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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Parasitology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1629099

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Wildlife Parasitology and Host-Pathogen DynamicsView all articles

First molecular identification of Spirometra mansoni in the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Croatia

Provisionally accepted
Ana ŠikićAna Šikić1Alicia RojasAlicia Rojas2Ema GagovićEma Gagović3Daria Jurković ŽilićDaria Jurković Žilić3Magda SindičićMagda Sindičić1Šimun NaletlićŠimun Naletlić4Davor BalićDavor Balić5Adnan HodzicAdnan Hodzic6Relja BeckRelja Beck3*
  • 1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
  • 2Laboratory of Helminthology, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
  • 3Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
  • 4Department of Pathology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
  • 5Croatian Veterinary Institute, Veterinary Department vinkovci, Vinkovci, Croatia
  • 6Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CMESS), Vienna, Croatia

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This study presents the first molecularly confirmed identification of the cestode Spirometra mansoni in the golden jackals (Canis aureus) in Croatia, and possibly the first such report in Europe. Of 198 jackals examined between 2020 and 2025, adult Spirometra worms were recovered from three individuals. The morphological characteristics of these specimens were consistent with S. mansoni, and their identity was confirmed by PCR and sequencing of the mitochondrial cox1 and nad1 genes. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the obtained sequences within the S. mansoni clade, with strong posterior probability support. This finding expands the known host range and geographic distribution of S. mansoni and underscores the importance of integrating molecular diagnostics in parasitological surveys. Further research is needed to assess the role of golden jackals and other wildlife in the epidemiology of Spirometra spp. in Europe.

Keywords: Canis aureus, cox1, Nad1, Croatia, Spirometra mansoni

Received: 15 May 2025; Accepted: 23 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Šikić, Rojas, Gagović, Žilić, Sindičić, Naletlić, Balić, Hodzic and Beck. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Relja Beck, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

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Supplementary Material