Biomedical subjects

Anke Dinkel

Publications and source records attributed to Anke Dinkel.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

New data on Echinococcus spp. in Southern Brazil.

40 Echinococcus isolates from sheep and cattle in Southern Brazil were genetically analysed in order to obtain further data on the presence of different taxa of the Echinococcus granulosus complex. Differentiation was done using a PCR technique and sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1). Most samples (38) could be allocated to the sheep strain (G1) of E. granulosus, while two samples belonged to E. ortleppi, previously known as cattle strain (G5) of E. granulosus. Due to the shorter prepatent period in dogs of the latter taxon, this records have important implications for the design of control measures in this endemic region.

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PubMed2005

The present situation of echinococcosis in Europe.

The taxonomy of Echinococcus is presently undergoing major changes, the paraphyletic Echinococcus granulosus being split into several distinct species. In this review, an attempt is made to assess the present epidemiological situation in Europe separately for each species (Echinococcus multilocularis, Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto, Echinococcus equinus, Echinococcus ortleppi, and Echinococcus sp.). For E. multilocularis, an increasing density of infected host animals is apparent in central Europe, and, possibly, a range increase has occurred. Prevalence rates in foxes have risen in many agriculturally dominated landscapes of France, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland, but the lifecycle is now also established in many urban areas, where red foxes occur with high population densities. E. granulosus s. s. (the former 'sheep strain') is still frequent and a public health problem in many parts of the Mediterranean region and re-emergence after failed control campaigns is observed or suspected in Bulgaria and Wales. No recent data on the cattle-transmitted E. ortleppi and the horse-transmitted E. equinus are available, but their relevance for human health seems to be minor. The same may apply to the 'pig strain' and the newly described 'European cervid strain', which both belong to a cluster of genotypes whose taxonomy is not yet resolved (Echinococcus sp.).

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PubMed2004

Polymerase chain reaction for detection of patent infections of Echinococcus granulosus ("sheep strain") in naturally infected dogs.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the identification of eggs of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus ("sheep strain") was evaluated with primers derived from mitochondrial sequences. Specificity of these primers was confirmed by investigating DNA of other strains of E. granulosus and of 14 helminth species which inhabit the intestines of dogs. This PCR assay was used to investigate 131 purged dogs from Kazakhstan. Eighteen dogs harboured Echinococcus worms, ten of them in mixed infections with Taenia spp. Coproantigen detection was positive in 15 and taeniid eggs could be recovered from 13 of these specimens. Eight of the egg-containing samples were positive in the PCR for E. granulosus and four in a Echinococcus multilocularis -specific PCR revealing one mixed infection. Egg-containing faeces from two dogs harbouring both Taenia spp. and Echinococcus spp. were negative in both PCRs. The combination of egg isolation and PCR will also be of value in epidemiological studies when investigating environmental samples.

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PubMed2004

A PCR system for detection of species and genotypes of the Echinococcus granulosus-complex, with reference to the epidemiological situation in eastern Africa.

We describe the development of a specific and sensitive PCR/semi-nested PCR system for the rapid diagnosis of Echinococcus granulosus genotype G1, E. granulosus genotype G6/7, and Echinococcus ortleppi (G5). Diagnosis of G1 and the group G5/6/7 is performed by a simple PCR, while discrimination between E. ortleppi (G5) and G6/7 involves a subsequent semi-nested PCR step. The target sequence for amplification is part of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Specificity of the PCRs was 100% when evaluated with isolates of 16 species of cestodes, including Echinococcus multilocularis, Echinococcus equinus, E. ortleppi and three strains of E. granulosus (G1, G6 and G7). Sensitivity threshold was 0.25pg of DNA. This new approach was compared with published protocols of restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR and sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and NADH dehydrogenase 1 genes using Echinococcus isolates of human, sheep, goat, camel, cattle and pig origin from Kenya and Sudan. Additionally, two internal DNA probes were developed, one hybridising only with G1, the other with G5, G6 and G7 amplification products. Preliminary epidemiological results obtained with this PCR approach include the detection of a camel strain (G6) infection for the first time in a human patient from eastern Africa, and the first reports of E. ortleppi (G5) in livestock from Kenya and the Sudan.

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