First Molecular Characterization of Trichostrongylus colubriformis Infection in Rural Patients from Chile

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 findings 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 amplified by PCR, sequenced and analyzed by the Neighbor-Joining method.

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.

T. colubriformis was the strongylid involved in the infections of these Chilean patients associated with the presence of livestock and agricultural practices that favor infection by this type of nematode.