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Epidemiology, histpathology, and muscle distribution of Trichinella T9 in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) and wildlife of Japan

Parasitology Research volume 100, pages 1287–1291 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The prevalences of Trichinella T9 in trapped raccoons (Procyon lotor) and several other potential mammalian reservoirs in Hokkaido, Wakayama, and Nagasaki Prefectures were investigated. Muscle samples were collected from 2003 to 2006 from 1,080 raccoons, 113 raccoon dogs including 2 species (Nyctereutes procyonoides albus and N. p. viverrinus), 41 wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax), 14 martens (Martes melampus), 10 badgers (Meles meles), 5 Siberian weasels (Martes sibirica coreana), 7 mink (Mustela vison), and 1 red fox (Vulpes vulpes japonica). The samples were digested, and the prevalence and mean intensity of infection with the Trichinella muscle larvae were determined. The prevalence and intensity of the muscle larvae were 0.9% and 93.3 larvae/g (range 0.4–201.8) in raccoons, and 1.6% and 61.6 larvae/g in raccoon dogs, respectively. The infected animals were captured in different areas in Hokkaido Prefecture. These results confirmed that raccoons, which have been introduced from North America since the 1970s, are involved in the sylvatic cycle of Trichinella in Japan. In raccoons, the muscle density of Trichinella T9 larvae was highest in the tongue, and larvae were not found in the heart muscle or diaphragm. This is the first report of Trichinella T9 infection of feral raccoons in Japan.

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Acknowledgments

The present survey was supported in part by a grant-in-aid (nos.14560271, 18510205) and by the High Technological Research Center (Rakuno Gakuen University) of the Ministry of the Education, Science, and Culture of Japan. We are grateful for the raccoon samples provided to us by the local government offices, EnVision, Hokkaido Forest Management, Nopporo Natural Forest Park Office, Japan Wildlife Research Center and Raccoon Research Group. We are also grateful for Y. Asakawa, G. Abe, M. Sashika, and K. Tanida for the sampling and histological analysis.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido, 060-8501, Japan

    Tomoko Kobayashi, Yoko Ono, Yohei Matoba, Minoru Okamoto, Hiroyuki Taniyama & Mitsuhiko Asakawa

  2. Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, Hokkaido, 060-0819, Japan

    Kinpei Yagi

  3. Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Laboratory of Parasitology, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, 060-0818, Japan

    Yuta Kanai, Yuzaburo Oku & Ken Katakura

  4. Hikiiwa Park Center, Tanabe, Wakayama, 646-0051, Japan

    Kazuo Suzuki

Authors
  1. Tomoko Kobayashi
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  2. Yuta Kanai
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  3. Yoko Ono
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  4. Yohei Matoba
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  5. Kazuo Suzuki
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  6. Minoru Okamoto
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  7. Hiroyuki Taniyama
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  8. Kinpei Yagi
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  9. Yuzaburo Oku
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  10. Ken Katakura
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  11. Mitsuhiko Asakawa
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Correspondence to Mitsuhiko Asakawa.

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Kobayashi, T., Kanai, Y., Ono, Y. et al. Epidemiology, histpathology, and muscle distribution of Trichinella T9 in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) and wildlife of Japan. Parasitol Res 100, 1287–1291 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0402-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0402-x

Keywords

  • Wild Boar
  • Muscle Larva
  • Mustela Vison
  • Nagasaki Prefecture
  • Procyon Lotor