TDK conference 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the parasitic infection of 11 Przewalski horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) by necropsy. Concerning the occurrence of ectoparasites; only ticks and Gasterophilus larvae were found. All horses were infested with ticks. A total of 213 ticks were collected of which 212 were Dermacentor reticulatus (93 males and 109 females) and one was an Ixodes ricinus female. Although only 3 horses were infested with Gasterophilus eggs attached to the hair of their forelegs, there were G. intestinalis larvae (5-54 larvae/ horse) in the stomach of all horses.

Nematode and tapeworm infections were also detected. The faecal samples of all horses contained only strongyle-type eggs. Third-instar larvae of small strongyles (11/11) and two species of large strongyles, Strongylus vulgaris (6/11) and S. equinus (1/11) were identified. Among 115 worms collected randomly from the caecum and colon of the horses there were 30 S. vulgaris, 6 S. equinus and 1 S. edentatus in 6, 3 and 1 horse, respectively. One specimen of Triodontophorus serratus was found. The other worms were unidentifiable immature forms of small strongyles. Around the iliocaecal junction of 5 horses 162 Anoplocephala perfoliata were found. Eight specimens of Setaria equina were collected from the abdominal cavity of 5 horses; however the blood samples of all animals did not contain microfilariae of this nematode species. By conventional PCR only one blood sample was positive for piroplasma identified as Babesia caballi.

To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to document the parasitic infections of so many Przewalski horses postmortem.