The parasitic fauna of red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) in the tula region in 2019 by lifetime coproscopic diagnostics

Abstract

Red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) is not only a valuable gameanimal, but also an object of agricultural activity. Samples of fecal masses from 12 marals (Siberian subspecies of red deer - Cervus elaphus sibiricus) kept in a private farm in the Tula Region were collected immediately after defecation in September 2019 and delivered to the Laboratory for the Study of Parasitic Diseases at the base of the Parasitology Department of St. Petersburg State Academy of Veterinary Medicine within 24 hours. The material was studied by ovo-, larvo- and helminthoscopy (Darling’s method + sequential washing method, Wajda’s method, macroscopic examination, respectively). The obtained temporary micropreparations (slides) were studied by light-field microscopy in transmitted light using the Mikmed-6 microscope (LOMO) with lenses magnification from x4 to x100. Detected parasitic objects were photographed using a 5D Mark II camera (Canon) connected to the microscope by an optical-mechanical adapter (lOmo). The linear sizes of parasites were determined in the ImageJ (Fuji) program with calibration by an object-micrometer (LOMO). Identification of the detected parasites was carried out by checking the descriptions by S. N. Boev, M. V. Krylov, and P. A. Polyakov. Gastrointestinal nematodes of the Strongylida (prevalence rates (PR) = 100%), neuromuscular nematodes of the Elaphostrongylus cervi (PR = 75%), respiratory nematodes of the Dictyocaulus viviparus (PR = 75%), and coccidia of Eimeria spp. (PR = 75%) parasitizing in the gastrointestinal tract of red deer were found. The discovered parasitic fauna is typical for deer and does not pose a danger to humans. Elaphostrongylosis and dictyocaulosis can lead to a significant decrease in the productivity and death of red deer.