Very highly prevalent Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus infection of wild boar Sus scrofa in Khuzestan province, south-western Iran

Abstract An epidemiological and pathological study of Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus infection in a total of 50 wild boars Sus scrofa attila from cane sugar fields of Iranian Khuzestan was performed. The total prevalence of 64.0 % detected is the highest hitherto known by this acanthocephalan species in wild boars and may reflect a very high contamination of the farm lands studied as the consequence of the crowding of the wild boar population in cane sugar fields. Observations prove that this species is a wild boar gut wall perforating acanthocephalan. High burdens may become so pathogenic for the host individual as to be responsible for its elimination from the population. Thus, this aca…