Angiostrongylus vasorum in golden jackals (Canis aureus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this study, we conducted post-mortem examinations of golden jackals (Canis aureus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from the northern region of the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to detect the presence of Angiostrongylus vasorum. An epidemiological survey was conducted in the densest golden jackal population in the country. Over two time intervals, we examined a total of 30 jackals and 16 foxes. The presence of A. vasorum was confirmed in two jackals (6.6%) and one fox (6.25%). These findings strongly suggest that the spread of A. vasorum can be facilitated by the active expansion and migration of golden jackals in Southeastern Europe. The morphological and molecular detection of A. vasorum in jackals and foxes confirmed its presence and active circulation in wildlife, while the phylogenetic analysis of the ITS-2 gene indicated a low sequence distance from European isolates.

Severe Verminous Pneumonia Caused by Natural Mixed Infection with Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Angiostrongylus chabaudi in a European Wildcat from Western Balkan Area.

AIMS: Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (Railliet, 1898) and Angiostrongylus chabaudi (Biocca, 1957) are important cardiopulmonary metastrongyloids in felids. This case report describes, for the first time, a natural and patent mixed infection caused by A. abstrusus and A. chabaudi in a European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most important, this is a rare report of fatal parasitism in wildlife, involving a severe verminous bronchopneumonia and gastrointestinal nematode and cestode infection with Toxocara cati, Taenia taeniaeformis, Aonchotheca putorii, and Ancylostoma spp. RESULTS: Emphasis is set to detailed description of granulomatous, interstitial verminous bronchopneumonia, morphological description of A. abstrusus and A. chabaudi, and molecular confirmation of diagnosis by triplex PCR. CONCLUSION: The data provided in this study contribute to the knowledge on the epizootiology and pathological effect of these neglected metastrongyloids in European wildcat.

The first reported case of advanced aelurostrongylosis in Eurasian badger (Meles meles, L. 1758) in Bosnia and Herzegovina: histopathological and parasitological findings.

This paper represents the first description of advanced aelurostrongylosis in the Eurasian badger (Меles meles, L. 1758) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is an autochthonous species of the country. An adult female badger was found dead on a road; the cause of death was trauma but the emphasis in the paper is on severe verminous pneumonia caused by metastrongylids from genus Aelurostrongylus spp. This parasitological and histopathological finding confirms the presence of Aelurostrongylus in mustelids in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans.