How to translate text using browser tools
25 July 2022 FASCIOLOIDES MAGNA IN FREE-RANGING ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN SHEEP (OVIS CANADENSIS)
Amélie Mathieu, Caeley Thacker, Irene Teske, Emily Jenkins, Brent Wagner, Bryan Macbeth, Stephen Raverty, Margo Pybus
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

From February to May 2021, four nonmigratory rams from the Radium-Stoddart bighorn sheep (BHS; Ovis canadensis) herd in the Rocky Mountains of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, died from infection with the giant liver fluke, Fascioloides magna. Affected animals were emaciated, weak, and lethargic or were found dead. Gross lesions, histopathology, and parasite burdens were consistent with those reported in experimentally infected BHS, domestic sheep, and other aberrant hosts. Although BHS range does not typically overlap with fluke-contaminated aquatic habitats, the change in migratory behavior recently observed in some Radium-Stoddart rams may have exposed the affected animals to F. magna. We describe clinical signs and gross and histopathologic findings of hepatobiliary trematodiasis associated with F. magna in free-ranging BHS. From experimental data and our findings, giant liver fluke is pathogenic and is a threat to the conservation of the Radium-Stoddart BHS herd and other BHS herds in endemic F. magna regions.

© Wildlife Disease Association 2022
Amélie Mathieu, Caeley Thacker, Irene Teske, Emily Jenkins, Brent Wagner, Bryan Macbeth, Stephen Raverty, and Margo Pybus "FASCIOLOIDES MAGNA IN FREE-RANGING ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIGHORN SHEEP (OVIS CANADENSIS)," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 58(3), 592-598, (25 July 2022). https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-21-00190
Received: 27 November 2021; Accepted: 21 January 2022; Published: 25 July 2022
KEYWORDS
Bighorn Sheep
Fascioloides magna
giant liver fluke
Ovis canadensis
trematodiasis
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top