Epizootic status and eradication of parasitic diseases in brown bears transferred to the rehabilitation center in Azerbaijan
Paper Details
Epizootic status and eradication of parasitic diseases in brown bears transferred to the rehabilitation center in Azerbaijan
Abstract
In recent years, no studies of parasitic diseases in wild bears have been conducted in Azerbaijan. For this purpose, we conducted research to determine the species composition and prevalence of parasitic diseases in bears kept at the Rehabilitation Center. Serological samples were taken from bears to monitor changes in hematological parameters. Fecal samples were collected to identify endoparasitic helminths and primary intestinal parasites. Peripheral blood smears were collected to identify primary blood parasites. To determine the species composition of ectoparasites parasitizing bears, clinical examinations of the animals were conducted and ectoparasites were collected. The species of ectoparasitic lice collected from bristle loss bears was identified. The lice belong to the species Trichodectes pinguis of the family Trichodectidae. Trichodectes pinguis lice were intensively observed in bears, with 380–400 specimens collected. A total of 270–310 ticks were collected from bears and their species composition was determined. The ticks belonged to the genera Ixodes, Dermacentor and Rhipicephalus of the family Ixodidae. The primary blood parasite Babesia sp. was detected in peripheral blood smears from three feverish bears. Intense invasion of red blood cells by the parasite was observed (5–7 parasites per field of view). Bear feces samples were subjected to coprological examination. As a result of the examination, were found in the samples eggs of the helminths Baylisascaris sp., Uncinaria sp., Strongyloides sp., and Echinococcus sp. Hematological blood tests in bears invasion with endo- and ectoparasites revealed significant differences compared to healthy bears. In patients with associative invasion of bears, a difference in hematological blood parameters was observed – Hb, RBC, HCT, MCV – decreased, and WBC, MCHC, neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes- increased. A reliable difference was observed in eosinophil parameters (p < 0.05).
Arizono N, Yamada M, Nakamura-Uchiyama F, Ohnishi K. 2009. Diphyllobothriasis associated with eating raw Pacific salmon. Emerging Infectious Diseases 15, 866–870.
Asakawa M, Mano T, Gardner SL. 2006. First record of Ancylostoma malayanum (Alessandrini, 1905) from brown bears (Ursus arctos L.). Comparative Parasitology 73, 282–284.
Asakawa M. 2024. An overview on parasites from wild and captive bears in Japan. Journal of Hokkaido Veterinary Medical Association 68, 8–10.
Azizova AA, Hasanov AM. 2024. Veterinary protozoology part I: Piroplasmids. Textbook. Science and Education, Baku, 216 pp.
Bauer C. 2013. Baylisascariosis—infections of animals and humans with ‘unusual’ roundworms. Veterinary Parasitology 193, 404–412.
Borka-Vitális L, Domokos C, Földvári G, Majoros G. 2017. Endoparasites of brown bears in eastern Transylvania, Romania. Ursus 28(1), 20–30.
Bugmyrin SV, Tirronen KF, Panchenko DV, Kopatz A, Hagen SB, Eiken HG, Kuznetsova AS. 2017. Helminths of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Kola Peninsula. Parasitology Research 116, 1755–1760.
Cano EV, Penteriani V, Vega I, Delgado MdM, González-Bernardo E, Bombieri G, Zarzo-Arias A, Fernández RS-A, Paz-Silva A. 2024. Influence of seasonality and biological activity on infection by helminths in Cantabrian bear. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 23, 100916.
Catalano S, Lejeune M, Tizzani P, Verocai G, Schwantje H, Nelson C, Duignan P. 2015. Helminths of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and American black bears (Ursus americanus) in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 93, 765–772.
Di Salvo AR, Chomel BB. 2020. Zoonoses and potential zoonoses of bears. Zoonoses and Public Health 67, 3–13.
Dik B, Kılınç ÖO. 2015. First case of Trichodectes pinguis (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Trichodectidae) on a bear (Ursus arctos) in Turkey. Türkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi 39, 313–315.
DiVincenti L, Garner M, Thomas B, Birkenheuer A. 2019. Babesia sp. infection in a zoo-housed polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports 18, 100350.
Esteruelas NF, Malmsten J, Bröjer C, Grandi G, Lindström A, Brown P, Swenson JE, Evans AL, Arnemo JM. 2016. Chewing lice Trichodectes pinguis pinguis in Scandinavian brown bears (Ursus arctos). International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 5(2), 134–138.
Foster GW, Cunningham MW, Kinsella JM, Forrester DJ. 2004. Parasitic helminths of black bear cubs (Ursus americanus) from Florida. Journal of Parasitology 90, 173–175.
Gau RJ, Kutz S, Elkin BT. 1999. Parasites in grizzly bears from the central Canadian Arctic. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 35, 618–621.
Haynes E, Coker S, Yabsley MJ, Niedrighaus KD, Ramey AM, Verocai GG, Hilderbrand GV, Joly K, Gustine DD, Mangipane B, Leacock WB, Crupi AP, Cleveland CA. 2023. Survey for selected parasites in Alaska brown bears (Ursus arctos). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 59, 186–191.
Hwang M-H, Chin T-W, Yu P-H. 2021. Endoparasites of Formosan black bears (Ursus thibetanus formosanus) during acorn season in Yushan National Park, Taiwan. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 57, 345–356.
Inukai T, Yamashita J. 1934. On an occurrence of Ascaris in the intestine of a bear, Ursus arctos yesoensis Lyd. Transactions of the Sapporo Natural History Society 13, 324–325.
Kéler S. 1938. Baustoffe zu einer Monographie der Mallophagen. I. Teil: Überfamilie der Trichodectoidea. Nova Acta Leopoldina Carol 5, 395–467.
Kılınç ÖO, Goz Y, Yilmaz AB, Aslan L. 2015. First report on heavy Uncinaria (Dochmoides) sp. (Nematoda: Ancylostomatidae) infection in brown bear (Ursus arctos) cub in Van Province, Eastern Anatolian Region of Turkey. Kafkas Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 21, 295–297.
Kırman R, Akyüz M, Doğan V. 2023. Trichodectes pinguis (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Trichodectidae) and Haemaphysalis erinacei (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) infestation on brown bears in Erzurum province. Veterinary Journal of Kastamonu University 2(1), 39–43.
Ohta S, Hirata H, Maruyama Y, Ishinazaka T, Asakawa M. 2021. Prevalence of Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan. Bulletin of the Biogeographical Society of Japan 76, 48–50.
Orosová T, Goldová M, Ciberej J, Strkolcová G. 2016. Parasitofauna of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in the protected landscape area CHKO—Polona. Folia Veterinaria 60(4), 20–24.
Paillard L, Jones KL, Evans AL, Berret J, Jacquet M, Lienhard R, Bouzelboudjen M, Arnemo JM, Swenson JE, Voordouw MJ. 2015. Serological signature of tick-borne pathogens in Scandinavian brown bears over two decades. Parasites & Vectors 8, 398.
Price RD, Hellenthal RA, Palma RL, Johnson KP, Clayton DH. 2003. The chewing lice: World checklist and biological overview. Illinois Natural History Survey Special Publication, 501 pp.
Rausch RL, Krechmar AV, Rausch VR. 1979. New records of helminths from the brown bear, Ursus arctos L., in the Soviet Far East. Canadian Journal of Zoology 57, 1238–1243.
Reichert NS, Mathieu D, Katz CJ, Hatch KA. 2024. Exposure of American black bears (Ursus americanus) to ticks, tick-borne diseases, and intestinal parasites in Wisconsin. Diversity 16(9), 537.
Remesar S, Busto C, Díaz P, Rivas O, López-Bao JV, Ballesteros F, García-Dios D. 2024. Presence of gastrointestinal and bronchopulmonary parasites in Cantabrian brown bears. European Journal of Wildlife Research 70, 23.
Samuel WM, Pybus MJ, Kocan AA. 2001. Parasitic diseases of wild mammals, 2nd edition. Iowa State University Press, Iowa City, IA, USA, pp. 301–341.
Sapp SGH, Gupta P, Martin MK, Murray MH, Niedringhaus KD, Pfaff MA, Yabsley MJ. 2017. Beyond the raccoon roundworm: The natural history of non-raccoon Baylisascaris species in the New World. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 6, 85–99.
Sasaki M, Ishinazaka T, Nose T, Asakawa M, Nakao M. 2019. Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis infection in Ursus arctos in Shari, Hokkaido, Japan. Journal of Japanese Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 24, 123–126.
Sato H, Une Y, Kawakami S, Saito E, Kamiya H, Akao N, Furuoka H. 2005. Fatal Baylisascaris larva migrans in a colony of Japanese macaques kept by a safari-style zoo in Japan. Journal of Parasitology 91, 716–719.
Segawa T, Yonezawa T, Mori H, Akiyoshi A, Allentoft ME, Kohno A, Tokanai F, Willerslev E, Kohno N, Nishihara H. 2021. Ancient DNA reveals multiple origins and migration waves of extinct Japanese brown bear lineages. Royal Society Open Science 8(8), 210518.
Seguel M, Gottdenker N. 2017. The diversity and impact of hookworm infections in wildlife. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 6, 177–194.
Shaw M, Kolba N, Huffman JE. 2015. Babesia spp. in Ursus americanus (black bear) in New Jersey. Northeastern Naturalist 22(3), 451–458.
Shirane Y, Jimbo M, Yamanaka M, Nakanishi M, Mori F, Ishinazaka T, Sashika M, Tsubota T, Shimozuru M. 2021. Dining from the coast to the summit: Salmon and pine nuts determine the summer body condition of female brown bears on the Shiretoko Peninsula. Ecology and Evolution 11, 5204–5219.
Skinner D, Mitcham JR, Starkey LA, Noden BH, Fairbanks WS, Little SE. 2017. Prevalence of Babesia spp., Ehrlichia spp., and tick infestations in Oklahoma black bears (Ursus americanus). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 53(4), 781–787.
Strkolcová G, Goldová M, Snábel V, Spakulová M, Orosová T, Halán M, Mojžišová J. 2018. A frequent roundworm Baylisascaris transfuga in overpopulated brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Slovakia: A problem worthy of attention. Acta Parasitologica 63, 167–174.
Siala İ. Rustamova, Aygun A. Azizova, Gular R. Mammadova, Ramin S. Mammadov, 2025. Epizootic status and eradication of parasitic diseases in brown bears transferred to the rehabilitation center in Azerbaijan. Int. J. Biosci., 27(2), 236-242.
Copyright © 2025 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.