Epidemiological and Molecular Characterization of Echinococcus granulosus Isolated from Small Ruminants in Kashmir Valley, India

Akeel  Beigh; Mohmommad  Darzi; Samina  Bashir; Parvaiz  Dar; Nazir  Ganai; Suhail Malik; Basharat  Bhat

doi:10.18502/ijpa.v16i3.7088

Akeel Beigh Faculty of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Mohmommad Darzi Faculty of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Samina Bashir Department of Biochemistry, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India
Parvaiz Dar Faculty of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Nazir Ganai Faculty of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Suhail Malik Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Basharat Bhat Department of Bioinformatics, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v16i3.7088

Keywords: Cystic echinococcosis; Polymorphism; Restriction fragment length; Genotyping; Sheep

Abstract

Background: Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) is an emergent or re-emergent zoonosis and remains a public health and economic problem all over the world.

Methods: The present study was carried on the prevalence and genotypes of Echinococcus present in small ruminants in Kashmir valley. A total of 2100, sheep (2052) and goats (48), slaughtered or spontaneously dead, from various areas of Kashmir valley were screened for the presence of hydatidosis. In case of goat none of the cases were found positive for hydatidosis, whereas, all the positive cases (85) were recorded in sheep only. The overall prevalence of hydatidosis was 4.04%. The prevalence was higher in female sheep (5.46%) compared to males (2.83%). Season-wise highest prevalence was in summer (4.55%), followed by autumn (4.1%), spring (3.89%) and winter (2.5%).The liver was observed to be the most frequently infected organ with relative prevalence of 61.17% followed by lungs (38.82%).The rDNA-ITS1 fragment of positive samples was amplified with BD1 / 4S primers.

Results: The length of amplified fragment for all isolated samples was 1000bps. The products obtained on PCR were digested with four restriction enzymes (Rsa 1, Alu 1, Msp 1 and Taq1). Rsa 1, Alu 1, Msp 1 yielded identical fragments, 300 and 700 bp in sheep. TaqI restriction enzyme had no effect on PCR product and after digestion; intact 1000bps fragment was seen.

Conclusion: Phylogenetic analysis of ITS1 gene revealed that the common sheep strain (G1) is the predominant genotype in sheep in Kashmir valley.