The wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) as secondary reservoir of Fasciola hepatica in Galicia (NW Spain)

Fasciolosis is an emerging or reemerging human and animal disease in numerous parts of the world. In Galicia (NW, Spain), the wild boar (Sus scrofa) is the main wild ungulate in terms of abundance and distribution. Its population has continuously increased over the past decades and this population growth has been accompanied by a reduction of habitats, so that the wild boar populations encroach more and more frequently onto agricultural lands. The increase of the interface area between livestock and the wild boars frequently involves the sharing of pastures and water sources, so that the circulation of common pathogens is propitiated. This is the first report concerning the importance of th…