Observations on parasite–host relationships of Echinococcus multilocularis Leuckart, 1863, in North Dakota

Red foxes, Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus), and small mammals were collected and examined during 1965–69, to investigate parasite–host relationships of Echinococcus multilocularis Leuckart, 1863, in North Dakota. Comparative studies of this cestode were carried on concurrently through experimental infectio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Zoology
Main Authors: Rausch, R. L., Richards, S. H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1971
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z71-198
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z71-198
Description
Summary:Red foxes, Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus), and small mammals were collected and examined during 1965–69, to investigate parasite–host relationships of Echinococcus multilocularis Leuckart, 1863, in North Dakota. Comparative studies of this cestode were carried on concurrently through experimental infection of carnivores and rodents. In winter, red foxes in North Dakota exhibited high rates of infection of comparatively low intensity. Deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner), and voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord), were important intermediate hosts, but the larvae in deer mice produced fewer protoscolices. The strains of E. multilocularis from North Dakota and from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, differ biologically, as indicated by findings in experimentally infected rodents, but they could not be distinguished morphologically at the infraspecific level. Helminths recorded from red foxes in North Dakota are listed, and some ecological data are presented and discussed.