Genotyping of Echinococcus granulosus from goats and sheep indicating G7 genotype in goats in the Northeast of Iran.

Although cystic echinococcosis (CE) has been a human public health problem in the Northeast of Iran, molecular data regarding the genotypes of Echinococcus granulosus in goats and sheep in these regions are still scarce. In the present study, we determined the genotypes of E. granulosus infecting sheep and goats in northeast of Iran. During April 2013-June 2014, 50 and 30 hydatid cysts were recovered from liver tissue of sheep and goats, respectively,. Protoscoleces or germinal layers were collected from individual cysts, DNA was extracted, and the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) gene was amplified by PCR. The results of PCR-RFLP and the sequence analysis showed that all the samples isolated from sheep (n=50) and most of samples in goats (n=24) were G1 strain, the most prevalent strain in livestock ruminants of Iran. Furthermore, six parasites isolated from goats were found to correspond to E. intermedius (G7 genotype), here reported for the first time from Iran.