Spargana in a Weasel, Mustela sibirica manchurica, and a Wild Boar, Sus scrofa, from Gangwon-do, Korea

Abstract

To know the status of sparganum (plerocercoid of Spirometra erinacei) infection in the Korean wild life, several species of wild animals were captured in Gangwon-do and examined for their status of infection with spargana. From February to December 2011, a total of 62 wild boars, 5 badgers, 1 weasel, 1 Siberian chipmunk, and 53 wild rodents were captured, and their whole muscles were examined with naked eyes for the presence of spargana worms. From the weasel and 1 wild boar, a total of 5 spargana specimens were extracted. The weasel was for the first time recorded as an intermediate or paratenic/transport host of S. erinacei in Korea, and both the weasel (Mustela sibirica manchurica) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) were added to the list of wild animals carrying spargana.

Sparganosis – neglected zoonosis and its reservoir in wildlife

“…Thus, the consump-tion of wild boar meat as a possible cause of human sparganosis cannot be excluded (25), as wild boar may be a paratenic host of Spirometra sp. as it has been recorded in Asia (11), Belarus (18) and recently in Poland (8).…”