1.Surgical and Molecular Evaluation of Pediatric Hydatid Cyst Cases in Eastern Turkey.
Unal BAKAL ; Sami SIMSEK ; Ahmet KAZEZ
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2015;53(6):785-788
Cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by Echinococcus granulosus is a major public health problem worldwide, including Turkey. The aim of the current study was to identify the strains and to estimate the potential risk factors of E. granulosus in operated pediatric cases in eastern Turkey. Ten pediatric patients (7 boys and 3 girls) living in rural areas, with ages ranging from 3 to 15 years old and various clinical histories, were included in this study. Eight patients had only liver hydatid cyst, while 1 patient had liver and lung hydatid cyst and the other liver, lung, and spleen, together. There were 2 ruptured liver cysts. After surgery, during follow-up, no increase was observed in hemagglutination levels, there were no mortalities, and there was no evidence of recurrence at 2 years post operation in all patients. Molecular analysis was performed on hydatid cyst samples obtained from the 10 pediatric cases. According to mt-12S rRNA PCR results, all cases were found to be G1/G3 cluster of E. granulosus sensu stricto.
Adolescent
;
Animals
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Child
;
Child, Preschool
;
Echinococcosis/parasitology/*surgery
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Echinococcosis, Hepatic/parasitology/surgery
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Echinococcosis, Pulmonary/parasitology/surgery
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Echinococcus granulosus/genetics/*isolation & purification
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Female
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Humans
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Male
;
Turkey
2.First Report of Echinococcus equinus in a Donkey in Turkey.
Sami SIMSEK ; Erifylli ROINIOTI ; Hatice EROKSUZ
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2015;53(6):731-735
A 2-year-old female donkey (Equus asinus) was euthanized in the Pathology Department of Firat University, Elazig, Turkey. Necropsy disclosed the presence of 7 hydatid cysts distributed throughout the lung parenchyma. One of those cysts represented the parasite material of the present study and was molecularly identified through sequencing of a fragment of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (NADH1) gene, as Echinococcus equinus. The generated CO1 sequence supports the presence of the dominant haplotype as has been described in Europe and Africa. The NADH1 sequence was found similar to sequences reported in equids in Egypt and the United Kingdom. The molecular identification of E. equinus in a donkey is being reported for the first time in Turkey.
Animals
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Echinococcosis/parasitology/*veterinary
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Echinococcus/classification/genetics/*isolation & purification
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Equidae/*parasitology
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Female
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Helminth Proteins/genetics/metabolism
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Phylogeny
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Turkey
3.Comprehensive Account on Prevalence and Characteristics of Hydatid Cysts in Livestock from Pakistan
Naunain MEHMOOD ; Muhammad ARSHAD ; Haroon AHMED ; Sami SIMSEK ; Hira MUQADDAS
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2020;58(2):121-127
Pakistan is at intersection of hyperendemic regions for hydatidosis. Current study aimed to determine the prevalence of hydatid cysts and cyst characteristics in different intermediate hosts (sheep, goats, cattle and buffaloes) across the 4 provinces of Pakistan. A total of 991 sheep, 1,478 goats, 1,602 cattle and 1,343 buffaloes were examined for presence of hydatid cysts during 2 years (January 2016-December 2018). Differences in frequency of hydatidosis were observed with highest overall prevalence in buffaloes (11.9%) and sheep (11.5%). Highest prevalence and burden of infection were observed in older age animals (23.8%, 9.78±0.49) and females (26.5%, 12.53±0.67). Data for seasonal prevalence alluded to year-round presence of disease with non-significant statistical difference. Organ predilection indicated liver as the most preferred site of cyst localization followed mainly by lungs. An over-dispersion pattern was observed in all infected animals as majority of cysts belonged <10 cysts per infected host category. Highest percentage of fertile cysts was observed in liver of sheep. Interestingly, solitary form of cysts had higher fertility rate than multiple form. Amid lack of data and wide gap of knowledge, this study would try to fill up the lacunae regarding this neglected tropical disease. Extensive rearing of livestock, unregulated official slaughter and home slaughtering have played role in adaptability of E. granulosus in Pakistan.
4.First Molecular Characterization of Hypoderma actaeon in Cattle and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in Portugal.
Haroon AHMED ; Sérgio Ramalho SOUSA ; Sami SIMSEK ; Sofia ANASTÁCIO ; Seyma Gunyakti KILINC
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2017;55(6):653-658
Hypoderma spp. larvae cause subcutaneous myiasis in several animal species. The objective of the present investigation was to identify and characterize morphologically and molecularly the larvae of Hypoderma spp. collected from cattle (Bos taurus taurus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the district of Castelo Branco, Portugal. For this purpose, a total of 8 larvae were collected from cattle (n=2) and red deer (n=6). After morphological identification of Hypoderma spp. larvae, molecular characterization was based on PCR-RFLP and mitochondrial CO1 gene sequence analysis. All larvae were morphologically characterized as the third instar larvae (L3) of H. actaeon. Two restriction enzymes were used for molecular identification of the larvae. TaqI restriction enzyme was not able to cut H. actaeon. However, MboII restriction enzyme differentiated Hypoderma species showing 210 and 450 bp bands in H. actaeon. Furthermore, according to the alignment of the mt-CO1 gene sequences of Hypoderma species and to PCR-RFLP findings, all the identified Hypoderma larvae were confirmed as H. actaeon. This is the first report of identification of Hypoderma spp. (Diptera; Oestridae) from cattle and red deer in Portugal, based on morphological and molecular analyses.
Animals
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Cattle*
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Deer*
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Larva
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Myiasis
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Portugal*
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Sequence Analysis
5.Seroprevalence and Spatial Distribution of Toxoplasmosis in Sheep and Goats in North-Eastern Region of Pakistan.
Haroon AHMED ; Ayesha MALIK ; Irfan MUSTAFA ; Muhammad ARSHAD ; Mobushir Riaz KHAN ; Sohail AFZAL ; Shahzad ALI ; M Mobeen HASHMI ; Sami SIMSEK
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2016;54(4):439-446
Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Toxoplasma gondii in livestock and humans. Due to its medical and veterinary importance, it is essential to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among humans and animals in various parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants (sheep and goats) of north-eastern region, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 animals comprising of sheep (n=470) and goats (n=530) were examined for T. gondii infection by using ELISA. An epidemiological data was collected in the form of questionnaire. A surface has been generated by using method of interpolation in Arc GIS with the help of IDW (inverse distance weight). The results showed higher seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) as compared to sheep (26.2%). The seroprevalence was higher in females as compared to males in all examined ruminants. Similarly, there is a wide variation in the seroprevalence of T. gondii in different breeds of sheep and goats showing higher seroprevalence in Teddy (52.8%) and Damani breed (34.5%) of goat and sheep's, respectively. The geographical and spatial distribution of T. gondii shows that it is widely distributed in different parts of the north-eastern region of Pakistan. Our results suggest widespread environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts. It suggests us that small ruminants could be a potentially important source of T. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked.
Animals
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Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
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Female
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Goats*
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Humans
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Livestock
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Male
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Meat
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Methods
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Oocysts
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Pakistan*
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Ruminants
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Seroepidemiologic Studies*
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Sheep*
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Toxoplasma
;
Toxoplasmosis*
6.A Retrospective Analysis on the Cystic Echinococcosis Cases Occured in Northeastern Punjab Province, Pakistan
Aisha KHAN ; Sarmad ZAHOOR ; Haroon AHMED ; Uzma MALIK ; Rabia Amin BUTT ; Muhammad Sultanul MUZAM ; Seyma Gunyakti KILINC ; Noorulain NOOR ; Saroosh ZAHOOR ; Muhammad Sohail AFZAL ; Hamza MANSUR ; Shumaila IRUM ; Sami SIMSEK
The Korean Journal of Parasitology 2018;56(4):385-390
A retrospective study was performed to report the case occurrence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in three hospitals of north-eastern region in Punjab Province, Pakistan. We reviewed retrospectively the clinical records of patients in 4 hospitals which were diagnosed with CE during 2012–2017. A total of 198 cases, 82 (41.4%) male and 116 (58.6%) females were detected as CE. The most Highest incidence was revealed in.... 21–30 years-old group (24.2%) followed by 41–50 (22.7%), 31–40 (16.2%), 11–20 (13.6%), 51–60 (8.1%), below 10 (5.5%), over 71 (5.1%) and 61–70 year-old group (4.5%). CE was detected in various organs of infected individuals. However, most of CE cases were detected in the liver (47.4%) and lung (18.6%). The present study indicated that CE is more or less prevalent in surveyed areas and one of the most important public health problems in Punjab Province, Pakistan.
Echinococcosis
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Epidemiology
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Female
;
Humans
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Incidence
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Liver
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Lung
;
Male
;
Pakistan
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Public Health
;
Retrospective Studies