Phylogenetic Characteristics of Fasciola hepatica Isolated from a Korean Patient

Abstract

<i>Fascioliasis</i> is a parasitic infection caused by liver flukes. Although several cases have been reported in Korea, phylogenetic analysis of isolates is lacking. In this study, a 66-year-old woman with right upper quadrant (RUQ) abdominal pain was diagnosed as fascioliasis involving abdominal muscle by imaging study. She received praziquantel treatment, but symptoms were not improved. Lateral movement of the abscess lesion was followed. Trematode parasite was surgically removed from the patient’s rectus abdominis muscle. The fluke was identified as <i>Fasciola hepatica</i> based on sequence analysis of 18S rDNA. To determine the phylogenetic position of this <i>Fasciola</i> strain (named Korean <i>Fasciola</i> 1; KF1), the <i>cox1</i> gene (273 bp) was analyzed and compared with the genes of 17 <i>F. hepatica</i> strains isolated from cows, sheep, goats, and humans from various countries. Phylogenetic analysis showed that KF1 was closely related with the isolates from China goat.