Extraintestinal helminths of the common vole (Microtus arvalis) and the water vole (Arvicola terrestris) in Western Austria (Vorarlberg)

Between September and December 2004, a total of 411 voles (318 common voles and 93 water voles) were caught in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg (Lustenau, Hohenems, and Dornbirn) and were examined by macroscopy, microscopy, and molecular biological analysis to determine the presence and extent of medically important extraintestinal helminths. The following extraintestinal helminth species were detected: Taenia taeniaeformis (liver), Calodium hepaticum (liver), and Echinococcus multilocularis DNA (liver) in the common vole; and Taenia taeniaeformis (liver), Calodium hepaticum (liver), and Taenia crassiceps (musculature) in the water vole. Infestations with Toxocara canis and Trichinella sp. were not found. Our study documents the first description of E. multilocularis DNA in the intermediate host (Microtus arvalis) and of other medically relevant extraintestinal helminths in common and water voles in Austria.