infection of the jackal (canis aureus) by haplorchis taichui (trematoda: heterophyidae) in southwestern iran: a clue for potential human infection

Background: we detected eight trematodes in the small intestine of a roadkilled jackal (canis aureus) from hamidiyeh district near the city of ahvaz, khuzestan province in 2010. methods: three worms were stained with carmine acid, mounted in canada balsam on glass slides and examined under a light microscope at 1000x magnification. pcr and sequencing of a partial its2 sequence were used to approve the diagnosis. results: the flukes measured ≈1 mm in length with an elongated ovoid shape resembling the members of heterophyid, and only one testis, characteristics of the genus haplorchis. sequencing of a 481-bp fragment of the its2 locus from the worms revealed 97%-98% identity with the similar sequences of the h. taichui flukes previously identified in the fish, cat, and humans from thailand, china, and vietnam. conclusion: further studies with the application of reliable molecular tools to diagnose trematode infections in wildlife and humans can bring more insight into the epidemiology of fish-borne flukes including h. taichui in this area.