Elaphostrongylus cervi Cameron 1931 (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) in caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) of Newfoundland

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Abstract
Elaphostrongylus cervi Cameron 1931 is identified for the first time in North America from woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Newfoundland where up to 88% of animals were infected. First-stage nematode larvae identical to those of E. cervi occur in faeces of barren ground caribou (R. t. groenlandicus) of the Kaminuriak herd and of woodland caribou in northern Labrador, Ontario, and Manitoba, suggesting that the parasite is widespread in Rangifer in Canada.In clinically normal caribou, adult E. cervi were found beneath the skin and in fascia of the thoracic musculature. Verminous pneumonia caused by nematode eggs and larvae in the lungs and diffuse lymphocytic leptomeningitis over the brain and spinal cord were consistent aspects of infection. A 10-month-old caribou calf exhibiting neurologic signs had numerous E. cervi among thoracic and cervical muscles but none in the central nervous system. Accumulations of lymphocytes, eosinophils, and histiocytes in the subarachnoid and perineurium of lateral nerves in the posterior region of the spinal cord and destruction of axons in the cauda equina may explain the clinical signs observed.

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