A new intermediate host of Echinococcus shiquicus in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

作者：Weigang Chen, Li Li, Guo-Dong Dai, Yao-Dong Wu, Nigus Abebe Shumuye, Tharheer Oluwashola Amuda, Xue‐Qi Tian, Sheng-Zhi Gao, Xue-Yi Hou, Nian‐Zhang Zhang, Wenjun Tian, Lin-Sheng Zhang, Le Li, Fu-Heng Zhang, Min Guo, Wendong Li, Zhonggecao, Zhaxilamao, Gazangzhuoma, Doukao, Tao Yang, Bao‐Quan Fu, Hong Yin, Hongbin Yan, Wan‐Zhong Jia · 发表于：Parasitology Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1007/s00436-025-08494-0 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Parasitic infections in humans and animals、Congenital Anomalies and Fetal Surgery、Parasite Biology and Host Interactions

Echinococcosis is a severe parasitic zoonosis worldwide distribution, caused by the genus Echinococcus. One of its recently identified species, Echinococcus shiquicus, is believed to be endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in China. Research has confirmed that Tibetan foxes are the definitive hosts for E. shiquicus, while plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) serve as intermediate hosts. In this study, cyst containing protoscolices was first observed in the lung of plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Gannan, Gansu Province, China. This observation was confirmed using complete sequences of the cox1 and nad1 genes. We also characterized the cysts and examined the genetic diversity of Echinococcus shiquicus collected from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, which includes Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Phylogenetic trees and haplotype analyses for the isolates were constructed using the maximum likelihood method in MEGA 7.0.26 and DnaSP v6 software, based on the complete cox1 (1608 bp) and nad1 (897 bp) gene sequences, as well as a concatenated dataset of cox1-nad1 (2505 bp). The cyst containing protoscolices in the lung of plateau zokor was identified as Echinococcus shiquicus. The prevalence of E. shiquicus infection in plateau pikas in Luqu and Maqu counties in Gansu province was found to be 2.38% (3/126) and 3.36% (10/298), respectively, while in plateau zokors, it was 1.61% (1/62). Haplotype analysis, incor...