High prevalence of Trichinella nativa infection in wolf (Canis lupus) populations of Tvier and Smoliensk regions of European Russia

Domestic and sylvatic trichinellosis have frequently been documented in European regions of Russia, with the highest prevalence reported in wolves (Canis lupus). From 1998 to 2000, 75 carcasses of wolves shot by hunters were tested for Trichinella larvae, and 73 (97.3%) of them were found to be positive. This very high prevalence of infection, the highest ever detected in a natural population of carnivores, could be explained by the human impact on the natural ecosystem. In fact, the diet of wolves living in the region under study mainly consists of carcasses of dogs and wolves, which are left in the forest or used as bait by hunters.