Helminthological Surveys of Raccoon Dogs Captured in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures

Abstract

Helminthological surveys was made on raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus) captured in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures, Japan, from 1990 to 1998. Seventeen species of helminths were detected from 44 (97.8 %) out of 45 raccoon dogs autopsied, including 11 nematode species of Toxocara tanuki, Ancylostoma kushimaense, Arthrostoma miyazakiense, Trichuris vulpis, Dirofilaria immitis, Strongyloides planiceps, Capillaria putorii, C. felis-cati, Tetragomphirus melis, Molineus lagerae and Trichuris sp., 4 trematode species of Metagonimus yokogawai, Echinostoma hortense, Concinnum ten and Stephanoprora sp. and 2 cestode species of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei and Dipylidium caninum. The number of parasites per host ranged from 1 to 9. Nine out of 17 species detected were important for public health because of infectiveness to humans.