ON THE PREVALENCE OF ECHINOCOCCUS-MULTILO CULARIS AND OTHER METACESTODES AND CESTODES IN THE MUSKRAT (ONDATRA-ZIBETHICUS LINK, 1795) IN LOWER SAXONY

Aim of the study was to examine the prevalence and regional distributi on of Echinococcus multilocularis and other metacestodes and cestodes in muskrats in Lower Saxony, Germany. A total of 991 muskrats with sim ilar numbers from all districts of the country were examined between J anuary and December 1995. E. multilocularis metacestodes were found in 4,1 % of the muskrats in the liver and other organs of the abdominal cavity. The majority of the E. multilocularis positive animals came fr om the south of Lower Saxony, where E. multilocularis is endemic, and single animals from the middle or the northern part of the country. Ai l metacestodes found were fertile. Additionally, metacestodes from T. taeniaeformis were found in the livers of 42,3 % of the muskrats, meta cestodes from T. crassiceps were present in the abdominal cavity of 2, 7 %, T. polyacantha in 0,4 % and T. martis in 3,4 % of the animals. Ad ult cestodes of the family of the Anoplocephalidae were found in the s mall intestine of 1,5 % of the muskrats. Due to autolysis a species di fferentiation of the latter was not possible.