Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01, Košice, Slovak Republic.
University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Komenského 73, 04181, Košice, Slovak Republic.
Parasitol Res. 2021 Jan;120(1):355-358. doi: 10.1007/s00436-020-06943-6. Epub 2020 Oct 31.
European beaver (Castor fiber L. 1758) is the biggest rodent living in Europe. It is a semi-aquatic animal known for building dams and burrows. European beaver is a potential host for a wide range of parasites and other infectious diseases. In Slovakia, there is an increasing number of beavers but the data about their parasitic fauna are missing. Our work is the first documentation about the beaver's parasitofauna in Slovakia. In a 1-year study, we collected and examined 19 beaver fecal samples from the vicinity of beaver burrows inhabiting three particular localities at the Danube, Topľa, and Laborec rivers in Slovakia. In these fecal samples, 4 different species of intestinal endoparasites were detected as follows: oocysts of Cryptosporidium, cysts of Giardia, eggs of Stichorchis subtriquetrus, and eggs and larvae of Travassosius rufus. Parasites were confirmed only in samples collected at river Topľa. Based on our results, we can conclude that European beaver can be an important source of parasitic contamination of surface waters especially in the localities shared by people.
欧洲河狸（Castor fiber L. 1758）是生活在欧洲的最大啮齿动物。它是一种半水生动物，以筑坝和洞穴而闻名。欧洲河狸是多种寄生虫和其他传染病的潜在宿主。在斯洛伐克，河狸的数量不断增加，但有关其寄生虫区系的数据尚不清楚。我们的工作是首次记录斯洛伐克河狸寄生虫区系的资料。在为期 1 年的研究中，我们从多瑙河、托普拉河和拉博雷茨河的三个特定地点的河狸洞穴附近收集并检查了 19 个河狸粪便样本。在这些粪便样本中，检测到 4 种不同的肠道内寄生虫，如下：隐孢子虫卵囊、贾第虫包囊、细粒棘球绦虫虫卵和鲁福斯 Travassosius 的虫卵和幼虫。寄生虫仅在托普拉河采集的样本中得到确认。根据我们的结果，我们可以得出结论，欧洲河狸可能是地表水寄生虫污染的重要来源，尤其是在人与河狸共享的地方。
