Dataset Information

Effective long-term control of Echinococcus multilocularis in a mixed rural-urban area in southern Germany.

ABSTRACT: Effective preventive strategies are available to control Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in order to reduce the human infection risk. Reduction of E. multilocularis prevalence in foxes was achieved in various studies by distributing praziquantel-containing bait by hand or by aircraft in either rural or settlement areas. Here, an integrated approach is described from southern Germany (district of Starnberg). Baseline data were obtained in winter 2002/03, when the prevalence rate in the project area was 51%. Between December 2005 and December 2011, air distribution of bait in agricultural and recreational areas was combined with distribution by hand in towns and villages, in order to cover the entire fox population, with a bait density of 50 pieces / km2 (baiting area: 213 km2). In addition, a control area without anthelmintic treatment was selected. Prevalence was reduced in the baiting area to 1% by March 2007. Subsequently, from 2007 to the end of 2011, prevalence rates remained at a low level with 2.4% (2007), 2.4% (2008), 2.6% (2009), 1.2% (2010) and 0.0% (2011). In the un-baited control area the prevalence rates remained high, ranging from 19.6% to 35.1% with an average of 27.3%. During the 6 years of anthelmintic treatment, differences between baiting and control areas were highly significant (P<0.001). In the suburban and urban parts of the study area prevalence could be reduced to less than 1%, i.e. to a level below the limit of detection, which was maintained even after the measures had been discontinued. The applicability and effectiveness of anthelmintic baiting was therefore confirmed even for a heavily settled and fragmented landscape, which posed challenges for practical application of the control measures. The cost of the project ranged between € 1.70 and € 2.00 per inhabitant of the baiting area per year.

SUBMITTER: Konig A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6461256 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effective long-term control of Echinococcus multilocularis in a mixed rural-urban area in southern Germany.

König Andreas A Romig Thomas T Holzhofer Ernst E

PloS one 20190412 4

Effective preventive strategies are available to control Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in order to reduce the human infection risk. Reduction of E. multilocularis prevalence in foxes was achieved in various studies by distributing praziquantel-containing bait by hand or by aircraft in either rural or settlement areas. Here, an integrated approach is described from southern Germany (district of Starnberg). Baseline data were obtained in winter 2002/03, when the prevalence rate in the proje ...[more]

PMID: 30978218

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Project description:BackgroundAlveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a clinically serious zoonosis caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. We studied the diversity and the distribution of genotypes of E. multilocularis isolated from foxes in Brandenburg, Germany, and in comparison to a hunting ground in North Rhine-Westphalia.MethodsEchinococcus multilocularis specimens from 101 foxes, 91 derived from Brandenburg and 10 derived from North Rhine-Westphalia, were examined. To detect potential mixed infections with different genotypes of E. multilocularis, five worms per fox were analyzed. For genotyping, three mitochondrial markers, namely cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (Nad1), and ATP synthase subunit 6 (ATP6), and the nuclear microsatellite marker EmsB were used. To identify nucleotide polymorphisms, the mitochondrial markers were sequenced and the data were compared, including with published sequences from other regions. EmsB fragment length profiles were determined and confirmed by Kohonen network analysis and grouping of Sammon's nonlinear mapping with k-means clustering. The spatial distribution of genotypes was analyzed by SaTScan for the EmsB profiles found in Brandenburg.ResultsWith both the mitochondrial makers and the EmsB microsatellite fragment length profile analyses, mixed infections with different E. multilocularis genotypes were detected in foxes from Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. Genotyping using the mitochondrial markers showed that the examined parasite specimens belong to the European haplotype of E. multilocularis, but a detailed spatial analysis was not possible due to the limited heterogeneity of these markers in the parasite population. Four (D, E, G, and H) out of the five EmsB profiles described in Europe so far were detected in the samples from Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. The EmsB profile G was the most common. A spatial cluster of the E. multilocularis genotype with the EmsB profile G was found in northeastern Brandenburg, and a cluster of profile D was found in southern parts of this state.ConclusionsGenotyping of E. multilocularis showed that individual foxes may harbor different genotypes of the parasite. EmsB profiles allowed the identification of spatial clusters, which may help in understanding the distribution and spread of the infection in wildlife, and in relatively small endemic areas.

Dataset Information

Effective long-term control of Echinococcus multilocularis in a mixed rural-urban area in southern Germany.

Publications

Effective long-term control of Echinococcus multilocularis in a mixed rural-urban area in southern Germany.

Similar Datasets

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