MESOCERCARIOSIS OF THE PINE MARTEN

The purpose of this research was to identify larvae (mesocercaria) of the pathogen Alaria alata in the carcasses of the pine marten (Martes martes). The localization of mesocercaria in the animal body was studied in naturally occurring infection. Animal carcasses were brought to the Laboratory of Parasitic Zoonosis in chilled and frozen state from the regions of the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation. Trematodes were diagnosed postmortem by the compressor method and by the method of passive artificial fermentation of muscle tissue and internal organs. For operational diagnostics of trematode mesocercaria, automated peptolysis of internal organs and muscle tissue was used with the help of Gelmi and Rubicon devices for trichinella larvae isolation. The period of device-based helminth larvae isolation was 1 to 3 hours. The study was carried out from 2020 till 2024. The average occurrence of trematode larvae in the pine marten was 18.2%. The A. alata mesocercaria infection intensity among reservoir hosts ranged from 1 to 13 mesocercaria per animal. The place of greatest localization of helminth larvae in the carcass of the pine marten was the diaphragm. The least amount of parasite larvae was released from the limb muscles. Fur animals infected by A. Alata larvae were caught by hunters in the Ryazan and Moscow Regions.