Veterinary monitoring of gastrointestinal parasites in European bison, Bison bonasus designated for translocation: Comparison of two coprological methods

Abstract

It is important to monitor the level of parasitic loads in herds of European bison and to identify threats early enough to prevent their spread to other populations or species. The aim of the present study was to compare the detection sensitivity of two fecal flotation techniques, viz. the modified Willis method (WM) with centrifugation and modified McMaster flotation technique (MM), in the diagnostics of gastrointestinal parasites of European bison before the translocation of animals. Out of 166 feces samples, Eimeria spp. oocysts (84.3% in WM and 71.1% in MM) and Trichostrongylidae eggs (82.5% in WM and 53.6% in MM) predominated. These were accompanied by eggs from Capillaria spp. (prevalence: 13.9% in WM and 3.61% in MM), Nematodirus spp. (prevalence: 18.1% in WM and 4.8% in MM) and Trichuris spp. (prevalence: 12.7% in WM and MM) were identified. The lowest prevalence was noted for cestode eggs of Moniezia spp. (5.4% in WM and 3.0% in MM). The Willis method yielded a higher prevalence of eggs and oocysts than the modified McMaster method, and hence has a higher probability of detecting parasitic structures than the modified McMaster method, especially in cases of very low levels of invasion. As the two methods yield consistent results, it is recommended to use the Willis method for diagnosis of internal parasite infection in European bison. This test offers more sensitive method than McMaster technique of detecting the presence of low levels of a variety of parasite eggs and oocysts in feces, while also being inexpensive and adaptable to field work.

Endoparasite loads and the efficacy of conventional anthelmintics against gastrointestinal nematodes in captive European bison

“…Nevertheless, local parasite populations seem to have drug-resistant traits, which highlights the need for further research. It is reasonable to introduce preventive measures such as enclosure rotations and differentiated deworming protocols, and every newly imported animal should be treated as being potentially infected with drug-resistant parasites ( Conder and Campbell, 1995 ; Gałązka et al, 2022 ). Drug resistance may develop for various reasons in captive non-domestic animals, such as inaccurate determination of body weight, which results in incorrect anthelmintic drug doses; in addition, individual drug administration and ensuring complete dosage intake can also be problematic, and there may be limited possibilities for enclosure rotation ( Conder and Campbell, 1995 ; Coles et al, 2006 ).…”

Two centrifugal flotation techniques for counting gastrointestinal parasite eggs and oocysts in alpaca faeces

“…Additionally, WM and SM represent the test tube and cover slip approach to faecal egg counting in contrast to methods representing the counting chamber approach, such as MM (12). On the other hand, WM is a qualitative method, whereas SM and MM are quantitative coprological techniques (7,17). Gałązka et al (7) reported that WM yielded a higher prevalence of eggs and oocysts in European bisonderived samples than MM.…”

“…On the other hand, WM is a qualitative method, whereas SM and MM are quantitative coprological techniques (7,17). Gałązka et al (7) reported that WM yielded a higher prevalence of eggs and oocysts in European bisonderived samples than MM. The statistical analysis of the results of this study revealed that WM offers an advantage in the detection of eggs of Trichostrongylidae and Nematodirus, whereas SM does in the detection of smaller coccidia.…”

“…Modified Willis method . A modified WM ( 18 ) was performed with centrifugation as described previously ( 7 ). Three grams of faeces were passed through a sieve in 10 mL of sucrose solution, and the suspension was poured into 10 mL centrifuge tubes and centrifuged for 2 min at 2,000 rpm ( 19 ).…”

Comorbidities and concentration of trace elements in livers of European bison from Bieszczady Mountains (Poland)

“…European bison (Bison bonasus L.) is a species for which health monitoring is essential in conservation activities [5][6][7][8] . Due to the low genetic variability of the European bison, even large free-living herds struggle with health problems, and sometimes it is necessary to implement restrictive measures to eliminate sick individuals (e.g.…”