Abstract
BackgroundRoe deer (Capreolus capreolus) became extinct over large areas of Britain during the post mediaeval period but following re-introductions from Europe during the 1800s and early 1900s the population started to recover and in recent decades there has been a spectacular increase. Many roe deer are shot in Britain each year but despite this there is little published information on the diseases and causes of mortality of roe deer in Great Britain.Case presentationThe lungs of two hunter-shot roe deer in Cornwall showed multiple, raised, nodular lesions associated with numerous protostrongylid-type nematode eggs and first stage larvae. There was a pronounced inflammatory cell response (mostly macrophages, eosinophils and multinucleate giant cells) and smooth muscle hypertrophy of the smaller bronchioles. The morphology of the larvae was consistent with that of a Varestrongylus species and sequencing of an internal transcribed spacer-2 fragment confirmed 100% identity with a published Norwegian Varestrongylus cf. capreoli sequence. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first confirmed record of V. capreoli in Great Britain. Co-infection with an adult protostrongylid, identified by DNA sequencing as Varestrongylus sagittatus, was also demonstrated in one case.ConclusionsParasitic pneumonia is regarded as a common cause of mortality in roe deer and is typically attributed to infection with Dictyocaulus sp. This study has shown that Varestrongylus capreoli also has the capability to cause significant lung pathology in roe deer and heavy infection could be of clinical significance.
Highlights
ConclusionsParasitic pneumonia is regarded as a common cause of mortality in roe deer and is typically attributed to infection with Dictyocaulus sp
Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) became extinct over large areas of Britain during the post mediaeval period but following re-introductions from Europe during the 1800s and early 1900s the population started to recover and in recent decades there has been a spectacular increase
Parasitic pneumonia is regarded as a common cause of mortality in roe deer and is typically attributed to infection with Dictyocaulus sp
Summary
Verminous pneumonia due to infection with Dictyocaulus sp. is considered to be an important cause of mortality in roe deer in Britain [2, 21] and in some areas has been considered to act as the main factor controlling populations [21]. Verminous pneumonia due to infection with Dictyocaulus sp. Is considered to be an important cause of mortality in roe deer in Britain [2, 21] and in some areas has been considered to act as the main factor controlling populations [21]. This study has shown that Varestrongylus capreoli has the capability to cause significant lung pathology in roe deer. There is clearly a need to consider the possible involvement of this parasite when investigating lung disease in roe deer, especially as mixed infections with the more obvious Dictyocaulus parasite may occur resulting in under diagnosis of V. capreoli
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