Helminth fauna of the Asian badger (Meles leucurus Hodgson, 1847) in the Southern Aral Sea region

Between 2017 and 2025, helminthological investigations were conducted on 32 wild badgers (Meles leucurus) across four natural geographic regions of Karakalpakstan. As a result, helminth infections were detected in 17 individuals, accounting for 53.1%. In total, 20 species of helminths were identified in the examined badgers, belonging to three phylum, four classes, nine orders, sixteen families, and eighteen genera. These included four species of cestodes, one species of trematode, three species of acanthocephalans, and twelve species of nematodes. Among the 20 helminth species, fifteen species were classified as helminths with indirect lifestyle and five species as helminths with direct lifestyle. The highest prevalence of infection was recorded for Toxocara canis (34.3%), followed by Toxocara mystax (25.0%). In terms of the intensity range, T. canis showed the highest range, with two to 77 specimens per host, while T. mystax ranged from three to 35 specimens. The intensity range of other helminth species varied between one and 33 specimens.