Abstract:
Despite being a parasitic disease known since ancient times, some epidemiological aspects of cystic echinococcosis
(CE) remain unclear. Many studies describe its prevalence and genotyping in populations of domestic
animals and livestock, but data regarding wildlife are often scarce and incomplete. The available literature
suggests that CE has never been reported in African rhinos. Considering the fragile conservation status of these
species due to continued poaching, this study tries to clarify some neglected epidemiological aspects. In February
2020, an adult female of the Southern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum simum (Burchell, 1817), was killed
by poachers. The subsequent necropsy performed by the state veterinary team revealed the presence of seven
cysts within the pulmonary tissue (four cysts in the right medio-caudal lobe and three cysts in the left mediocaudal
lobe) with a diameter of between 1.5 and 2.3 cm. Given the state of decomposition of the carcass,
only two of these were suitable for microscopic examination. Specimens were examined under 10x and 40x
microscopic magnification for the confirmation of fertility of the cysts, based on the presence of numerous
protoscoleces in different stages of maturation. A histopathological examination was also performed to describe
the relationship between parasite and host tissue reaction. Cyst samples were subjected to PCR. The primers
successfully amplified the expected fragments of the cox-1 and the nad-1 gene from the isolated genomic DNA,
revealing high sequence identity with published sequences of Echinococcus equinus Williams & Sweatman, 1963
isolate G4 and E. equinus isolate SLG5-G4.
