Presence of very high prevalence of Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus infection in Wild Boars (Sus Scrofa Barbarus) in El Hajeb province, Middle Atlas, Morocco

The study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of M. hirudinaceus in wild boars (n = 33) in the El Hajeb province, Middle Atlas region of Morocco from October 2014 to March 2015. The entire intestinal tract of each wild boar was divided into anatomical parts; the intestines were opened longitudinally and the wall was examined for the presence of worms and any pathogenic lesions. The collected acanthocephalans were removed and placed in distilled water for three hours for relaxation, before transferring them to another vial containing fixative (10% formalin). The results revealed that from the 33 boars, 14 (42%) were male and 19 (58%) were female. Prevalence of M. hirudinaceus was found to be 81.81%. Male boars constituted 78.57% of the infected animals while females constituted 84.21%. The findings of this study show the highest prevalence so far of M. hirudinaceus infection in wild boars. Such high rates of infection of wild boars may lead to higher risk of infection for farmers and residents of rural areas.