FIRST REPORT OF THE PARASITIC NEMATODE EUSTRONGYLIDES SPP. IN AMERICAN BULLFROGS FOR OREGON

In the summer of 2022, during an American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) eradication project, we collected bullfrogs from a pond in Deschutes County, Oregon that were found to be infected with the nematode parasite Eustrongylides spp. Herein, we provide the 1st report of this parasite in bullfrogs in the Pacific Northwest. All of the frogs examined (n ¼ 12) appeared to be of similar age; infection prevalence was high (92%); and infection burdens ranged between 1 and 7 worms per frog. The appearance of Eustrongylides in bullfrogs from this site is likely associated with a short-term outbreak of Eustrongylides infection of Three-spined Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) observed in this pond during the prior year.