Survey of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei spargana infection in the frog Rana nigromaculata of the Hunan Province of China

The prevalence of spargana infection in frogs (Rana nigromaculata) was investigated in China's central Hunan Province, from March 2007 to October 2009. 59 of 292 (20.2%) wild-caught frogs were found to be infected with plerocercoids (spargana) of the genus Spirometra. Spargana were recovered from the skeletal muscle of the hind limb. The infection rate ranged from 4.5% to 27.4%, and the infection intensity was 1–15 spargana per frog. To identify the species identity of the collected spargana, a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene was amplified, sequenced, and analyzed. Sequence variations for cox1 among all the examined spargana were 0.0–3.1%, with 14 variable sites being identified in sequences obtained (3.1%, 14/446), representing 6 different cox1 sequences. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all the spargana isolates in Hunan province represented Spirometra erinaceieuropaei. This is the first report of S. erinaceieuropaei infection in frogs in Hunan province, China.