Ectoparasite loads in sympatric urban populations of the northern white-breasted and the European hedgehog.

We investigated abundance and prevalence of ticks and fleas infesting urban populations of two species of hedgehogs: the northern white-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus) and the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). The hedgehogs were captured in the city of Poznan (western Poland) over the period of 4 years. Both species of hedgehogs were infested with the castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus), the hedgehog tick (Ixodes hexagonus), and the hedgehog flea (Archeopsylla erinacei). The northern white-breasted hedgehog had higher loads of I. ricinus and A. erinacei than the European hedgehog. The abundance and prevalence of I. hexagonus were similar on both species of hosts. Co-infestation with the two species of ticks was more frequent on the northern white-breasted hedgehog than on the European hedgehog. Therefore, these two closely related species of hedgehogs differ in their importance as hosts of arthropod vectors of pathogens in urban areas and might play a different role in the dynamics of zoonotic diseases.

[Helminths of hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus and E. roumanicus from Poznan region, Poland--coprological study].

Fecal samples from the hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus (15 samples) and E. roumanicus (44 samples) collected in the Poznan region of Poland were examined. Endoparasites were isolated using Sheather's flotation technique. The prevalence of parasitic infections in all hedgehogs examined was 74.6% (E. europaeus--73.3%; E. roumanicus--75.0%). Two species of parasites occurred in both species of hosts: Aonchotheca erinacei (60% and 80%) and Eucoleus aerophilus (6.7% and 15.9%). Brachylaima erinacei was found only in E. europaeus (33.3%) while Physaloptera sp. (13.6%) and Crenosoma striatum (4.6%) only in E. roumanicus. The intensity of infection varied from 1 to 371 eggs/1g of feces in E. europaeus and from 1 to 194 eggs/1g of feces in E. roumanicus. In both sexes the majority of infections were of low intensity, high intensity infections occurring only sporadically. No zoonotic species of endoparasites were recorded in these samples.