Hunting practices increase the prevalence of Trichinella infection in wolves from European Russia.
From 1998 to 2000, 184 animals (82 wolves, 29 red foxes, 55 mustelids, 5 raccoon dogs, and 13 domestic dogs), mainly shot by hunters in the Tvier and Smoliensk regions of northwest European Russia, were tested for Trichinella larvae; 98 animals (53.3%) were found to be positive. The highest prevalence was detected in wolf (97.5%). Trichinella nativa was the most common species detected (98%). The diet of wolves was investigated by examining the stomach contents of 62 animals (75.6% of the total number of wolves examined for Trichinella). It consisted mainly of dog (36.4% of the total number of occurrences of all food items, PFO) and moose (31.2 PFO); however, during the hunting seasons of 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, skinned wolf carcasses were left in the forest as bait (567 carcasses, about 18,000 kg). This very high prevalence of Trichinella infection, the highest ever detected in a natural population of carnivores, could be explained by carnivore-carnivore transmission, influenced by the hunting practices adopted in the study area.
Pozio
E
E
Laboratory of Parasitology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. pozio@iss.it
Casulli
A
A
Bologov
V V
VV
Marucci
G
G
La Rosa
G
G
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002335:Carnivora / Q000469:parasitology*; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004285:Dogs; D005589:Foxes / Q000469:parasitology; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D005843:Geography; D009132:Muscles / Q000469:parasitology; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013177:Sports; D014235:Trichinellosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D019596:Wolves / Q000469:parasitology*
D018509:DNA, Helminth