title: Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus canadensis in wolves from western Canada.
abstract: Echinococcus species are important parasites of wildlife, domestic animals and people worldwide; however, little is known about the prevalence, intensity and genetic diversity of Echinococcus tapeworms in Canadian wildlife. Echinococcus tapeworms were harvested from the intestines of 42% of 93 wolves (Canis lupus) from five sampling regions in the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and visually identified to genus level by microscopic examination. Genetic characterization was successful for tapeworms from 30 wolves, and identified both Echinococcus canadensis and Echinococcus multilocularis in all sampling locations. Mixed infections of E. canadensis/E. multilocularis, as well as the G8/G10 genotypes of E. canadensis were observed. These findings suggest that wolves may be an important definitive host for both parasite species in western Canada. This represents the first report of wolves naturally infected with E. multilocularis in North America, and of wolves harbouring mixed infections with multiple species and genotypes of Echinococcus. These observations provide important information regarding the distribution and diversity of zoonotic species of Echinococcus in western North America, and may be of interest from public health and wildlife conservation perspectives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Janna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schurer
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gesy
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Division, Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, X1A 3S8, Canada.
authors.forename: Brett T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Elkin
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5B4, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D060085:Coinfection; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D008350:Manitoba / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015873:Northwest Territories / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012525:Saskatchewan / Q000453:epidemiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D019596:Wolves / Q000469:parasitology*