title: Molecular and morphological variation of Paragonimus westermani in Vietnam with records of new second intermediate crab hosts and a new locality in a northern province.
abstract: Paragonimus westermani is one of the most medically important lung flukes and is widely distributed in Asia. It exhibits considerable variation in morphological, genetic and biological features. In central provinces of Vietnam, a high prevalence of metacercariae of this species has been reported from the crab intermediate host, Vietopotamon aluoiense. In this study, we detected P. westermani metacercariae in two additional crab hosts, Donopotamon haii in Quang Tri Province, central Vietnam and Indochinamon tannanti in Yen Bai Province in the north. The latter is a new locality for P. westermani in a northern region of Vietnam where P. heterotremus is the only species currently known to cause human paragonimiasis. Paragonimus westermani metacercariae found in Vietnam showed considerable morphological variation but slight genetic variation based on DNA sequences from the nuclear ribosomal ITS2 region and the mitochondrial 16S gene. Co-infection of the same individual crabs with P. westermani and P. heterotremus and/or some other Paragonimus species was found frequently, suggesting potential for co-infection in humans. The findings of the present study emphasize the need for highly specific molecular and immunodiagnostic methods to differentially diagnose between P. westermani and P. heterotremus infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology,Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology,Hanoi,Vietnam.
authors.forename: N Pham
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Doanh
authors.affiliation: Vietnam National Lung Hospital,Hanoi,Vietnam.
authors.forename: A Luu
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology,Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology,Hanoi,Vietnam.
authors.forename: T Dung
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Bui
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology,Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology,Hanoi,Vietnam.
authors.forename: T Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Loan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture,University of Miyazaki, Center for Animal Disease Control, University of Miyazaki,Miyazaki,Japan.
authors.forename: Nariaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture,University of Miyazaki, Center for Animal Disease Control, University of Miyazaki,Miyazaki,Japan.
authors.forename: Yoichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horii
authors.affiliation: College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University,Townsville, Queensland,Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.affiliation: Research Affairs Office, Faculty of Medicine,Khon Kaen University,Khon Kaen,Thailand.
authors.forename: Yukifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003386:Brachyura / Q000469:parasitology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D058507:Host Specificity; D048492:Paragonimus westermani / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Paragonimus westermani; morphological and molecular variation; new crab intermediate hosts; new locality