LAUSR

Angiostrongylus vasorum and Crenosoma vulpis are metastrongylid nematodes that are now considered to be widespread in Europe. The results of coproscopic examination of faecal samples submitted for routine diagnosis to the Veterinary Laboratory Freiburg were analyzed in order to study the occurrence of lungworm infections in the dog population in Germany. A total of 65,967 canine faecal samples from 2002 – 2016 were examined by flotation and the Baermann funnel technique. Lungworm larvae were found in 883 (1.34 %) samples, of which 606 (0.92 %) and 277 (0.42 %) were positive for A. vasorum and C. vulpis, respectively. The share of A. vasorum positive dogs increased from 0.09 % in the period 2002 – 2006 to 0.83 % in 2007 – 2011 and 1.29 % in 2012 – 2016. The share of C. vulpis positive dogs was 0.15 % in the period 2002 – 2006, 0.50 % in 2007 – 2011 and 0.48 % in 2012 – 2016. The rates of infection with A. vasorum were significantly higher in 2014 (p < 0.05) compared to 2002 – 2007, and in 2015 and 2016 (p < 0.05) compared to 2002 – 2010. For C. vulpis, significantly higher infection rates were found only in 2008. There were no significant differences in relation to age or sex. Seasonality of infections was observed for both species, as the infections were significantly less prevalent in summer (A. vasorum, p = 0.0179; C. vulpis, p = 0.0095) than in winter. The data support the hypothesis that the prevalence of A. vasorum in the dog population in Germany has increased in recent years. By contrast, this could not be confirmed for C. vulpis. Original Article WAAVP_2017.indb 11 29.06.17 15:30 S12 EndoparasitEs EndoparasitEs