An adult male mountain hare (Lepus timidus), shot during the hunting season on the slopes of Mt. Civetta (eastern Alps, Veneto, northeastern Italy), was eviscerated and diffuse nodular lesions of verminous pneumonia were observed. Adult helminths were collected and male specimens were identified as Protostrongylus pulmonalis. Histologically, a non-purulent interstitial pneumonia and a desquamative bronchiolitis and alveolitis, along with thickening of alveolar septa, were apparent in the nodules. In several enlarged alveoli, a large number of eggs and larvae of nematodes were found. This is the first recorded case of protostrongyliasis in mountain hares from Italy and from an alpine population.
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1 April 2000
Pulmonary Protostrongyliasis in a Mountain Hare from Italy
Antonio Battisti,
Michele Di Paolo,
Giovanni Di Guardo
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 36 • No. 2
April 2000
Vol. 36 • No. 2
April 2000
case report
helminths
Lepus timidus
mountain hare
Protostrongylus pulmonalis
verminous pneumonia