Gastrointestinal nematodes of European wild boar from distinct agricultural and forest habitats in Poland

Abstract

The study aimed to compare the gastrointestinal helminthofauna of free-ranging wild boars from arable lands and forests, which are the natural habitats for wild boar in Poland and further to investigate if wild boars living in agricultural environments could acquire helminths commonly detected in domestic pigs. In 2011-2014, a total of 57 wild boars were examined post-mortem for the presence of gastrointestinal nematodes. Altogether, all but two of the animals were infected, and seven nematode species were found. The mean infection burden was 68.9 parasites, ranging from 1 to 381 worms. In forest areas, Ascarops strongylina, Physocephalus sexalatus, and Globocephalus urosubulatus were common, whereas on arable lands, the animals were more frequently infected (P < 0.05) by Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis, which are parasites that commonly occur in domestic pigs. Oesophagostomum dentatum was observed only in wild boars on arable lands, and Bourgelatia diducta, which is alien to European suids, appeared irrespective of habitat type. These results show significant differences in parasite spectra among wild boars living in forests or arable lands in Poland and indicates the risks of parasite transfer from domestic pigs to free-ranging wild boars. Furthermore, in farmed game, organic farming, or in the case of agritourism farms, one should be aware of the risk of related animals acquiring new and alien parasite infections by being kept outdoors.