Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Acta Parasitologica https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-020-00206-1 SHORT COMMUNICATION First Molecular Characterization of Trichostrongylus colubriformis Infection in Rural Patients from Chile Alejandro Hidalgo 1,2  · Pablo Gacitúa 3  · Angélica Melo 1  · Carlos Oberg 4  · Christian Herrera 1  · Flery Fonseca‑Salamanca 1 Received: 16 January 2020 / Accepted: 25 March 2020 © Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences 2020 Abstract Purpose The aim was to characterize the infection by Trichostrongylus spp. in patients from Chile using a combination of molecular detection techniques and phylogenetic analysis relating the fndings to clinical and epidemiological reports of the patients Methods Strongylid eggs were detected in seven patients by coproparasitological techniques. From each sample a fragment of the ITS-2 ribosomal gene was amplifed by PCR, sequenced and analyzed by the Neighbor-Joining method. Results All the sequences and phylogenetic clusters corresponded to T. colubriformis. Two samples presented a single nucleotide polymorphism showing two possible haplotypes. Six patients presented gastrointestinal symptoms. All of them lived on farms and used sheep manure as fertilizer. Conclusion T. colubriformis was the strongylid involved in the infections of these Chilean patients associated with the pres- ence of livestock and agricultural practices that favor infection by this type of nematode. Keywords Trichostrongylus colubriformis · PCR · Strongylid · Livestock · Manure Introduction Trichostrongyliasis are zoonotic infections produced by nematodes of the Trichostrongylidae family very common in ruminants, mainly cows, sheep and goats [1, 2]. Various species which infect these herbivorous animals can adapt to other hosts, and as a result trichostrongylids of the genera Trichostrongylus, Ostertagia, Haemonchus, Marshallagia and Teladorsagia have been isolated in humans [3, 4]. Among these, Trichostrongylus is the genus most fre- quently identifed in humans, and the species T. colubri- formis, T. capricola, T. vitrinus and T. axei have been reported in patients from various regions of the world, as well as in animals. T. colubriformis has been described as the species most common found in infections of humans around the world [5–11]. Infection by trichostrongylids arises due to the high envi- ronmental resistance and capacity of movement of infection- carrying stage three larvae (L3); they move actively to the highest parts of plants, facilitating infection in humans and animals [4, 6]. However, the pathogeny of infection is not sufciently documented in humans and it is suspected that it may be similar to the pathogenic efects described in animals, both in the intestinal villosities and in the gastric glands, with tissue changes causing functional atrophy of the mucus membrane [12]. Infection can be diagnosed by microscope examination of faecal samples, but due to the great similarity between the eggs of this family of parasites, species cannot be identifed * Flery Fonseca-Salamanca fery.fonseca@ufrontera.cl 1 Department of Preclinical Sciences, Medicine Faculty, Laboratory of Molecular Immunoparasitology, Center of Translational Medicine Scientifc and Technological Nucleus (CEMT-BIOREN), Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile 2 School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Natural Resources and Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Santo Tomás, Temuco, Chile 3 Clinical Laboratory. Family Health Center (CESFAM) Diego Portales, Villarrica, Chile 4 Department of Diagnostic Processes and Evaluation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile