First paleoparasitological record of digenean eggs from a native deer from Patagonia Argentina (Cueva Parque Diana archaeological site)

Human and Animal Fascioliasis: Origins and Worldwide Evolving Scenario

Fascioliasis is a plant- and waterborne zoonotic parasitic disease caused by two trematode species: (i) Fasciola hepatica in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania and (ii) F. gigantica, which is restricted to Africa and Asia. Fasciolid liver flukes infect mainly herbivores as ruminants, equids, and camelids but also omnivore mammals as humans and swine and are transmitted by freshwater Lymnaeidae snail vectors. Two phases may be distinguished in fasciolid evolution. The long predomestication period includes the F. gigantica origin in east-southern Africa around the mid-Miocene, the F. hepatica origin in the Near-Middle East of Asia around the latest Miocene to Early Pliocene, and their subsequent local spread. The short postdomestication period includes the worldwide spread by human-guided movements of animals in the last 12,000 years and the more recent transoceanic anthropogenic introductions of F. hepatica into the Americas and Oceania and of F. gigantica into several large islands of the Pacific with ships transporting livestock in the last 500 years. The routes and chronology of the spreading waves followed by both fasciolids into the five continents are redefined on the basis of recently generated knowledge of human-guided movements of domesticated hosts. No local, zonal, or regional situation showing disagreement with historical records was found, although in a few world zones the available knowledge is still insufficient. The anthropogenically accelerated evolution of fasciolids allows us to call them "peridomestic endoparasites." The multidisciplinary implications for crucial aspects of the disease should therefore lead the present baseline update to be taken into account in future research studies.

Molecular classification of rumen fluke eggs in fecal specimens from Suphanburi Province, Thailand, based on cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1

Rumen fluke infections have been known to cause paramphistomiasis in both wild and domestic animals worldwide. Occasionally, coinfections of rumen flukes (Carmyerius, Fischoederius, and Paramphistomum) with liver flukes (Fasciola) have been observed due to the similar life cycles that these two species share. This study involved an alternative approach that was developed to classify and distinguish rumen fluke eggs from other genera by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Thirty-eight fecal specimens of Bos taurus from Suphanburi Province, Central Thailand were examined using the formalin-ether sedimentation technique. PCR detection was then performed using COI-specific primers that were developed in this study. The results showed that this primer set can classify and distinguish the egg specimens into a separate clade of the genera comprising Gastrothylax, Carmyerius, Fischoederius, Paramphistomum, Explanatum, and Fasciola. Moreover, epidemiological mapping revealed coinfections of three genera of rumen flukes at some collection sites, leading to the need to further investigate Paramphistomoidea infection along with Fasciolidae infection within the endemic area. This data is important for monitoring the outbreak of these parasites in Suphanburi Province, Thailand. It can be applied for initiating surveillance programs of paramphistomiasis and fascioliasis in veterinary studies.

First report of pre-Hispanic Fasciola hepatica from South America revealed by ancient DNA

It is generally assumed that the digenean human liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica, gained entry to South America during the 15th century upon arrival of Europeans and their livestock. Nonetheless in Patagonia, Argentina, digenean eggs similar to F. hepatica have been observed in deer coprolites dating back to 2300 years B.P. The main objective of our present study was to identify and characterize these eggs using an ancient DNA (aDNA) study. Eggs were isolated and used for aDNA extraction, amplification and sequencing of partial regions from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 mitochondrial genes. Also, phylogenetic trees were constructed using Bayesian and maximum likelihood. Our results confirm the presence of F. hepatica in South America from at least 2300 years B.P. This is the first report and the first aDNA study of this trematode in South America prior to the arrival of the European cattle in the 15th century. The present work contributes to the study of phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographical aspects of F. hepatica and its settlement across America.