Mogoye, Benjamin Kgaile2014-02-172014-02-172013http://hdl.handle.net10539/13797Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine. Johannesburg, May 2013Cystic echinococcosis is a neglected parasitic zoonosis that is regarded as an emerging disease worldwide. Effective control of the disease is based on understanding the variability of Echinococcus granulosus (sensu lato), as genotypic characteristics may influence lifecycle patterns, development rate, and transmission. No molecular epidemiological research has previously been conducted to shed light on genotypes responsible for the disease in South Africa. To identify strains circulating in the country, parasite material was collected from patients between August 2010 and September 2012 and analyzed by PCR/RFLP methods. A total of 32 samples was characterized as E. granulosus (G1) (81%), E. canadensis (G6/7) (16%) and E. ortleppi (G5) (3%). Furthermore, two co-amplifying G6/7 genotypes were confirmed as G7 by sequencing. This is the first report on genotyping of Echinococcus species in South Africa, and, to our knowledge, the first report of the G5 and G7 genotypes from humans in Africa.enEchinococcosisThesis