Molecular characterization of Echinococcus granulosus isolated from human and domestic animals in Kirkuk, Iraq

Abstract

Total of fifty eight isolates of Echinococcus granulosus were collected from human,
sheep, goat and cattle origins and characterized using PCR-RFLP methods. The results
indicated that the cosmopolitan sheep strain of E. granulosus is the most prevalent strain
in Kirkuk, Iraq. The study furthermore, demonstrated that the form of Echinococcus that
infect human in Kirkuk, Iraq is a sheep strain.

Keywords: Echinococcus granulosus, Characterization, Hydatid cyst, Sheep strain, PCR-RFLP