A new case of Echinococcus ortleppi infection diagnosed by next-generation sequencing in China

Cystic echinococcosis is an important parasitic zoonosis infecting numerous humans with high morbidity and mortality. As one of the etiologic agents, <i>Echinococcus ortleppi</i> infection in humans has been very rare. In this study, a 27-year-old man was diagnosed with cystic echinococcosis in Wuhan City of China, a non-endemic area. Next-generation sequencing identified that the etiologic agent was <i>E. ortleppi.</i> Its complete mitochondrion sequence (13,600 bp) has 99.92% identity to <i>E. ortleppi</i> from cattle in Japan. This is the third reported <i>E. ortleppi</i> infection case in China. Although extensive epidemiological investigations were performed, the infection source of this patient is still unclear. It is possible that there exists some hidden or unrecognized route of <i>E. ortleppi</i> transmission in China. Further investigation is needed to figure out and eliminate the risk factors.