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Patterns of gastrointestinal parasitic infections in the bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus from the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

A. Apio*
Affiliation:
Mbarara University of Science and Technology, PO Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda
M. Palth
Affiliation:
Universität Potsdam, Institut für Biochemie/Biologie, Abteilung für Evolutionsbiologie/Spezielle Zoologie, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24–25, 14496 Potsdam, Germany Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019USA
T. Wronski
Affiliation:
Universität Hamburg, Biozentrum Grindel & Zoologisches Museum, Martin Luther King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
*

Abstract

Seasonal, host sex and age-related variations in helminth egg and coccidian oocyst counts were investigated in a naturally infected wild bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) population in Queen Elizabeth National Park, western Uganda from April 2000 to February 2002. The prevalence and mean intensity quantified as the number of eggs and oocysts per gram of faeces were taken as a measure of parasite burdens. Host sex and age-related differences in prevalence values were not found but the overall prevalence of Eimeria sp. was significantly higher during the rainy season, and peak counts were recorded either during or soon after a peak rainfall. A similar trend was observed for Moniezia spp., although the results were marginally not significant. There were also no significant differences in mean intensity values, relative to host sex, age or season.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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