The increasing interest on respiratory nematodes of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) has recently stimulated several studies on their epidemiology and geographic distribution. At the same time, there are still important gaps in our knowledge of the infections caused by respiratory nematodes in wild felids. The present study investigated the occurrence of pulmonary parasites in wild hosts housed in sanctuaries and protected areas of South Africa. Faecal samples collected from seven species of wild felids living in three study sites were copromicroscopically and genetically examined. Of twenty-one samples six, i.e. three from caracals (Caracal caracal), two from lions (Panthera leo) and one from a serval (Leptailurus serval), scored positive for the metastrongyloid Aelurostrongylus abstrusus at copromicroscopic and/or molecular tests. No other lungworms were recorded. The occurrence of the cosmopolitan cat lungworm A. abstrusus in wild hosts has been so far questioned. Importantly, the present findings represent an unequivocal evidence of the capability of A. abstrusus to infect some species of wild felids. Further studies are warranted to understand the epidemiological patterns of lungworms in wild and domestic felids, and to better investigate the impact of these parasitoses on health and welfare of wild animals.
A survey on wild ruminants' health status of any South African preserves was attempted, assessing body condition score (BCS) through tele-diagnosis. The wildlife BCS was linked to the presence of gastrointestinal parasites that should be recognized, counted and statistically evaluated. For this purpose, we examined 103 faecal samples of wild ruminants from 6 South African preserves. For practical reasons, the animals were divided into two macro-categories: small and large ruminants. The results obtained showed a prevalence of 78.1 and 15.6% in large ruminants for gastrointestinal strongyles (GIS) and coccidian, respectively, while small ruminants showed 92.3% due to GIS and 30.8% for coccidia. No statistically significant difference in the prevalence among the preserves was detected; on the other hand, a low value of BCS corresponds to a greater presence of parasites with statistics difference in the macro-categories (small ruminant x 2 =5.238; P=0.020; large ruminant x 2 = 15.215; P<0.001) and sex classes (male x 2 =5.409; P=0.020; female x 2 =17.350; P<0.001). For these reasons, our results provide a practical feedback for the management preserves. The present paper is fully part of the limited experiences of telediagnosis in a conservation perspective. Based on the results obtained, we decided to organize a project that could limit and assess the risk factors in the management of these activities in the South African context.
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