Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Morphological and molecular characterisation of Eimeria vison-like oocysts (Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae) in farmed mink (Neovison vison) in Denmark

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A survey was conducted on 30 Danish mink farms from April to October 2016 to determine the prevalence and species of Eimeria in Danish farmed mink. In total, 2.6% of mink faecal samples (108/4140) were positive for Eimeria vison-like oocysts by microscopy, with 24.8% (78/315) of mink being positive at least once during the study period. Morphological analysis of sporulated oocysts (n = 20) identified Eimeria vison-like oocysts measuring 21.0 × 13.8 μm with a length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.5. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rRNA sequences (1221 bp) from three positive mink indicated that Eimeria vison-like shared the highest genetic similarity to Eimeria sp. ex Apodemus agrarius from a Striped field mouse (A. agrarius) from the Czech Republic (99.6%). Analysis of a shorter region of 18S (531 bp) revealed that the E. vison-like genotype sequences grouped in the same clade and shared 97.7% similarity with E. furonis. At the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) locus, mink-derived sequences were not available from GenBank and phylogenetic analysis placed the novel E. vison-like in a clade with E. cf. ictidea (99.4% similarity) from a black footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) from Canada.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abe N, Tanoue T, Ohta G, Iseki M (2008) First record of Eimeria furonis infection in a ferret, Japan, with notes on the usefulness of partial small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing analysis for discriminating among Eimeria species. Parasitol Res 103:967–970

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anon (2017a) Mink. In: Landbrug og Fødevare, viden om landbrugsproduktion

  • Anon (2017b) Avlstæver og avlsresultater. http://www.kopenhagenfur.com/da/minkavl/historisk-data/avlstaever-og-avlsresultater. Accessed 19 Sep 2017

  • Chriél M, Hansen MS, Holm E, Larsen G, Hjulsager, CK (2013) Rystemink. Faglig årsberetning by Kopenhagen Fur, pp 117–120

  • Duszynski DW, Couch L, Upton SJ (2000) Coccidia of the world. http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/worldcoccidia/CARNIV2? Accessed 19 Sep 2017

  • Gräfner G, Graubmann HD, Dobbriner W (1967) Hepatic coccidiosis in minks (Lutreola visono Schreb.) caused by a newly identified species of coccidiae (Eimeria hiepei n. Sp.). Monatsh Veterinarmed 22:696–700

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer AS, Andersen TH, Dietz HH (2004) Forekomsten af coccidier i danske farm mink indsendt til diagnostiske undersøgelser. Kopenhagen Fur, Faglig årsberetning, pp 223–228

  • Hansen S, Krarup LI, Hammer AS (2016) Er det diarré? Dansk Veterinærtidskrift 10:33–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Hindsbo O, Andreassen J, Nielsen F, Lodal J (1995) Occurence of the coccidia Isospora laidlawi and Eimeria vison in Danish farm mink, 1987–1993; age related resistance to the infection. Scientifur 19:231–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoare CA (1927) On the Coccidia of the ferret. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 21:313–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoare CA (1935) The endogenous development of the Coccidia of the ferret, and the histopathological reaction of the infected intestinal villi. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 29:111–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwanoff-Gobsem, PS (1934) Zum Vorkommen von Coccidien bei kleinen wilden Saugetieren. Deutsche Tierrarztlliche Wochenschrift 149–151

  • Jolley WR, Kingston N, Williams ES, Lynn C (1994) Coccidia, Giardia sp., and a Physalopteran nematode parasite from black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) in Wyoming. J Helminthol Soc Washingt 61:89–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingscote AA (1934) Eimeria mustelae, n. sp. from Mustela vison. J Parasitol 20:252–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvičerová J, Hypša V (2013) Host-parasite incongruences in rodent Eimeria suggest significant role of adaptation rather than cophylogeny in maintenance of host specificity. PLoS One 8:e63601

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levine ND (1948) Eimeria and Isospora of the mink (Mustela vison). J Parasitol 34:486–492

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McTaggart HS (1960) Coccidia from mink in Britain. J Parasitol 46:201–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roepstorff A, Nansen P (1998) Epidemiology, diagnosis and control of helminth parasites of swine. FAO animal health manual, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Sledge DG, Bolin SR, Lim A, Kaloustian LL, Heller RL, Carmona FM, Kiupel M (2011) Outbreaks of severe enteric disease associated with Eimeria furonis infection in ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) of 3 densely populated groups. J Am Vet Med Assoc 239:1584–1588

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tenter AM, Barta JR, Beveridge I, Duszynski DW, Mehlhorn H, Morrison DA, Andrew Thompson RC, Conrad PA (2002) The conceptual basis for a new classification of the coccidia. Int J Parasitol 32:595–616

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang R, Brice B, Ryan U (2016) Morphological and molecular characterization of Eimeria purpureicephali n. Sp. (Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae) in a red-capped parrot (Purpureicephalus spurius, Kuhl, 1820) in Western Australia. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 5:34–39

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yang R, Fenwick S, Potter A, Elliot A, Power M, Beveridge I, Ryan U (2012) Molecular characterization of Eimeria species in macropods. Exp Parasitol 132:216–221

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang R, Murphy C, Song Y, Ng-Hublin J, Estcourt A, Hijjawi N, Chalmers R, Hadfield S, Bath A, Gordon C, Ryan U (2013) Specific and quantitative detection and identification of Cryptosporidium hominis and C. parvum in clinical and environmental samples. Exp Parasitol 135:142–147

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the participating mink farmers for their support and providing faecal samples throughout the study. The authors also thank Boi Tien Thi Pharm and Aleksandra Tofteby for their skilled technical assistance with analysing the faecal samples.

Funding

This project was funded by the Pelsdyrafgiftsfonden 2016 (www.pelsdyrafgiftsfonden.dk/media/167031/vedt_gter_20-04-12.pdf). Pelsdyrafgiftsfonden is a levy fund, according to law order no. 445, 23 April 2010. The objective of the fund is to support research, with the aim to enable a more sustainable fur production. The fund did not interfere in the study design, data collection, data analysis or the interpretation of the results.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section for Diagnostics and Scientific Advice, National Veterinary Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

    H. H. Petersen, M. Chriél & M. S. Hansen

  2. School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia

    R. Yang & U. M. Ryan

Authors
  1. H. H. Petersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. Chriél
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. S. Hansen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. U. M. Ryan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. H. Petersen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Petersen, H.H., Yang, R., Chriél, M. et al. Morphological and molecular characterisation of Eimeria vison-like oocysts (Apicomplexa:Eimeriidae) in farmed mink (Neovison vison) in Denmark. Parasitol Res 117, 2933–2939 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5989-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5989-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation