Mägi, E., T. Järvis, I. Miller: Effects of Different Plant Products against Pig Mange Mites. Acta Vet. Brno 2006, 75: 283-287.The objective of this study was to determine the antiparasitic efficiency of herbal-based products. Four medicinal plant species extracts in 10% ethanol solutions (hogweed Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden, mugwort Artemisia vulgaris L., tansy Tanacetum vulgare L., wormwood Artemisia absinthium L.), and seven essential medicinal ethereal oils used in 1% emulsions (garlic Allium sativum L., black pepper Piper nigrum L., juniper Juniperus communis L., citronella grass Cymbopogon nardus Rendle, pennyroyal Mentha pulegium L., eucalyptus Eucalyptus globulus Labill., tea tree Melaleuca alternifolia Gheel) were tested a on pig farm in Estonia to control swine sarcoptic mange mites (Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis (L. 1758) Latreille, 1802). Trial groups (6 pigs each) were treated over the whole body twice, with one week interval in between; one group was left as untreated control. All the preparations used inhibited the development of and were more or less lethal to mange mites. Tea tree and citronella volatile oil preparations proved to be the most effective (viability of mites < 5% in 4 weeks). The most active extract of tested ethanol solutions was obtained from hogweed seeds: after two treatments of pigs, 57 -93% of parasites died in 2 -4 weeks. The extracts of local plants tansy and wormwood diminished the number of mites up to 44% within the first week after treatments. The results indicate that plant extracts may be further tested in practice as alternatives to drugs of synthetic origin.

The aim of the study was to elucidate the distribution and possible transmission routes of Toxocara spp. infection in Estonia. Out of 454 faecal and sand samples collected from park lawns and sandpits in the town of Tartu, 19 were Toxocara positive (4.2%). Out of the 45 sandpit samples 17.8% were Toxocara positive. Cat faeces was found in 21 sandpit samples. Parasitological necropsies were performed on 41 euthanised stray dogs and 27 cats in the Tallinn Dog Home. Additionally, 13 wild free-roaming brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) were captured from the Tallinn Dog Home territory, necropsied and studied for the presence of Toxocara larvae. Toxocara canis adults were found in 14.6% of the dogs and Toxocara cati (syn. mystax) adults in the small intestines of 48.2% of the cats examined. Larval infection was detected in the kidney and liver in 5 dogs (12.2%). Our study demonstrated only low-level larval Toxocara infections in adult dogs. Toxocara larvae were not found in cats and brown rats. According to the results of this study, cats more often carry Toxocara infection than dogs. Under our conditions, stray and free-roaming cats are the main contaminators of the environment with Toxocara eggs. Children playing in sandpits are the main risk group for larval toxocarosis.

A survey on trichinellosis among sylvatic and domestic animals from Estonia revealed the presence of Trichinella nativa (Tn), Trichinella britovi (Tb), and Trichinella spiralis (Ts). Muscle samples were collected from 776 sylvatic and 1,086 domestic animals. Muscle larvae from 52 of the 74 positive samples were identified, using random-amplified polymorphic DNA analysis; 19 samples showed Tn, 27 samples Tb, and 4 samples Ts. A raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) were infected with both Tn and Tb. Of the 19 animals infected with Tn, 16 (84%) were collected from the central-eastern regions of the country, east of the isotherm -5 C in January. Of the 27 animals infected with Tb, 22 (81%) were collected from the western regions of the country, west of the isotherm -4 C in January. Trichinella spiralis seemed to be present only in a focus (a fur-bearing animal farm) on Hiiumaa Island. These results can be used to support the hypothesis of a relationship between the distribution of Tn and Tb and the environmental temperature; they are also indicative of the importance of long-term survival of muscle larvae in host carcasses in the life cycle of these 2 species. In Estonia, the isotherms -4 and -6 C in January could be considered a thermic barrier for the distribution of Tn and Tb, respectively.

Summary:From 1992 to 1999, muscle samples from 814 sylvatic animals and 1,173 domestic and synanthropic animals were collected in 15 districts of Estonia ; the prevalence of trichinellosis ranged from 1.0 % to 79.4 % for sylvatic animals and from 0.6 % to 24.5 % for domestic or synanthropic animals and for animals from furbearing farms. The most important reservoirs of Trichinella in nature were the raccoon dog, the red fox, the lynx and the wolf. Three species of Trichinella (T. spiralis, T. nativa, and T. britovi) were identified by several types of PCR-based analyses. Meat from sylvatic animals was the main source of Trichinella infection for humans.

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