Dictyocaulus eckerti, lungworm infecting farmed red deer in New Zealand

Abstract

Extract

It has been acknowledged that lungworm is the most important parasite of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) in New Zealand. (Charleston, 1980; Gladden, 1981; Mason, 1994). Lungworm of deer, cattle, sheep, horses and donkeys belong to the genus Dictyocaulus. However, since its establishment in 1907, the definition of some of the species credited to this genus has been the subject of debate. Distinct lungworm species infecting deer (D. noerneri and D. eckerti) have been proposed but not widely accepted, due to the absence of convincing morphological or biological evidence distinguishing them from D. viviparus, the species known to infect cattle worldwide. Thus, researchers have considered that lungworms infecting cattle and deer were most likely to be host-adapted strains of the same species (D. viviparus) (Charleston, 1980; Mackintosh et al, 1985; Mason, 1994; Waldrup et al, 1998).