What is it about?
Giant liver fluke (Fascioloides magna) was an important factor in a declining moose population in the north part of Elk Island National Park, but liver fluke did not occur in the south area of the park (separate, but identical habitat). This study showed that about half of the moose from the north died of causes related to liver fluke, while moose in the south died of other causes. Differences in hematology and serum chemistry parameters were observed at capture between moose from the north and south and between those with liver lesions on ultrasound and those without.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
This is the first use of ultrasound to attempt to determine giant liver fluke infection in a free-ranging dead-end host such as moose. This study also offers very compelling evidence that giant liver fluke can be a significant mortality source for moose when introduced into a naive population.
Perspectives
I hope this article resolves the long standing debate among disease ecologists regarding the role of giant liver fluke infection in free-ranging dead-end hosts such as moose. Introduction of giant liver fluke to the north part of Elk Island National Park clearly had negative outcomes for the population which were not confounded by other factors such as predation, comorbidity from other diseases, and climate impacts which have led other researchers to question the significance of this parasite to moose populations. I think this was a very interesting 'natural experiment' which will inform our understanding of host- pathogen interactions in future.
Dr. Todd Shury
Parks Canada
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Fascioloides magna in Moose (Alces alces) From Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Veterinary Pathology, January 2019, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0300985818823776.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
