Molecular characterization of veterinary important trematode and cestode species in the mithun Bos frontalis from north-east India.

Helminth infections in the mithun Bos frontalis, including the liver fluke Fasciola gigantica, hepato-gastric amphistomes Explanatum explanatum, Paramphistomum epiclitum and Calicophoron calicophorum, and the cestodes Echinococcus granulosus and E. ortleppi were studied in north-east India over a 2-year period from 2012 to 2014. Cystic echinococcosis caused by E. granulosus and E. ortleppi was found to be highly prevalent in the mithun, with E. ortleppi being reported for the first time. Molecular markers, including the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2), 28S rDNA and mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase sub-unit1 (nad1) were used to confirm the identification of the trematode and cestode species.