Seroepidemiological Survey of Important Parasitic Infections of Wild Carnivores

In this study prevalence of parasites in 118 samples (62 foxes and 56 jackals) was investigated in Ilam province of Iran, in 2010-2013, situated in the western part of the national capital of Iran. The nematodes which were cleared in lactophenol, cestodes and acanthocephalans were stained using acetocarmine and haematoxylen, respectively for identification of the parasite species. Cryptosporidium spp. was detected by means of the modified Ziehl-Neelsen method. Also, 2– 4g of fecal material was suspended in 33% zinc sulfate (SG 1.18) for detection the parasite eggs, cysts, or oocysts present in samples. Evaluation of samples indicated that 100% foxes and 100% jackal were infected with at least one of the following parasites: T. canis., A. caninum., U. stenocephala., M. lineatus., D. caninum., M. hirudinaceus., D. immitis., T.hydatigena., E. granulosus., Cryptosporidium., Giardia., Isospora., Cyclospora., Ctenocephalides canis., Rhipicephalus spp., Haemaphysalis spp. or Ixodes ricinus. The most frequently detected helminthes was D. caninum (33.92%) followed by M. lineatus (30.35%) in jackals and M. lineatus (29.03%) and T. canis (27.41%) in foxes. Giardia spp and Isospora spp were the most prevalent protozoa parasite of jackals (7.14 and 7.14%) and foxes (11.29 and 9.67 %), respectively. The most frequently observed ectoparasites were Ctenocephalides canis (10.81%) in jackals and Rhipicephalus spp (12.9%) in foxes. The results of the present investigation have implications for the ongoing control of parasite infections in carnivores in Ilam province, located in Iran and Iraq border line.