Authors
Y Liu1; B Sripa2; R Sarker3; ME Viney1; 1 University of Liverpool, UK; 2 Khon Kaen University, Thailand; 3 University of Chittagong, Bangladesh Discussion
It has been assumed that the parasitic nematode Strongyloides stercoralis transmits only among people. However, accumulating evidence suggests that Strongyloides from people and dogs are the same species, so that dogs can act as a source of human infection. To investigate the host range of S. stercoralis and the zoonotic potential of dog-derived Strongyloides, we sampled sympatric populations of worms from people and dogs in Bangladesh and in Thailand, which we then whole-genome sequenced. Population genomic analyses showed different genetic clusters of parasites, people in Bangladesh and Thailand were infected with closely related S. stercoralis genotypes, and the similar pattern was also found in infections of dogs. However, there was no evidence of S. stercoralis infection shared between people and dogs in Bangladesh and Thailand. Surprisingly, some parasites derived from people and dogs in Bangladesh were genomically identified as S. venezuelensis, a species normally thought to be a rat parasite, which we are continuing to investigate. 
