done to determine the prevalence of infection in domestic cats and dogs. This information is important to understand the epidemiology, life cycle and control of this parasite. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS:In July 2012, three Chachi communities located on Rio Cayapas, province of Esmeraldas, were surveyed. A total of 89 of the 109 registered households participated in the study. Of the 27 cats and 43 dogs found residing in the communities, stool samples were collected from 14 cats and 31 dogs (total of 45 animals) and examined microscopically for the presence of Amphimerus eggs. The prevalence of infection was 71.4% in cats and 38.7% in dogs, with similar rates of infection in all three communities. Significantly more cats were infected than dogs (p = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The data show a high rate of Amphimerus sp. infection in domestic cats and dogs residing in Chachi communities. It can be concluded that these animals act as definitive and reservoir hosts for this liver fluke and that amphimeriasis is a zoonotic disease. These findings provide important epidemiological data which will aid in the development and implementation of control strategies against the transmission of Amphimerus. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Manuel Calvopiña William Cevallos Richard Atherton Matthew Saunders Alexander Small Hideo Kumazawa Hiromu Sugiyama |
author_facet |
Manuel Calvopiña William Cevallos Richard Atherton Matthew Saunders Alexander Small Hideo Kumazawa Hiromu Sugiyama |
author_sort |
Manuel Calvopiña |
title |
High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. |
title_short |
High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. |
title_full |
High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. |
title_fullStr |
High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. |
title_full_unstemmed |
High prevalence of the liver fluke Amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in Ecuador. |
title_sort |
high prevalence of the liver fluke amphimerus sp. in domestic cats and dogs in an area for human amphimeriasis in ecuador. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003526 https://doaj.org/article/5ce88c2b8036430f969db51f4fb2ce5c |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 9, Iss 2, p e0003526 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4315407?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003526 https://doaj.org/article/5ce88c2b8036430f969db51f4fb2ce5c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003526 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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9 |
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2 |
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e0003526 |
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