The woodchuck (Marmota monax) has been a matter of interest as animal model for human hepatitides since the discovery of woodchuck hepatitis virus.
A total of 77 woodchucks were imported from the each areas of the United States as laboratory animals for the study on hepatitis, and all woodchucks were examined for the parasites. Four nematodes (Trichuris sp., Strongyloides sp., Capillaria hepatica and trichostrongylid nematoda), three cestodes (Hymenolepis sp., Taenia crassiceps and T. mustelae) and four protozoa (Giardia sp., Chilomastix sp., Entamoeba coli and Endolimax nana) were identified. Although the parasities except for Trichuris, Hymenolepis and protozoa had been reported from woodchucks already, the dominant species of parasites were different in each habitats of woodchucks.
Some parasites of woodchuck (Capillaria hepatica and Giardia sp.) are important as causative agents of human sickness.
We think it is necessary to eradicate these parasites from woodchuck bred in human society because they are zoonotic parasites and dangerous to humans.