First Report of Alveolar Hydatid Disease (Echinococcus multilocularis) in a Golden Jackal (Canis aureus)

Abstract

Background Alveolar hydatid disease caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis is a parasitic disease present in the northern hemisphere. Echinococcus multilocularis is a parasite of canid and felid carnivores as defnitive hosts, and small mammals, particularly rodents as intermediate hosts. Other animal species and humans can be aberrant intermediate hosts for this parasite. It is known that besides acting as defnitive hosts, domestic dogs can rarely become infected with the larval form of E. multilocularis and develop alveolar echinococcosis; however, a role of wild canids as aberrant intermediate hosts has not been documented until now. To the best of our knowledge the present paper provides the frst description of alveolar hydatid disease in a golden jackal (Canis aureus). Case Presentation Necropsy of the yearling female animal found a large, round, tumor-like mass, 20 cm in diameter, with a rough, multilobulated surface in the abdominal cavity, connected to the liver and omentum. On the cut surface this tumorlike lesion was multicystic, with a number of locular cavities flled with a clear yellowish to orange watery fuid and a large area of necrosis in the central part of the mass. Histopathology revealed multiple cystic spaces separated by fbrous sheaths and infammatory cells—lymphocytes, plasma cells, neutrophil and eosinophil granulocytes. The cysts contained either pale, hyaline, eosinophilic laminar and occasionally amorphous, acellular, PAS-positive structures, or metacestodes with invaginated protoscolices. In several cysts round calcifed bodies (calcareous corpuscles) were noted. Microscopic examination showed everted and inverted protoscolices which were attached to fragments of the brood capsule or free in hydatid fuid. By comparing consensus nucleotide sequence of 457 bp obtained by PCR reaction with sequences deposited in NCBI GenBank it is determined that it was 100% identical with E. multilocularis sequences under accession numbers MH259778.1, MH259776.1, AB668376.1, EU704124.1 and AB018440.2. Conclusions The present paper provides a proof that the golden jackal, besides being a defnitive host, can also serve as the aberrant intermediate host for E. multilocularis.