Levels of<i>Ancylostoma</i>infections and phylogenetic analysis of<i>cox</i>1 gene of<i>A. ceylanicum</i>in stray cat faecal samples from Guangzhou, China

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Ancylostoma ceylanicum</jats:italic>is a common zoonotic nematode. Cats act as natural reservoirs of the hookworm and are involved in transmitting infection to humans, thus posing a potential risk to public health. The prevalence of feline<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>in Guangzhou (South China) was surveyed by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). In total, 112 faecal samples were examined; 34.8% (39/112) and 43.8% (49/112) samples were positive with hookworms by microscopy and PCR method, respectively. Among them, 40.8% of samples harboured<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>. Twelve positive<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>samples were selected randomly and used for<jats:italic>cox</jats:italic>1 sequence analysis. Sequencing results revealed that they had 97–99% similarity with<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic><jats:italic>cox</jats:italic>1 gene sequences deposited in GenBank. A phylogenetic tree showed that<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>isolates were divided into two groups: one comprising four isolates from Guangzhou (South China), and the other comprising those from Malaysia, Cambodia and Guangzhou. In the latter group, all<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>isolates from Guangzhou were clustered into a minor group again. The results indicate that the high prevalence of<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>in stray cats in South China poses a potential risk of hookworm transmission from pet cats to humans, and that<jats:italic>A. ceylanicum</jats:italic>may be a species complex worldwide.</jats:p>