Parasite fauna of the Mongolian steppe antelope (dzeren) in the Transbaikal Territory

The article presents the results of parasitological studies of the Mongolian steppe antelope, or dzeren (Procapra gutturosa), in the Trans-Baikal Territory with the aim of determining the qualitative and quantitative composition of parasites as one of the factors limiting the increase in the population of these animals. Large-scale studies of parasitoses and parasitocenoses in dzerens living in the Trans-Baikal Territory have not been conducted to date. During the study, the dzeren was found to be infected with 20 types of parasites in the specified area – helminths, parasitic protozoa, insects. Analysis of the parasite fauna of the Mongolian steppe antelope population in the Trans-Baikal Territory showed that the animals are most widely represented by gastrointestinal tract helminths – nematodes of the Trichostrongylidae family and cestodes of the Anoplocephalidae family. The participation of the dzeren as an intermediate host in the life cycle of tapeworms Echinococcus granulosus and Taenia hydatigena, as well as protozoa of the genus Sarcocystis, which have not only veterinary but also epidemiological significance and pose a threat to human health, has been established. Parasitism of the trematode Dicrocoelium lanceatum in the bile ducts of the liver of one dzeren in the amount of 7 specimens was recorded. The unusual thing about this fact is that the Transbaikal Territory is considered to be free of dicrocoeliosis, and no cases of this invasion among farm animals have been recorded here. In one dzeren (EI = 3.8%), larvae of the nasopharyngeal gadfly Oestrus ovis, which also attacks sheep, were found in the nasal cavity. Sarcocyst cysts (8 specimens/head) were found on the esophagus and larynx of two dzerens, the species of which could not be determined. Eimeria oocysts were detected in 18 animals (EI = 21.4%). Simultaneous infection of the dzeren with several types of parasites, including different taxonomic groups (helminths, protozoa, insects) has been established, which indicates the existence of parasitocenoses in the dzeren population.

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