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Role of dog behaviour and environmental fecal contamination in transmission of Echinococcus multilocularis in Tibetan communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2011

A. VANISCOTTE ,
F. RAOUL ,
M. L. POULLE ,
T. ROMIG ,
A. DINKEL ,
K. TAKAHASHI ,
M. H. GUISLAIN ,
J. MOSS ,
L. TIAOYING  and
Q. WANG
...Show all authors
A. VANISCOTTE*
Affiliation:
Department of Chrono-environment, UMR UFC/CNRS 6249 aff. INRA, University of Franche-Comté, 25030 Besançon cedex, France Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø, Norway-9037
F. RAOUL
Affiliation:
Department of Chrono-environment, UMR UFC/CNRS 6249 aff. INRA, University of Franche-Comté, 25030 Besançon cedex, France
M. L. POULLE
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, EA 3800, University of Reims Champagne-Ardennes (URCA), IFR 53, 51 rue Cognacq, 51096 Reims, France URCA-CERFE, 5 rue de la Héronniere, 08240 Boult-aux-Bois, France
T. ROMIG
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
A. DINKEL
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
K. TAKAHASHI
Affiliation:
Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, Kita 19, Nishi 12, 060-0819 Sapporo, Japan
M. H. GUISLAIN
Affiliation:
URCA-CERFE, 5 rue de la Héronniere, 08240 Boult-aux-Bois, France
J. MOSS
Affiliation:
Cestode Zoonoses Research Group, Division of Biological Sciences, School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, The Crescent, Salford M5 4WT, UK
L. TIAOYING
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
Q. WANG
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
J. QIU
Affiliation:
Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Sichuan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
P. S. CRAIG
Affiliation:
Cestode Zoonoses Research Group, Division of Biological Sciences, School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, The Crescent, Salford M5 4WT, UK
P. GIRAUDOUX
Affiliation:
Department of Chrono-environment, UMR UFC/CNRS 6249 aff. INRA, University of Franche-Comté, 25030 Besançon cedex, France
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromsø, Norway-9037. Tel: 0047 77 64 44 21. E-mail: amelie.vaniscotte@uit.no
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Summary

On the Eastern Tibetan Plateau region (Sichuan province, China) dogs are regarded as important definitive hosts of Echinococcus multilocularis. We studied dog spatial behaviour in 4 Tibetan villages in order to determine the role of dogs in environmental contamination and their potential interactions with small mammal intermediate hosts. We identified definitive host species and Echinococcus spp. infection status of feces collected in the field by PCR methods and analysed the spatial distribution of canid feces. Nocturnal space utilization of GPS collared dogs in and around villages was also undertaken. E. multilocularis DNA was amplified in 23% of dog feces (n=142) and in 15% of fox feces (n=13) but this difference was not significant. However, dog feces were more frequently observed (78% of collected feces) than fox feces and are therefore assumed to largely contribute to human environment contamination. Feces were mainly distributed around houses of dog owners (0–200 m) where collared dogs spent the majority of their time. Inside villages, the contamination was aggregated in some micro-foci where groups of dogs defecated preferentially. Finally, small mammal densities increased from the dog core areas to grasslands at the periphery of villages occasionally used by dogs; male dogs moving significantly farther than females. This study constitutes a first attempt to quantify in a spatially explicit way the role of dogs in E. multilocularis peri-domestic cycles and to identify behavioural parameters required to model E. multilocularis transmission in this region.

Keywords

transmission ecologyEchinococcus multilocularisdomestic dogsfecal contaminationspatial distribution
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 138 , Issue 10 , September 2011 , pp. 1316 - 1329
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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