TY  - JOUR
A1  - Reckendorf, Anja
A1  - Ludes-Wehrmeister, Eva
A1  - Wohlsein, Peter
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
A1  - Siebert, U.
A1  - Lehnert, Kristina
T1  - First record of Halocercus sp (Pseudaliidae) lungworm infections in two stranded neonatal orcas (Orcinus orca)
JF  - Parasitology
N2  - Orca (Orcinus orca) strandings are rare and post-mortem examinations on fresh individuals are scarce. Thus, little is known about their parasitological fauna, prevalence of infections, associated pathology and the impact on their health. During post-mortem examinations of two male neonatal orcas stranded in Germany and Norway, lungworm infections were found within the bronchi of both individuals. The nematodes were identified as Halocercus sp. (Pseudaliidae), which have been described in the respiratory tract of multiple odontocete species, but not yet in orcas. The life cycle and transmission pathways of some pseudaliid nematodes are incompletely understood. Lungworm infections in neonatal cetaceans are an unusual finding and thus seem to be an indicator for direct mother-to-calf transmission (transplacental or transmammary) of Halocercus sp. nematodes in orcas.
KW  - Cetaceans
KW  - endoparasites
KW  - killer whale
KW  - life cycle
KW  - nematodes
KW  - vertical transmission
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182018000586
SN  - 0031-1820
SN  - 1469-8161
VL  - 145
IS  - 12
SP  - 1553
EP  - 1557
PB  - Cambridge Univ. Press
CY  - New York
ER  -