Morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic characterization of Taenia multiceps causing cardiac coenurosis in a goat from Iran

Abstract

Coenurosis is an economically important parasitic disease of small ruminants resulting in significant livestock losses in endemic regions. This study reports a pericardial coenurus cyst found during routine post-mortem examination at a commercial abattoir in Ahvaz, southwestern Iran. The cyst measured 1 × 1.3 cm in diameter and contained 0.4 ml of clear fluid and numerous white protoscolices. This unilocular Taenia multiceps cyst (Coenurus gaigeri) was identified on the pericardial surface of a one-year-old male goat. Protoscolices were armed with a double crown of 26–28 rostellar hooks arranged in large and small rows, from four of the 26 protoscolices recovered from the cyst. Morphometric parameters of large and small hooks are reported descriptively (mean ± SD, range). Molecular identification by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene showed a 418-bp sequence (GenBank: PV442129.1) sharing 99.72–100% identity with Iranian T. multiceps isolates. Phylogenetic analysis placed the isolate within a monophyletic clade of cerebral and non-cerebral T. multiceps forms, consistent with previous reports of a close genetic relationship between C. gaigeri and C. cerebralis. This case adds to the limited reports of extra-cerebral T. multiceps localization, underscoring the value of continued surveillance given the species' zoonotic potential.