Pathomorphological Studies on Wild Boars Infected with Metastrongylus Spp., Ascarops Strongylina, and Macracanthorhynchus Hirudinaceus.

INTRODUCTION: Pathomorphological changes in the lungs, stomach, and small intestines of wild boars infected with Metastrongylus spp., Ascarops strongylina, and Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus were investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Dissection of 11 wild boars was performed, and parasitised organs were histologically investigated by common techniques. RESULTS: Macroscopic lesions in the lungs infected with Metastrongyus spp. were seen within the apical parts of the large lobes, irregular in form, pale greyish in colour, and compact in consistency. The main pathohistological findings were: the presence of parasite forms, and lymphocytes and neutrophils in the lumen of bronchi and bronchioles, desquamation of the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium, emphysema, thickening of alveolar septa, hyperaemia, alveolitis, infiltration of the interstitial tissue with giant cell, monocytes and eosinophils, and peribronchial and disseminated lymphoid hyperplasia. The principal observations accompanying infection with A. strongylina were inflammation and focal mucosal damage in the stomach, the latter clearly demarcated from the surrounding tissues. Severe injuries in the place of attachment of M. hirudinaceus to the wall of the small intestine were seen. Intestinal villi, underlying mucosa, and submucosa were destroyed, and an intense inflammatory reaction was present. CONCLUSION: The histopathological lesions showed wide diversity, varying from mild to severe; but none of them were lethal.

First report on Protostrongylus cuniculorum (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) in the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 L.) from Bulgaria.

A nematode species from the Protostrongylidae family, unknown in the parasite fauna of Bulgaria until now, was found in the bronchi of a European brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 L.) from a southwestern region of the country. At first the systematic identification of the found specimens was attributed to two possibilities-Protostrongylus terminalis Passerini (1884) Schulz, Orlow & Kutass, 1933 and Protostrongylus cuniculorum (Joyeux & Gaud, 1946) Schulz & Kadenazii, 1949. The autonomy of these two species was discussed based on data available in the literature. Morphological and morphometric data about the male and female specimens are provided in the present materials. After comparing these data with the ones available in the literature, the helminths were related to the species P. cuniculorum. P. cuniculorum is reported for the first time as part of the helminth fauna of the European brown hare from Southeastern Europe and Bulgaria in particular.

Studies on the gastrointestinal and lung parasite fauna of wild boars (Sus scrofa scrofa L.) from Bulgaria

Eighty fecal samples from free living wild boars and internal organs from eleven hunted animals from Bulgaria were investigated during 2016­2017. The fecal samples were analyzed with the coproscopical methods of Fulleborn, Shterbovich and serial sedimentations, as well as the modified Baermann technique. Helminthological necropsies of the lungs and gastrointestinal tracts of the animals were carried out through the common technique. Ten helminth genera (Metastrongylus, Strongyloides, Oesophagostomum, Hyostrongylus, Globocephalus, Nematodirus, Ascaris, Ascarops, Trichuris, Macracanthorhynchus) and one protozoa (Eimeria) were established through coproscopical investigations. Helminths of the species Metastrongylus elongatus, M. pudendotectus, M. salmi, Globocephalus urosubulatus, Oesophagostomum dentatum, O. quadrispinulatum, Trichuris suis, Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus, Ascaris suum, Ascarops strongylina and Physocephalus sexalatus were found during the necropsies. Metastrongylus, Globocephalus and Oesophagostomum were the genera with the highest prevalence of infection being respectively 28.75%, 13.75% and 12.5%. These were also the genera with the highest territorial incidence. Metastrongylids were found in eight of the eleven examined areas, while globocephalids and oesophagostomids were found in four of them. The infections of Metastrongylus spp., Oesophagostomum spp. and Ascarops spp. were with the highest intensity. This is the first study in which O. quadrispinulatum has been found in wild boar from Bulgaria.