Spirometra infection in a captive Samar cobra (Naja samarensis) in the United States: An imported case?

ABSTRACT: We report a case of Spirometra infection in a Samar cobra (Naja samarensis) imported from the Philippines, belonging to a zoological collection in the southern United States. Under a poor post-surgical prognosis, the snake was euthanized, and at necropsy plerocercoids of a Diphyllobotriidea were found in its subcutaneous tissues and musculature. Molecular and phylogenetic analyses of the complete cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (cox1) gene of the mitochondrial DNA confirmed that the isolate belonged to the genus Spirometra and was closely related to Spirometra mansoni isolates from Asian countries (bootstrap support = 99.4%). Considering the origin and clinical history and handling of the animal, the snake probably arrived infected in America. We suggest t

SUBMITTER: Verocai GG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9945636 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature