A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium
Infections with helminths are a major health issue in captive and wild deer. In this study, fecal egg count patterns and clinical signs associated with gastrointestinal nematodes were assessed for 12 mo in nine cervid herds kept under different husbandry conditions at two sites. At site 1, an urban...
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ftitg:oai:dspace.itg.be:10390/526 2023-05-15T13:13:06+02:00 A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium Goossens, E. Vercruysse, J. Boomker, J. Vercammen, F. Dorny, P. 2005 http://hdl.handle.net/10390/526 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17312767 English eng Animal diseases Zoo animals Cervidae Helminthic diseases Nematodes Gastrointestinal Parasite egg count Belgium Europe West Article 2005 ftitg 2015-09-29T09:53:54Z Infections with helminths are a major health issue in captive and wild deer. In this study, fecal egg count patterns and clinical signs associated with gastrointestinal nematodes were assessed for 12 mo in nine cervid herds kept under different husbandry conditions at two sites. At site 1, an urban zoo, fecal egg counts remained low and no clinical signs of parasitic gastroenteritis were seen in the herds of fallow deer (Dama dama), Dybowski's deer (Cervus nippon dybowski), pudu (Pudu pudu), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Helminth infection at this site may have been successfully prevented by daily dung removal of the small sandy-soil enclosures, and applying routine anthelmintic treatment was not justified. At site 2, a wild animal park, involved species were red deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus), Nelson's elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), European elk (Alces alces alces), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Nematode eggs were frequently encountered in herds of red deer, Nelson's elk, and European elk, which were kept on larger, grassy enclosures that were irregularly cleaned. The trimodal pattern of fecal egg counts in herds from the wild animal park, consisting of a small spring rise in June, a peak in October, and a small rise in February, indicates that infective larvae on pastures are the main source of infection. In addition, routine anthelmintic treatment with fenbendazole in April and July limited egg shedding, but reinfection rapidly occurred. In two European elk and one reindeer, increasing fecal egg counts were associated with loss of fecal consistency and reduced appetite. Three genera and three species of nematodes were recovered at necropsy of one red deer and three Nelson's elk: Spiculopteragia spiculoptera, Trichostrongylus spp., Nematodirus filicollis, Capillaria spp., Oesophagostomum radiatum, and Trichuris spp., with total worm counts between 950 and 8,700. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Rangifer tarandus Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM): TropMed Central Antwerp |
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Open Polar |
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Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM): TropMed Central Antwerp |
op_collection_id |
ftitg |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal diseases Zoo animals Cervidae Helminthic diseases Nematodes Gastrointestinal Parasite egg count Belgium Europe West |
spellingShingle |
Animal diseases Zoo animals Cervidae Helminthic diseases Nematodes Gastrointestinal Parasite egg count Belgium Europe West Goossens, E. Vercruysse, J. Boomker, J. Vercammen, F. Dorny, P. A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium |
topic_facet |
Animal diseases Zoo animals Cervidae Helminthic diseases Nematodes Gastrointestinal Parasite egg count Belgium Europe West |
description |
Infections with helminths are a major health issue in captive and wild deer. In this study, fecal egg count patterns and clinical signs associated with gastrointestinal nematodes were assessed for 12 mo in nine cervid herds kept under different husbandry conditions at two sites. At site 1, an urban zoo, fecal egg counts remained low and no clinical signs of parasitic gastroenteritis were seen in the herds of fallow deer (Dama dama), Dybowski's deer (Cervus nippon dybowski), pudu (Pudu pudu), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Helminth infection at this site may have been successfully prevented by daily dung removal of the small sandy-soil enclosures, and applying routine anthelmintic treatment was not justified. At site 2, a wild animal park, involved species were red deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus), Nelson's elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), European elk (Alces alces alces), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Nematode eggs were frequently encountered in herds of red deer, Nelson's elk, and European elk, which were kept on larger, grassy enclosures that were irregularly cleaned. The trimodal pattern of fecal egg counts in herds from the wild animal park, consisting of a small spring rise in June, a peak in October, and a small rise in February, indicates that infective larvae on pastures are the main source of infection. In addition, routine anthelmintic treatment with fenbendazole in April and July limited egg shedding, but reinfection rapidly occurred. In two European elk and one reindeer, increasing fecal egg counts were associated with loss of fecal consistency and reduced appetite. Three genera and three species of nematodes were recovered at necropsy of one red deer and three Nelson's elk: Spiculopteragia spiculoptera, Trichostrongylus spp., Nematodirus filicollis, Capillaria spp., Oesophagostomum radiatum, and Trichuris spp., with total worm counts between 950 and 8,700. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Goossens, E. Vercruysse, J. Boomker, J. Vercammen, F. Dorny, P. |
author_facet |
Goossens, E. Vercruysse, J. Boomker, J. Vercammen, F. Dorny, P. |
author_sort |
Goossens, E. |
title |
A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium |
title_short |
A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium |
title_full |
A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium |
title_fullStr |
A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium |
title_full_unstemmed |
A 12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in Belgium |
title_sort |
12-month survey of gastrointestinal helminth infections of cervids kept in two zoos in belgium |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10390/526 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17312767 |
genre |
Alces alces Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Alces alces Rangifer tarandus |
_version_ |
1766256070414565376 |