Parasitology Laboratory, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Adamstuen Campus, Sentrum, PO Box 369, Oslo, 0102, Norway.
Faculty of Bioscience and Aquaculture, Nord University, Bodø, Norway.
Acta Vet Scand. 2021 Mar 23;63(1):13. doi: 10.1186/s13028-021-00578-y.
Semi-domesticated reindeer represent an important livestock industry and livelihood for a proportion of the human population in northern Fennoscandia. Reindeer husbandry is considered an extensive animal husbandry, where the animals are kept mostly on natural pastures, although sometimes kept in fenced areas for shorter periods. These reindeer may harbour a variety of parasites that may affect animal health and production. The relatively limited close contact between herds and owners gives limited opportunities for diagnosis and treatment of diseases in general. Furthermore, the effects of subclinical parasitism in livestock are commonly expressed as a reduction in productivity rather than clinical disease and mortality. Thus, specific knowledge of endoparasites and parasitic infections in these herds is scarce. This study investigated the occurrence of various endoparasites in reindeer by analysis of a total of 114 faecal samples from winter-slaughtered reindeer from two different grazing areas in Troms and Finnmark, Norway.
Using a McMaster method, a Baermann technique, and a direct immunofluorescent antibody test, the following parasites were identified in the faecal samples with the occurrence data given as percentages: Strongylid eggs (62%), Nematodirinae spp. eggs (24%), Capillaria sp. eggs (42%) and Moniezia spp. eggs (17%), Dictyocaulus spp. larvae (14%) protostrongylid larvae (40%), Eimera spp. oocysts (23%), and Giardia duodenalis cysts (5%). Cryptosporidium oocysts were not detected. Parasite eggs, oocysts, and cysts were quantified. Molecular analysis revealed G. duodenalis sub-assemblage AI, a potentially zoonotic genotype not previously reported in reindeer from this region. Morphological analyses of Eimeria oocysts identified two species, Eimeria mayeri and Eimeria rangiferis, and molecular analyses of the cytochrome C oxidase I (coi) gene and 18 s rRNA (18SSU) gene of Eimeria confirmed the presence of Eimeria species that are specific to reindeer.
A high prevalence, but low burden, of endoparasites was detected in samples from these semi-domesticated reindeer. The samples were collected during winter, when adult gastrointestinal parasites usually produce only low numbers of transmission stages. Therefore, together with the low number of samples, detailed and definitive conclusions regarding parasite status of semi-domesticated reindeer are avoided. Nevertheless, these data provide a snapshot overview of parasite occurrence in a semi-domesticated animal group vulnerable to the various environmental changes to which they are exposed.
半驯化驯鹿是北欧芬兰和斯堪的纳维亚北部一部分人口重要的畜牧业和生计来源。驯鹿养殖业被认为是一种粗放型畜牧业，动物主要在天然牧场上饲养，尽管有时也会在围栏区域中短期饲养。这些驯鹿可能携带多种寄生虫，这些寄生虫可能会影响动物的健康和生产。由于畜群和主人之间的接触相对较少，因此一般来说，诊断和治疗疾病的机会有限。此外，家畜亚临床寄生虫感染的影响通常表现为生产力下降，而不是临床疾病和死亡率。因此，对这些畜群中的内寄生虫和寄生虫感染的具体了解非常有限。本研究通过分析来自挪威特罗姆瑟和芬马克两个不同放牧区冬季屠宰的 114 份粪便样本，调查了驯鹿中各种内寄生虫的发生情况。
使用麦克马斯特法、巴氏法和直接免疫荧光抗体试验，从粪便样本中鉴定出以下寄生虫，给出了出现率数据：强旋虫卵（62%）、圆线虫科虫卵（24%）、毛细线虫卵（42%）和孟氏绦虫卵（17%）、网尾线虫幼虫（14%）、原圆线虫幼虫（40%）、艾美耳球虫卵囊（23%）和贾第虫包囊（5%）。未检测到隐孢子虫卵囊。对寄生虫卵、卵囊和包囊进行了定量分析。分子分析显示，存在十二指肠贾第虫亚组合 AI，这是一种以前未在该地区报道过的潜在人畜共患基因型。艾美耳球虫卵囊的形态分析鉴定出两种物种，即梅耶艾美耳球虫和驯鹿艾美耳球虫，以及对艾美耳球虫细胞色素 C 氧化酶 I（coi）基因和 18S rRNA（18SSU）基因的分子分析证实了存在专门针对驯鹿的艾美耳球虫物种。
在这些半驯化驯鹿的样本中检测到了高流行率但低负担的内寄生虫。这些样本是在冬季采集的，此时成年胃肠道寄生虫通常只产生少量的传播阶段。因此，加上样本数量较少，我们无法对半驯化驯鹿的寄生虫状况做出详细和明确的结论。尽管如此，这些数据提供了半驯化动物群体中寄生虫发生情况的概述，这些动物容易受到各种暴露于其中的环境变化的影响。
