title: First Molecular Characterization of Echinococcus multilocularis in Turkey.
abstract: This study aimed to find out the occurrence of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in Erzurum province, the highest endemic region for human alveolar echinococcosis in Turkey. The sedimentation and counting technique was used to reveal adult Echinococcus spp. in the intestines of foxes. One out of the 10 foxes was infected with E. multilocularis. The adult worms were analyzed morphologically and molecularly and were confirmed to be E. multilocularis by species-specific PCR. Pairwise comparisons between the 12S rRNA sequences of the E. multilocularis isolate from Erzurum and other E. multilocularis isolates showed 100% similarity of the Erzurum isolate with European isolates. With this study, the presence of E. multilocularis in a fox in Erzurum was confirmed by PCR, and molecular identification of E. multilocularis is reported for the first time in Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University , Erzurum, Turkey .
authors.forename: Hamza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Avcioglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University , Erzurum, Turkey .
authors.forename: Esin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guven
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University , Erzurum, Turkey .
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Balkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University , Erzurum, Turkey .
authors.forename: Ridvan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kirman
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University , Erzurum, Turkey .
authors.forename: Mohammed Mebarek
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bia
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Atatürk University , Erzurum, Turkey .
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gulbeyen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology*; D005589:Foxes; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Echinococcus multilocularis; Turkey; fox; molecular characterization