A survey of gastrointestinal parasites and trichinella spp. in wild carnivores of Portugal

• Main Author: Martins, Ana Isabel Pereira
• Publication Date: 2018
• Format: Master thesis
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/24466
• topic: Alaria alata; Ancylostomatidae; Capillaria spp.; Spiruridae; Taeniidae; Toxocara spp.; Trichinella spp.; Wild carnivores; Carnívoros selvagens

Currently, mainly due to anthropogenic factors, there are ecological changes that allow a greater proximity of the wildlife to urban areas, increasing the contact between domestic animals, wild animals and humans. At the same time, the occurrence of zoonosis having wild animals as hosts is a major public health problem, affecting the whole world. The concept of the One Health underlined the idea that it is only by giving equal importance to animal, environmental and human health that a balanced and holistically healthy ecosystem can be achieved. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and the burden of gastrointestinal helminth fauna and the presence of Trichinella spp. in wild carnivores from Portugal. For this purpose, faecal and muscular samples of 16 eurasian badgers, 10 genets, 9 stone martens and only faecal samples of 35 foxes were collected in a wildlife rescue centre. The faecal samples were analysed using Mini-Flotac method and the muscles by artificial digestion method. Of the 70 faecal samples in 40 (57.1%) gastrointestinal parasites have been found. The most frequent parasites were those of the family Ancylostomatidae (24.2%), followed by Capillaria spp. (22.8%) and Toxocara spp. (22.8%). Parasites of the families Spiruridae, Oxyuridae and Taeniidae and the species Toxascaris leonina and Alaria alata were also found. Capillaria spp. and badgers reached the higher burden. Trichinella spp. was not identified in any pool sample. It was found that neither the species, nor the age, nor the gender of the animals influenced the burden. The study showed that, in Portugal as in other European countries, hookworms and Toxocara spp. are the main danger to animal and public health, since their prevalence is very high in synanthropic animals, like foxes. Trichinella spp. has not been identified. Nevertheless, more representative parasitological studies should be carried out in order to draw more conclusions about the current situation, especially with respect to Trichinella spp..