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Helminths in the wolf, Canis lupus, from north-western Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2017

J.M. Segovia
Affiliation:
Laboratori de Parasitologia, Departament de Microbiologia i Parasitologia Sanitàries, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
J. Torres*
Affiliation:
Laboratori de Parasitologia, Departament de Microbiologia i Parasitologia Sanitàries, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
J. Miquel
Affiliation:
Laboratori de Parasitologia, Departament de Microbiologia i Parasitologia Sanitàries, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
L. Llaneza
Affiliation:
ARENA Asesores en Recursos Naturales, S.L. Valnalón, C/ Hornos Altos s/n, E-33930 Langreo, Asturias, Spain
C. Feliu
Affiliation:
Laboratori de Parasitologia, Departament de Microbiologia i Parasitologia Sanitàries, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: (34) 93 4024504 E-mail: jtorres@farmacia.far.ub.es

Abstract

Fifteen helminth species were collected from 47 wolves (Canis lupus ) which were surveyed from 1993 to 1999 in northwestern Spain. These included the trematode Alaria alata (2.1%); the cestodes Taenia hydatigena (44.7%), T. multiceps (29.8%), T. serialis (2.1%), Dipylidium caninum (6.4%) and Mesocestoides sp. aff. litteratus (4.2%); and the nematodes Pearsonema plica (7.4%), Trichuris vulpis (10.6%), Trichinella britovi (12.8%), Ancylostoma caninum (8.5%), Uncinaria stenocephala (51.1%), Toxocara canis (6.4%) Toxascaris leonina (4.2%), Angiostrongylus vasorum (2.1%) and Dirofilaria immitis (2.1%). Only two wolves were not infected. A single infection occurred in 28.9% of the cases, but the commonest infracommunity (31.1%) involved three species. The helminths Alaria alata, Taenia hydatigena, Mesocestoides sp. aff. litteratus, P. plica, Trichuris vulpis, and Ancylostoma caninum parasitizing C. lupus are reported for the first time in Spain. Taenia serialis and D. immitis are reported for the first time in wolves in Europe. Angiostrongylus vasorum represents a new host record for wolves. The helminth fauna of Spanish wolves is compared with that of other European wolf populations. Some epidemiological considerations of the helminth fauna of wolves in Spain and the health risk to humans are also discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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