Identification and epidemiological analysis of Perostrongylus falciformis infestation in Irish badgers

Jennifer Oc Byrne; Andrew W Byrne; Annetta Zintl; Karolina Jankowska; Emmanuel Coulange; Theo de Waal; Grainne McCarthy; James O'Keeffe; Inger S Hamnes; Ursula Fogarty

doi:10.1186/s13620-019-0144-6

Identification and epidemiological analysis of Perostrongylus falciformis infestation in Irish badgers

Ir Vet J. 2019 Jul 9:72:7. doi: 10.1186/s13620-019-0144-6. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ 1Irish Equine Centre, Johnstown, Naas, County Kildare Ireland.
² 2Veterinary Sciences Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Stoney Road, Belfast, BT4 3SD Northern Ireland.
³ 3UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
⁴ 4Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France.
⁵ Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
⁶ 6Section of Parasitology, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Sentrum, NO-0106 Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

Background: The lungworm, Perostrongylus falciformis (fomerly known as Aelurostrongylus falciformis) has been identified in badgers (Meles meles) in Britain, the Russian Federation, Italy, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, Bosnia Herzegovina and Romania, while Aelurostrongylus pridhami has been reported from badgers in Spain.

Results: Pulmonary tissue from 1580 Irish badgers was examined and an estimated prevalence of 32.09% (95% CI: 29.79-34.45%) of this parasite was detected. Confirmation of its occurrence was made by PCR analysis on a subset of the population.

Conclusion: Infestation was widely distributed throughout the Republic of Ireland, with a trend towards higher infestation risk in western versus eastern counties. In addition males were at a higher risk of infestation than females and juveniles were at a significantly higher risk than adult badgers.

Keywords: Badger; Ireland; Lungworm; Meles meles; Perostrongylus falciformis.