TY - JOUR

T1 - Gastrointestinal helminths of gray wolves (Canis lupus lupus) from Sweden

AU - Al-Sabi, Mohammad Nafi Solaiman

AU - Raaf, Linnea

AU - Osterman-Lind, Eva

AU - Uhlhorn, Henrik

AU - Kapel, Christian

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - As the Scandinavian wolf population is limited in size, it is only rarely subject to systematic studies on its disease biology, especially gastrointestinal parasites. Therefore, this study aims to describe the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of gray wolves hunted on a limited license as a part of a wildlife management program. Helminths of 20 wolves were examined post mortem by macroscopy and coprology. Intestinal worms of five species were recovered from 18 wolves (90%): Uncinaria stenocephala (90%), Taenia spp. (45%), Alaria alata (25%), and Mesocestoides spp. (5%). Of the taeniid specimens typed by multiplex PCR and sequencing of the cox1 gene, 25% belonged to Taenia hydatigena and 25% to Taenia krabbei. The overall species diversity was low compared to findings from wolves of the northern hemisphere. Fecal eggs of Eucoleus boehmi were detected in 12 wolves (60%). Fecal metastrongylid larvae were found in seven individuals (39%), but PCR analyses specific for Angiostrongylus vasorum were negative. The wolves were in good body condition suggesting that the parasite infestation had no negative impact on the general health of the examined wolves. Although some of the recovered parasite species have zoonotic or veterinary impact, it is not likely that the spare wolf population pose substantial threat to human or veterinary health.

AB - As the Scandinavian wolf population is limited in size, it is only rarely subject to systematic studies on its disease biology, especially gastrointestinal parasites. Therefore, this study aims to describe the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of gray wolves hunted on a limited license as a part of a wildlife management program. Helminths of 20 wolves were examined post mortem by macroscopy and coprology. Intestinal worms of five species were recovered from 18 wolves (90%): Uncinaria stenocephala (90%), Taenia spp. (45%), Alaria alata (25%), and Mesocestoides spp. (5%). Of the taeniid specimens typed by multiplex PCR and sequencing of the cox1 gene, 25% belonged to Taenia hydatigena and 25% to Taenia krabbei. The overall species diversity was low compared to findings from wolves of the northern hemisphere. Fecal eggs of Eucoleus boehmi were detected in 12 wolves (60%). Fecal metastrongylid larvae were found in seven individuals (39%), but PCR analyses specific for Angiostrongylus vasorum were negative. The wolves were in good body condition suggesting that the parasite infestation had no negative impact on the general health of the examined wolves. Although some of the recovered parasite species have zoonotic or veterinary impact, it is not likely that the spare wolf population pose substantial threat to human or veterinary health.

KW - Canis lupus lupus

KW - Gastrointestinal helminths

KW - Taenia

KW - Post mortem examination

KW - Coprological examination

KW - Multiplex PCR

KW - Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology

KW - Ancylostomatoidea/genetics

KW - Wolves/parasitology

KW - Prevalence

KW - Animals, Wild/parasitology

KW - Feces/parasitology

KW - Mesocestoides/genetics

KW - Taenia/genetics

KW - Animals

KW - Angiostrongylus/genetics

KW - Sweden/epidemiology

KW - Helminthiasis/epidemiology

U2 - 10.1007/s00436-018-5881-z

DO - 10.1007/s00436-018-5881-z

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29696393

VL - 117

SP - 1891

EP - 1898

JO - Parasitology Research

JF - Parasitology Research

SN - 0932-0113

IS - 6

ER -