Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun 3;13(1):281.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04152-9.

Protist enteroparasites in wild boar (Sus scrofa ferus) and black Iberian pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) in southern Spain: a protective effect on hepatitis E acquisition?

Antonio Rivero-Juarez  1 , Alejandro Dashti  2 , Pedro López-López  1 , Aly Salimo Muadica  2 , Maria de Los Angeles Risalde  1   3 , Pamela C Köster  2 , Isabel Machuca  1 , Begoña Bailo  2 , Marta Hernández de Mingo  2 , Elena Dacal  2 , Ignacio García-Bocanegra  4 , José M Saugar  2 , Rafael Calero-Bernal  5 , David González-Barrio  2   5   6 , Antonio Rivero  1 , Verónica Briz  7 , David Carmena  8
Affiliations

Protist enteroparasites in wild boar (Sus scrofa ferus) and black Iberian pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) in southern Spain: a protective effect on hepatitis E acquisition?

Antonio Rivero-Juarez et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Several studies have independently evaluated the occurrence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) and enteroparasites in swine, but no surveys have been conducted to jointly assess the prevalence and genetic diversity of enteroparasites in pigs and wild boars, their sympatric transmission between hosts, and their potential interaction with HEV.

Methods: We prospectively collected serum and faecal samples from black Iberian domestic pigs and wild boars from southern Spain between 2015‒2016. We evaluated for HEV in serum and faeces, and for the presence of enteroparasites (Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., Blastocystis sp., Neobalantidium coli and Strongyloides spp.) in the same faecal samples. The prevalence of each intestinal parasite species was calculated.

Results: A total of 328 animals (56.7% black Iberian pigs and 43.3% wild boars) were included in the study. The overall global prevalence of HEV in serum was 16.8%. The overall global prevalence of each enteroparasite species was 19.5% for G. duodenalis, 8.2% for Cryptosporidium spp., 41.8% for Blastocystis sp., 31.4% for N. coli, and 8.8% for Strongyloides spp. HEV-infected animals showed a significantly lower prevalence of G. duodenalis (3.2 vs 20%; P = 0.002) and Blastocystis sp. (38.7 vs 80%; P < 0.001) than those uninfected by HEV. Animals carrying G. duodenalis and Blastocystis sp. infections showed a significantly lower rate of HEV infection than those not harbouring these enteroparasites (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our study found a high prevalence of enteroparasites in black Iberian pigs and wild boars in southern Spain, suggesting a sympatric co-transmission of some of the species investigated. It is suggested that extracellular G. duodenalis and Blastocystis sp. might have a protective effect on HEV acquisition in swine.

Keywords: Blastocystis; Co-infection; Cryptosporidium; Enteric parasites; Giardia; Hepatitis E virus; Pigs; Spain; Strongyloides; Transmission; Wild boars.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of detectable hepatitis E virus RNA in serum in the overall population (a) and black Iberian pigs (b) according to Giardia duodenalis and Blastocystis sp. status
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. DuPont HL. Persistent diarrhea: a clinical review. JAMA. 2016;315:2712–2723. - PubMed
    1. Santín M. Clinical and subclinical infections with Cryptosporidium in animals. N Z Vet J. 2013;61:1–10. - PubMed
    1. Efstratiou A, Ongerth JE, Karanis P. Waterborne transmission of protozoan parasites: review of worldwide outbreaks - an update 2011–2016. Water Res. 2017;114:14–22. - PubMed
    1. Robertson LJ. Parasites in food: from a neglected position to an emerging issue. Adv Food Nutr Res. 2018;86:71–113. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andersen LO, Stensvold CR. Blastocystis in health and disease: are we moving from a clinical to a public health perspective? J Clin Microbiol. 2016;54:524–528. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources