Molecular Diagnosis of Taenia saginata Tapeworms from Two Residents of Northern Cambodia

Abstract

<i>Taenia saginata</i> infection has seldom been reported in Cambodia. In this study, we performed a survey of intestinal parasites in 1,156 residents of Preah Vihear and Stung Treng Provinces in 2018. The results revealed that 26 (2.4%) cases were positive for Taenia spp. eggs. In order to obtain the strobilae of the tapeworms, 2 patients in Preah Vihear were treated with praziquantel and purged with magnesium salts. The proglottids expelled after the medication were morphologically and molecularly analyzed to determine the species. The main uterine lateral braches in gravid proglottids were >15 in number suggesting that they are either <i>T. saginata</i> or <i>Taenia asiatica</i>. The sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (<i>cox1</i>) gene and 2 nuclear loci, elongation factor-1 alpha (<i>ef1</i>) and ezrin-radixin-moesin-like protein (<i>elp</i>), were identical to the sequences of <i>T. saginata</i> available in GenBank but distant from <i>Taenia solium</i>, <i>T. asiatica</i>, and <i>T. saginata</i>-<i>T. asiatica</i> hybrid. This is the first report of the presence of <i>T. saginata</i> in the northern part of Cambodia bordering Lao PDR based on a molecular confirmation.