Resumen

LOPEZ ARIAS, L.S. et al. Diagnóstico de Entamoeba polecki y su potencial impacto en las condiciones sanitarias de la producción porcina. RIA. Rev. investig. agropecu. [online]. 2019, vol.45, n.3, pp.373-377. ISSN 1669-2314.

In Argentina, pig production on family farms is increasing. The lack of veterinary animal health planning there as well as inefficient facilities may cause environmental risks that conducive to enzootic and zoonotic transmission of various infections. Entamoeba polecki is a uninucleate-cyst producing intestinal parasite and its main host is the pig. Based on the intra-specific variation of small sequence of 18S rRNA gene, the isolates of E. polecki appeared to be divided into four subtypes (ST1, ST2, ST3 y ST4), which would be related to their hosts. It is speculate that this amoeba would have the ability to increase damage brought about by other intestinal pathogens. For this reason, the aim of this work was to determine whether or not different swine production systems constitute a risk factor for acquiring E. polecki. To achieve this goal, pig feces were collected from family farms in Misión Nueva Pompeya (Province of Chaco) and from an experimental station in Marcos Juárez (Province of Córdoba). Microscopic diagnosis of stool samples was performed in order to detect the presence of E. polecki-like cysts. To molecular diagnosis a set of E. polecki-specific primers based on 18S ribosomal RNA gene was designed and used to PCR assay. Results shown that the particular sanitary conditions of production systems studied, would not be a risk factor for acquiring E. polecki. PCR assays and subsequent sequencing of amplified fragments of 18S rRNA gene confirmed the presence of E. polecki in the samples. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis showed that subtypes 1 and 3 of the parasite are circulating in pigs. In particular, ST3 is the most relevant due to its impact on the health of pigs infected with more than one intestinal pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first diagnostic and characterization report of E. polecki associated with porcine production in Argentina.

Palabras clave : Entamoeba polecki; pigs; PCR; molecular diagnosis..