@article{
author = "Ćirović, Duško and Teodorovic, Vlado and Vasilev, Dragan and Markovic, Marija and Ćosić, Nada and Dimitrijevic, Mirjana and Klun, Ivana and Djurkovic-Djakovic, Olgica",
year = "2015",
abstract = "Over the last decades the golden jackal (Canis aureus) has significantly
expanded its range throughout Southeast and Central Europe, and the
Balkan Peninsula is considered to be a core area of the species
distribution in this part of the range. Due to its increasing number,
ability of long distance movement through a wide range of landscapes and
opportunistic feeding habits, the golden jackal may represent an
important reservoir and transmitter of a variety of zoonotic agents,
including parasites. The Balkans, Serbia included, remain an endemic
area for various zoonotic parasites including Trichinella spp.
Trichinella has recently been recorded in jackals in Serbia, which
prompted us to carry out a large-scale survey of its prevalence,
distribution and species identification in this host. In cooperation
with local hunters, carcasses of a total of 738 legally hunted golden
jackals were collected at 24 localities over an 11-year period
(2003-2013). Analysis of tongue base tissue revealed Trichinella larvae
in 122, indicating a prevalence of infection of 16.5\%. No difference in
the prevalence of infection was found between genders 116.2\% in males
and 16.9\% in females (chi(2) = 0.05, p = 0.821)], or among the study
years (G = 7.22, p = 0.705). Trichinella larvae were found in 13 out of
the 24 examined localities. Molecular identification was performed for
90 isolates, and 64(71.1\%) larvae were identified as Trichinella
spiralis and 25(27.9\%) as Trichinella britovi. Mixed infection (T.
spiralis and T. britovi) was recorded in a single case. Although T.
spiralis was more prevalent, T. britovi had a wider distribution, and
was the only recorded species in jackal populations from the mountainous
region of eastern Serbia. On the other hand, T. spiralis was dominant in
jackals in the lowlands of central and northern Serbia, where domestic
pigs are mostly reared. These results show that the golden jackal is
involved in both the domestic and sylvatic cycle, and that it has
emerged as a major host species in the sylvatic cycle of the Trichinella
genus. Therefore, continued monitoring of Trichinella infection in
golden jackals in Serbia and the whole of the Balkans is recommended in
order to control transmission of this parasite to humans and domestic
animals. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",
journal = "Veterinary Parasitology",
title = "A large-scale study of the Trichinella genus in the golden jackal (Canis
aureus) population in Serbia",
number = "3-4",
volume = "212",
doi = "10.1016/j.vetpar.2015.07.022",
pages = "253-256"
}
