Affiliations 

  • 1 G.P. Somov Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, 1, Selskaya st, 690087 Vladivostok, Russia
  • 2 Federal Scientific Centre of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Stoletiya Vladivostoka, 159, 690022 Vladivostok, Russia
  • 3 Far Eastern Federal University, Sukhanova st., 8, 690091 Vladivostok, Russia
J Parasit Dis, 2022 Sep;46(3):744-753.
PMID: 36091260 DOI: 10.1007/s12639-022-01481-7

Abstract

Flukes from the genus Paragonimus Braun, 1899 are medically important foodborne trematodes predominantly occurring throughout Asian countries. Providing molecular genetic characteristics based on ITS2 and partial 28 S rDNA of the paragonimids from the Russian Far East, Northeast, South, and Southeast Asian countries, we performed a partial reappraisal of Paragonimus westermani species complex. Members of this complex are genetically distinct worms with different divergence times and explosive expansion during Miocene-Pliocene epochs. We confirm the taxonomic status as valid species for P. ichunensis stat. n. (from the Russian Far East and Northern China), and P. filipinus (from the Philippines), which were previously considered subspecies of P. westermani, and reinstated the species name P. pulmonalis (from Japan). We suggest considering the worms from South Korea the Korean variety of P. ichunensis, because Korean specimens are sister and genetically closest to P. ichunensis from Northeast China and Primorsky region of Russia. Worms from South (India (type 2), Sri Lanka), Southeast (Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand (types 1 and 2)) and East Asia (Taiwan) were left in the paragonimid systematics as Paragonimus sp. We propose to consider Indian worms of type 1 as true P. westermani, but in further revisions, due to the lack of holotype and unknown exact type locality, new type specimens (neotype) should be established.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.