Abstract:
Trichuriasis is an important soil-transmitted helminth infection caused by Trichuris trichiura accounting for about one-tenth of the world population. Incidentally, T. vulpis or dog whipworm has been reported to infect humans based on the egg size. However, an overlapping egg dimension occurs between T. trichiura and T. vulpis leading to the potential for misdiagnosis. Herein, we determined and compared the small subunit ribosomal RNA sequences of both species of whipworms for developing species-specific PCR diagnosis. After validation of the method, we conducted a cross-sectional survey at Ta Song Yang District in Tak Province, northwestern Thailand in 2008. Stool samples were randomly recruited from 80 schoolchildren (36 males, 44 females) and 59 semi-domesticated dogs in this community and 20 strayed dogs in Bangkok. Results have shown that the sensitivity, comparing with microscopic examination of stool samples using formalin-ether sedimentation method, was 44% when DNA was extracted by the glass-bead beating method. However, the sensitivity reached 95.9% when DNA was extracted from individual eggs disrupted by directly pressing on them with pipette tips and single eggs could be detected by this method. Co-infections of T. trichiura and T. vulpis were found in 6 of 56 Trichuris-positive cases (10.7%), suggesting that human infection with T. vulpis was not uncommon in this region. Importantly, T. trichiura eggs were detected in dog stool samples from the same community, suggesting the potential reservoir role of dogs in the transmission of human whipworm. Therefore, human acquisition of T. trichiura infection in this community could involve both anthroponotic and zoonotic transmission cycles.