Habitat and host factors associated with liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) diagnoses in wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the Scottish Highlands.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Red deer (Cervus elaphus) are a common wild definitive host for liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) that have been the subject of limited diagnostic surveillance. This study aimed to explore the extent to which coprological diagnoses for F. hepatica in red deer in the Scottish Highlands, Scotland, are associated with variability among hosts and habitats. METHODS:Our analyses were based on coproantigen ELISA diagnoses derived from faecal samples that were collected from carcasses of culled deer on nine hunting estates during two sampling seasons. Sampling locations were used as centroids about which circular home ranges were quantified. Data were stratified by season, and associations between host, hydrological, land cover and meteorological variables and binary diagnoses during 2013

SUBMITTER: French AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6852960 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature