Notes on the Prevalence of Hydatid Disease in Alaskan Moose

• Main Author: Rausch, Robert L.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 1959
• Subjects: Parasitology; Alces alces; Alaska
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs/395; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/parasitologyfacpubs/article/1404/viewcontent/Rausch_1959_JWM_Notes_on_the_Prevalenceof_Hydatid_Disease_in_Alaskan_Moose.pdf

In conjunction with current moose-management studies in south-central Alaska; 124 pairs of lungs of moose (Alces alces) have been collected and examined for the presence of hydatid cysts, the larval stage of the cestode, Echinococcus granulosus. The lungs were collected in the Cook Inlet region between January 1, 1956 and January 1, 1958, mostly from animals accidentally killed by trains or cars. The presence or absence of the tapeworm cyst was determined by visual inspection, palpation, and finally by sectioning the lungs into slices approximately % in. thick. Hydatid larvae do not always localize in the lungs of the host; however, examination of 86 moose livers and hearts has given negative results. The lungs of 17 of the above animals were infected.