Prevalence of Eucoleus garfiai in Wild Boars Hunted at Different Altitudes in the Campania and Latium Regions (Italy)

Abstract

Recent reports of Eucoleus garfiai in wild boars in southern Italy have highlighted the need for collecting epidemiological data on the presence of this parasite and understanding the role of possible interactions between wild boars, E. garfiai, and the environment. This study analyses, using histopathological and biomolecular techniques, the presence of E. garfiai in tongue samples of wild boars hunted in four provinces of the Campania and Latium regions (Italy), in areas located above and below 900 m above sea level (asl). Histopathological examinations revealed the presence of adults and eggs of nematodes, which were subsequently identified as E. garfiai by biomolecular analysis, in the tongue epithelium. The detection of the parasite was more frequent in samples collected from hunting areas located above 900 m asl than in those collected from areas located below 900 m asl (66.67% vs. 38.09%; p < 0.01). Some species of earthworms are intermediate hosts of E. garfiai and it is well known that earthworms are more present in high quality soils. Therefore, we can suggest that the higher prevalence of E. garfiai at higher altitudes is probably linked to a greater presence of earthworms in the soil, due to its higher quality in these areas.

Keywords: bioindicator; histopathology; nematode; soil quality; wild boar.

Figure 1

Geographical map presenting localization of sampling sites in Campania and Latium region: sites located >900 m asl are in red, sites located <900 m asl are in blue. Blue line indicates the geographical border between regions.

Figure 2

Wild boar. Histological section of tongue. (a) Barrel-shaped eggs of E. garfiai showing protruding polar plugs in the prickle layer of the epithelium. 20 × HE. Scale bar 10 µm; (b) eggs of E. garfiai 40 × HE. Scale bar 10 µm; (c) transversal section of adults of E. garfiai in the prickle layer of the epithelium. 20 × HE. Scale bar 10 µm; (d) transversal section of adult of E. garfiai 40 × HE. Scale bar 10 µm.