Prevalence of helminths in wild boar from hunting grounds in eastern Croatia

Examination of 47 wild boars (Sus scrofa) aged 1-6 years from an open and a closed hunting ground in eastern Slavonia, Republic of Croatia, killed from November 1999 till the end of January 2000, revealed the presence 14 helminth species. The predominant helminth group were nematodes. The species Globocephalus urosubulatus, Metastrongylus apri, Metastrongylus pudendotectus, Ascarops strongylina and Physocephalus sexalatus were isolated in > 25% of animals. In addition, the nematodes Gongylonema pulchrum, Hyostrongylus rubidus, Gnathostoma hispidum, Oesophagostomum sp., and Trichinella sp., the acanthocephalan species Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus, the intestinal fluke Echinochasmus perfoliatus (Trematoda) and the larval stage (Cysticercus tenuicollis, Echinococcus hidatidosus) of two tapeworm species (Taenia hydatigena, Echinococcus granulosus) (Cestoda) were recorded. The number of parasite species per animal ranged from 2 to 7. The results were statistically analysed to determine differences in the intensity of invasion with particular parasites according to age, sex, and hunting ground. The highest and lowest rate of invasion with Metastrongylidae was found in the groups of animals aged 1 and 4-6 years, respectively. The rate of invasion with other helminth species was found to increase with age. The prevalence and intensity of invasion differed according to sex and habitat, however, the differences did not reach statistical significance except for Ascarops strongylina, wich was detected in the group of one-year animals from the open ground, but not in the respective age from the closed ground.