{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T03:38:00Z","timestamp":1784691480240,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,26]],"date-time":"2022-12-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1672012800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University in Abha","award":["G.R.P.1-23-43"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G.R.P.1-23-43"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cystic echinococcosis (CE), or hydatid cyst disease (HCD), is a zoonosis of significant importance caused by the cestode of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s. l.) that affects mainly nomadic populations and has substantial economic consequences. Due to the 76% rural and nomadic population, Baluchistan is a highly endemic region in Pakistan for CE; however, it has not yet been investigated for CE. For this purpose, this study was carried out to investigate the molecular epidemiology of CE in this region. In total, 23 human hydatid cyst samples were collected from tertiary health care units in Baluchistan and processed for DNA extraction, which was then followed by sequencing of the cox1 mitochondrial gene of all 23 collected samples, genotyping, and phylogenetic and haplotype analysis. Most subjects were livestock owners (39.13%) in rural settings (73.91%). Most patients (73.19%) were pet owners (dogs) and used water from open sources for drinking. The liver was the most affected organ (52.17%), followed by the lungs (17.39%). Sequence analysis based on the cox1 gene revealed that EG genotype 1 (G1) was the most prevalent (56.52%), followed by G3 (34.78%), while some samples (8.7%) were identified as the Echinococcus canadensis (G6\/7) genotype. A total of five haplotypes were detected with high haplotype diversity (0.80) and low nucleotide diversity (0.033). Phylogenetic analysis revealed two diverse sub-clades, each of G1 and G3 isolates from Baluchistan, that were evolutionarily related to previously reported G1 and G3 isolates from Pakistan and China. On the other hand, the G6\/7 isolates of this study were evolutionarily identical to the already reported G6\/7 isolates from Pakistan, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. This study concludes that diverse G1 and G3 EG isolates are present in this part of Pakistan, while the G6\/G7 genotype was reported for the first time from Baluchistan.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens12010040","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,27]],"date-time":"2022-12-27T04:45:54Z","timestamp":1672116354000},"page":"40","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Molecular Epidemiology of Cystic Echinococcosis in Rural Baluchistan, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Ihsan","family":"Ullah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Virology Lab (MVL), Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad 45550, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4521-016X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sadia","family":"Sattar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Virology Lab (MVL), Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad 45550, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ijaz","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Molecular Virology Lab (MVL), Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad 45550, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5147-5936","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arshad","family":"Farid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gomal Center of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amin","family":"Ullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health and Biological Sciences, Abasyn University Peshawar, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5633-9562","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Refaat A.","family":"Eid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pathology Department, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0010-0506","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohamed","family":"Samir A. Zaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anatomy Department, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Histology and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 31527, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5280-7736","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad","family":"Alaa Eldeen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biology Department, Cell Biology, Histology & Genetics Division, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iftikhar","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gomal Center of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan 29050, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irfan","family":"Ullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, School of Science, University of Management and Technology (UMT), Lahore 54770, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1016\/bs.apar.2016.07.001","article-title":"Chapter Two-Biology and Systematics of Echinococcus","volume":"Volume 95","author":"Thompson","year":"2017","journal-title":"Advances in Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"444","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meegid.2010.01.011","article-title":"State-of-the-Art Echinococcus and Taenia: Phylogenetic Taxonomy of Human-Pathogenic Tapeworms and Its Application to Molecular Diagnosis","volume":"10","author":"Nakao","year":"2010","journal-title":"Infect. Genet. Evol."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Thompson, R.C.A. (2020). The Molecular Epidemiology of Echinococcus Infections. Pathogens, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens9060453"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.3347\/kjp.2020.58.2.205","article-title":"Phylogenetic Characteristics of Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Lato in Uzbekistan","volume":"58","author":"Kim","year":"2020","journal-title":"Korean J. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"563","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-021-07050-w","article-title":"Human and animal cystic echinococcosis in Konya, Turkey: Molecular identification and the first report of E. equinus from human host in Turkey","volume":"120","author":"Macin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-022-05197-8","article-title":"Species and genotypes belonging to Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato complex causing human cystic echinococcosis in Europe (2000\u20132021): A systematic review","volume":"15","author":"Casulli","year":"2022","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"865","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpara.2014.07.005","article-title":"Echinococcus as a Model System: Biology and Epidemiology","volume":"44","author":"Thompson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-021-04753-y","article-title":"Prevalence of human cystic echinococcosis in the towns of \u00d1orquinco and Ramos Mexia in Rio Negro Province, Argentina, and direct risk factors for infection","volume":"14","author":"Uchiumi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Parasites Vectors"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1979","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-011-2726-4","article-title":"The Study of Apoptotic Bifunctional Effects in Relationship between Host and Parasite in Cystic Echinococcosis: A New Approach to Suppression and Survival of Hydatid Cyst","volume":"110","author":"Spotin","year":"2012","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meegid.2017.04.023","article-title":"New Mitogenome and Nuclear Evidence on the Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Highly Zoonotic Tapeworm Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Stricto","volume":"52","author":"Kinkar","year":"2017","journal-title":"Infect. Genet. Evol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1016\/bs.apar.2016.07.002","article-title":"Chapter Three-Phylogenetic Pattern, Evolutionary Processes and Species Delimitation in the Genus Echinococcus","volume":"Volume 95","author":"Thompson","year":"2017","journal-title":"Advances in Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2015.07.035","article-title":"Taxonomy and Molecular Epidemiology of Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Lato","volume":"213","author":"Romig","year":"2015","journal-title":"Vet. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2014.03.014","article-title":"Epidemiology and Control of Echinococcosis in Central Asia, with Particular Reference to the People\u2019s Republic of China","volume":"141","author":"Zhang","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"90","article-title":"Hydatid Disease in the Punjab","volume":"73","author":"Sami","year":"1938","journal-title":"Ind. Med. Gaz."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105559","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2020.105559","article-title":"First Report of Echinococcus Canadensis (G6\/G7) by Sequence Analysis from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan","volume":"209","author":"Khan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"324","article-title":"Poverty-Associated Emerging Infection of Cystic Echinococcosis in Population of Northern Pakistan: A Hospital Based Study","volume":"36","author":"Khan","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trop. Biomed."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105223","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meegid.2022.105223","article-title":"Genetic Structure and Phylogeography of Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Stricto Genotypes G1 and G3 in Pakistan and Other Regions of the World Based on Nad5 Gene","volume":"98","author":"Mehmood","year":"2022","journal-title":"Infect. Genet. Evol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105470","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2020.105470","article-title":"Genetic Variability and Diversity of Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Lato in Human Isolates of Pakistan Based on Cox1 Mt-DNA Sequences (366bp)","volume":"207","author":"Muqaddas","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"(2022, December 02). Final Results (Census-2017) | Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Available online: https:\/\/www.pbs.gov.pk\/content\/final-results-census-2017."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.1016\/S0001-706X(02)00223-1","article-title":"International Classification of Ultrasound Images in Cystic Echinococcosis for Application in Clinical and Field Epidemiological Settings","volume":"85","year":"2003","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-005-0015-9","article-title":"Genetic Typing of Echinococcus Granulosus in Romania","volume":"98","author":"Bart","year":"2006","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3022","DOI":"10.1093\/molbev\/msab120","article-title":"MEGA11: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 11","volume":"38","author":"Tamura","year":"2021","journal-title":"Mol. Biol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"406","article-title":"The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees","volume":"4","author":"Saitou","year":"1987","journal-title":"Mol. Biol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"783","DOI":"10.2307\/2408678","article-title":"Confidence limits on phylogenies: An approach using the bootstrap","volume":"39","author":"Felsenstein","year":"1985","journal-title":"Evolution"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01731581","article-title":"simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences","volume":"16","author":"Kimura","year":"1980","journal-title":"J. Mol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3299","DOI":"10.1093\/molbev\/msx248","article-title":"DnaSP 6: DNA sequence polymorphism analysis of large data sets","volume":"34","author":"Rozas","year":"2017","journal-title":"Mol. Biol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1110","DOI":"10.1111\/2041-210X.12410","article-title":"Popart: Full-Feature Software for Haplotype Network Construction","volume":"6","author":"Leigh","year":"2015","journal-title":"Methods Ecol. Evol."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1657","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-294x.2000.01020.x","article-title":"TCS: A Computer Program to Estimate Gene Genealogies","volume":"9","author":"Clement","year":"2000","journal-title":"Mol. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khan, A., Ahmed, H., Simsek, S., Liu, H., Yin, J., Wang, Y., Shen, Y., and Cao, J. (2020). Molecular Characterization of Human Echinococcus Isolates and the First Report of E. Canadensis (G6\/G7) and E. Multilocularis from the Punjab Province of Pakistan Using Sequence Analysis. BMC Infect. Dis., 20.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-020-04989-6"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, T., Yang, D., Zeng, Z., Zhao, W., Liu, A., Piao, D., Jiang, T., Cao, J., Shen, Y., and Liu, H. (2014). Genetic Characterization of Human-Derived Hydatid Cysts of Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Lato in Heilongjiang Province and the First Report of G7 Genotype of E. Canadensis in Humans in China. PLoS ONE, 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0109059"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2016.03.002","article-title":"Genetic Variability of Echinococcus Granulosus Complex in Various Geographical Populations of Iran Inferred by Mitochondrial DNA Sequences","volume":"165","author":"Spotin","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"729","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpara.2018.03.006","article-title":"Global Phylogeography and Genetic Diversity of the Zoonotic Tapeworm Echinococcus Granulosus Sensu Stricto Genotype G1","volume":"48","author":"Kinkar","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1043","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-017-5386-1","article-title":"Molecular characterization of Echinococcus granulosus isolates from Bulgarian human cystic echinococcosis patients","volume":"116","author":"Marinova","year":"2017","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1613","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182018000549","article-title":"Genetic diversity and phylogeography of the elusive, but epidemiologically important Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto genotype G3","volume":"145","author":"Kinkar","year":"2018","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"503","article-title":"The Camels in Balochistan: Status, farming practices and camel centered measures","volume":"8","author":"Marghazani","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pure Appl. Biol. (PAB)"},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"5","article-title":"Sero-Prevalence of Hydatidosis in Camel Population in Different Ecological Zones of Balochistan Province, Pakistan","volume":"24","author":"Hasni","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Agric. Biol."},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"90","article-title":"Human Hydatidosis in Hyderabad, Sindh-Pakistan","volume":"1","author":"Gadahi","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Trop. Med. Public Health Int."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105354","DOI":"10.1016\/j.actatropica.2020.105354","article-title":"Surgically Confirmed Cases of Cystic Echinococcosis from Baluchistan Province, Pakistan for the Years 2011\u20132018","volume":"205","author":"Khan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Trop."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1016\/j.trstmh.2007.09.010","article-title":"Identification of risk factors for cystic echinococcosis in a peri-urban population of Peru","volume":"102","author":"Moro","year":"2008","journal-title":"Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"713","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182006001934","article-title":"A molecular phylogeny of the genus Echinococcus inferred from complete mitochondrial genomes","volume":"134","author":"Nakao","year":"2006","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1092","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182021000755","article-title":"The situation of echinococcosis in stray dogs in Turkey: The first finding of Echinococcus multilocularis and Echinococcus ortleppi","volume":"148","author":"Avcioglu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"547","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182005007973","article-title":"Molecular Study of Echinococcus in West-Central China","volume":"131","author":"Yang","year":"2005","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-005-0059-x","article-title":"Molecular characterization of Echinococcus granulosus strains in Sardinia","volume":"98","author":"Varcasia","year":"2006","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1701","DOI":"10.3109\/19401736.2014.961129","article-title":"The complete mitochondrial genome of G3 genotype of Echinococcus granulosus (Cestoda: Taeniidae)","volume":"27","author":"Wang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mitochondrial DNA Part A"}],"container-title":["Pathogens"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/12\/1\/40\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:52:07Z","timestamp":1760147527000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-0817\/12\/1\/40"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,26]]},"references-count":44,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1]]}},"alternative-id":["pathogens12010040"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/pathogens12010040","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-0817"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-0817","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,26]]}}}