Received: May 26, 2020 / Published: Nov 27, 2020
This study was conducted to detect Ascaris suum, Toxocara canis, and Toxocara cati in naturally infected chicken livers, and then to provide information related to ascarid infections in humans. Ninety-four chicken liver samples collected at a fresh market were used for this study. DNA was extracted from each minced liver sample (500 mg) by the alkaline lysis method using NaOH 50mM and Tris-HCl (pH 8.0). The nested multiplex PCR assay using ascarid universal primers was applied to amplify the ITS1 ribosomal RNA gene of A. suum, Toxocara canis, and Toxocara cati in all the liver samples. Then, species specific-primers were used to discriminate between A. suum and Toxocara spp. The results showed that 2 of the 94 chicken liver samples detected positive for the presence of A. suum DNA. This study provided useful information and evidence about A. suum infection in humans via exposure to contaminated soil or eating raw/undercooked chicken livers in Vietnam.