title: A survey on parasites of long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus)in northeast of Iran.
abstract: As there appeared to be no data available on parasite infection of Hedgehogs in the region and considering the potential threat of Hedgehogs for animal and public health, the present study was carried out using biological samples and necropsy findings collected from long-eared hedgehog captured in Mashhad city in the northeast of Iran. During the study 23 dead hedgehogs were collected randomly from different regions of Mashhad County. Following autopsy of these animals, observation for enteric parasites was carefully done. At the same time, 38 live hedgehogs were captured at this region and after anesthetizing of them, their ectoparasites were removed. The captured animals were released after recovery. All of studied animals were found to be infected with at least one of the parasites. The endoparasites removed from dead hedgehogs were:Oliganthorhynchus erinacei,Nephridiorhynchus major,Hymenolepis erinaceiandCrenosoma striatum. The ectoparasites found on live studied animals according to their abundance wereRhipicephalus turanicus,Haemaphysalis erinaceiandEchidnophaga gallinacea.The results of this study will contribute to our understanding of the parasites infectingHemiechinus auritusin Iran. These results also suggest that pet owners especially those keep hedgehog should be aware about hazards that may pose by these animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moshaverinia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Borji
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kameli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghabdian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghanei
keywords: Ectoparasite; Endoparasite; Hedgehog; Iran