| dc.description.abstract | Abstract Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease
caused by several members of the Echinococcus granulosus
species complex. In East Africa, several species/strains are
known to occur in livestock and humans, but host preferences,
relative frequencies and spatial distribution of these taxa are
poorly known. Here, we contribute livestock data for Maasailand of southern Kenya. Total CE prevalence was 25.8 % in
cattle (151/587), 16.5 % in sheep (71/430) and 10.8 % in goats
(21/194), which is a significant increase compared to surveys
done about three decades ago. The majority of cysts occurred
in the liver (56 % in cattle, 70 % in sheep and 65 % in goats).
Molecular characterization by PCR–RFLP and sequencing of
parts of the mitochondrial nad-1 gene was done for a subsample of 285 cysts. E. granulosus G1 was dominant in all host
species (200 of 201 cysts from cattle, 68 of 69 from sheep and
11 of 15 from goats); the remaining taxa were Echinococcus
canadensis G6 (one cyst from sheep, four from goats) and
Echinococcus ortleppi (one cyst from cattle). Considering cyst
fertility, sheep appear to be the most important hosts for E.
granulosus G1, while goats were found to be suitable hosts for
E. canadensis G6 (three of four cysts were fertile). For the first
time, E. ortleppi was found in cattle from southern Kenya.
Our data show an intense and possibly increasing level of CE
transmission in southern Kenya, and the predominance of E.
granulosus G1, which appears to be particularly pathogenic to
humans, calls for urgent control measures. | en_US |
