Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34649615›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2021

Red foxes harbor two genetically distinct, spatially separated Echinococcus multilocularis clusters in Brandenburg, Germany.

Mandy Herzig, Pavlo Maksimov, Christoph Staubach, Thomas Romig, Jenny Knapp, Bruno Gottstein, Franz J Conraths

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Typing ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2025
    Article
  2. Genetic diversity and genotyping ofFrontiers in parasitology · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Mandy Herzig *Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Pavlo Maksimov *Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Christoph StaubachFriedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Thomas RomigUniversität Hohenheim, Institut Für Biologie, Fachgebiet Parasitologie, Emil-Wolff-Straße 34, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany.
Jenny KnappUMR CNRS 6249 Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 16 Route de Gray, 25030, Besançon, France.
Bruno GottsteinInstitute for Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Berne, 3001, Berne, Switzerland.
Franz J ConrathsFriedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany. franz.conraths@fli.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7400-9409
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut · DECentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRUniversity of Bern · CHUniversity of Hohenheim · DE

Funding

EMIDA ERA-NET 2811ERA117
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a clinically serious zoonosis caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. We studied the diversity and the distribution of genotypes of E. multilocularis isolated from foxes in Brandenburg, Germany, and in comparison to a hunting ground in North Rhine-Westphalia.

methodsEchinococcus multilocularis specimens from 101 foxes, 91 derived from Brandenburg and 10 derived from North Rhine-Westphalia, were examined. To detect potential mixed infections with different genotypes of E. multilocularis, five worms per fox were analyzed. For genotyping, three mitochondrial markers, namely cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (Nad1), and ATP synthase subunit 6 (ATP6), and the nuclear microsatellite marker EmsB were used. To identify nucleotide polymorphisms, the mitochondrial markers were sequenced and the data were compared, including with published sequences from other regions. EmsB fragment length profiles were determined and confirmed by Kohonen network analysis and grouping of Sammon's nonlinear mapping with k-means clustering. The spatial distribution of genotypes was analyzed by SaTScan for the EmsB profiles found in Brandenburg.

resultsWith both the mitochondrial makers and the EmsB microsatellite fragment length profile analyses, mixed infections with different E. multilocularis genotypes were detected in foxes from Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. Genotyping using the mitochondrial markers showed that the examined parasite specimens belong to the European haplotype of E. multilocularis, but a detailed spatial analysis was not possible due to the limited heterogeneity of these markers in the parasite population. Four (D, E, G, and H) out of the five EmsB profiles described in Europe so far were detected in the samples from Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. The EmsB profile G was the most common. A spatial cluster of the E. multilocularis genotype with the EmsB profile G was found in northeastern Brandenburg, and a cluster of profile D was found in southern parts of this state.

conclusionsGenotyping of E. multilocularis showed that individual foxes may harbor different genotypes of the parasite. EmsB profiles allowed the identification of spatial clusters, which may help in understanding the distribution and spread of the infection in wildlife, and in relatively small endemic areas.

Indexed as

Genetic VariationGenotypeAnimalsAnimals, WildDNA, HelminthEchinococcosisEchinococcus multilocularisFemaleFoxesGermanyMalePhylogenyZoonosesDNA, HelminthClusterEchinococcus multilocularisEmsBFoxGenotypesGermanyMicrosatelliteShort tandem repeatSpatial distribution

Identifiers

PMID34649615
PMCPMC8518320
OpenAlexW3206015336

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.