Parasitol Res (2006) 98: 582–587
DOI 10.1007/s00436-005-0099-2
ORIGINA L PA PER
Jorge R. López-Olvera . Ursula Höfle .
Joaquín Vicente . Isabel G. Fernández-de-Mera .
Christian Gortázar
Effects of parasitic helminths and ivermectin treatment
on clinical parameters in the European wild boar (Sus scrofa)
Received: 2 November 2005 / Accepted: 24 November 2005 / Published online: 26 January 2006
# Springer-Verlag 2006
Abstract Limited information exists on serum biochem-
istry and haematology of the European wild boar, and few
correlations have been found between parasitic burden and
clinical parameters in this species. Naturally infected wild
boars were experimentally treated to study the effect of
nematode parasites and ivermectin treatment on phyto-
haemagglutinin (PHA) skin reaction and haematological
and serum biochemical parameters. White blood cells
decreased in untreated wild boars, whereas triglyceride,
lactate and creatinine concentrations increased in ivermec-
tin-treated wild boars, and total protein and aspartate
aminotransferase activity increased in both groups. Band
neutrophils variation was positively correlated with the
number of total adult parasites. Band neutrophils, creati-
nine and total protein variations were negatively correlated
with both total egg counts and Metastrongylus eggs per
gram variations. Alkaline phosphatase activity showed a
negative correlation with Ascaris sp. eggs. The PHA skin
reaction was positively correlated with the number of total
adult parasites in untreated wild boars and with Meta-
strongylus sp. eggs of all wild boars at time 0. Two models
including leukocytic and serum biochemical parameters
J. R. López-Olvera (*)
Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal,
Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud,
Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU,
Avda. del Seminario s/n, 46113, Moncada,
Valencia, Spain
e-mail: elrebeco@yahoo.es
Tel.: +34-961369000
Fax: +34-961395272
U. Höfle
Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Dehesón del Encinar,
Consejería de Agricultura,
Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, 45560, Oropesa,
Toledo, Spain
J. Vicente . I. G. Fernández-de-Mera . C. Gortázar
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC
(CSIC-UCLM-JCCM),
Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071,
Ciudad Real, Spain
were also highly correlated with the variation of Meta-
strongylus sp. eggs. Clinical parameters were thus in our
study affected by helminth parasitism in the European wild
boar, particularly those related to nutrients uptake, physical
condition and immune response. Therefore, they could be
useful in studies on subclinical effects of parasites, and
parasitic burden must be considered when assessing the
physical condition of European wild boars through
haematological and serum biochemical parameters.
Introduction
The European wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) is one of the most
important game species in Europe, with populations that
are increasing continuously (Gortázar et al. 2000). Par-
ticularly in the Southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, high
densities occur locally, and populations are often inten-
sively managed to increase the hunting harvest (Rosell et
al. 2001). Management includes fencing of hunting estates,
feeding, semi-intensive breeding and translocation of in-
dividuals and has been shown to imply sanitary risks, es-
pecially when densities are high (Vicente et al. 2004).
Particularly in farm-like situations, medical treatment may
become necessary in relation to disease outbreaks or to
prevent risks associated with translocations, such as the
introduction of parasites or pathogens into naive popula-
tions (Fernández de Mera et al. 2003; Höfle et al. 2004).
Both in domestic and wild animals, including the European
wild boar, antiparasitic treatments have been proven to
decrease parasitic burden and ameliorate body condition
and productivity of the treated populations (Reina et al.
2000; Rajkovic-Janje et al. 2004). Wild boar parasitology
is currently a matter of concern, as well as the effectiveness
of different drugs to reduce parasitic burden in this species,
as shown by a number of previous studies carried out on
this subject (Kutzer et al. 1974; Kutzer and Prosl 1979;
De la Muela et al. 2001; Shender et al. 2002; Fernández de
Mera et al. 2003, 2004; Rajkovic-Janje et al. 2004).
Haematological and serum biochemical values have
been considered useful for the evaluation of body condition

and the nutritional and immune status in live wild animals
where other tissue-related measurements are not available
(Franzmann and LeReche 1978; DelGiudice et al. 1992;
Wolkers et al. 1993). In addition, physiological parameters
have been proposed as a means to assess the effect of par-
asite infections and the effectiveness of antiparasitic treat-
ment in wild boars, but few correlations have been found
between blood parameters and parasitic burden in this
species (Zajicek et al. 1976; Wolkers et al. 1994a; Shender
et al. 2002).
The variation of clinical parameters and their relation-
ship with parasitic burden and an anthelminthic treatment
with ivermectin in the European wild boar are presented
here. The two main objectives of this study are to assess the
effect of nematode parasites on clinical parameters in-
cluding haematology, serum biochemistry and cellular im-
mune reaction of the European wild boar, and to evaluate
the effect of the ivermectin treatment and the related de-
crease of parasitic burdens on the same clinical parameters
aforementioned.
Materials and methods
The study was carried out on 21 farm-bred juvenile European
wild boars with a mean body weight±SD of 26.72±
11.39 kg. These animals were part of a lot that had been
imported from a French game farm into the quarantine
facilities of a Spanish hunting estate and were destined to
be slaughtered by the Spanish authorities to prevent
sanitary or genetic risks. None of the authors of this
study recommended or were responsible in the capture and
subsequent slaughter of the wild boars, or were the
specimens paid for.
Boars were acclimated to their environment for 1 month
before starting the experiments. The boars were divided
into two groups (treatment, n=12; control, n=9), and each
group was kept in separate pens. No boars had previously
occupied the facilities, and they had been thoroughly
cleaned and disinfected previous to the experiment. On
day 0 (22/02/2002), wild boars were immobilized by
physical restraint and weighed. Blood and faecal samples
were collected (time 1), and animals were individually
marked to recognise them in successive manipulations.
Five animals of each group were injected intradermally
with 0.1 mL phytohaemagglutinin (PHA; Sigma-Aldrich)
diluted in phosphate-buffered saline at 2.5 mg/mL at either
the base of the ear or the inner side of the thigh after
shaving and measuring three times the thickness of the skin
fold. Skin-fold thickness at the injection site was again
measured three times at 72 h post-injection. The difference
between the means of the two respective measurements
was considered a value for the increase in skin-fold
thickness and was analyzed against parasitological infor-
mation collected on day 0 and the number of total adult
parasites found at necropsy of the untreated animals
(control) at the end of the study (see statistical analysis
below).
583
Ivermectin (Ivomec premix for pigs, Merial Sharp and
Dohme, Netherlands) was orally administered to the wild
boars in the treatment group, included in commercial post-
weaning domestic pig feed at 2.4 ppm of ivermectin in food
(a normal to high dose according to the manufacturers).
Medicated feed was offered ad libitum and exclusively for
7 days (from days 1 to 7) according to the manufacturer’s
instructions for domestic pigs.
Controls were fed the same commercial feed without
ivermectin and were administered in the same way. Clean
water was available for all the animals during the ex-
periment. Five faecal samples from the floor of each pen
(for treated and control animals, respectively) were col-
lected daily to monitor the excretion of parasite propagules.
On day 10 after treatment, blood and faecal samples
were obtained (time 2), and all animals were euthanized.
The animals were weighed and measured, and a complete
necropsy was performed immediately in the estate facili-
ties. During necropsy, the gastrointestinal tract was ligated,
removed and separated for parasitologic examination, as
were the tongue, liver and lungs. In the laboratory, the
tongue, oesophagus, stomach, intestines, liver and lungs
were processed for the detection of parasites as described in
Fernández de Mera et al. (2004). Parasitological parameters
analyzed included total number of adult parasites found at
post-mortem examination, total egg count variation and
variation of Metastrongylus sp. and Ascaris suum egg
counts (expressed as eggs per gram or EPG) between
times 1 and 2. The carcasses without organs were weighed,
and performance (carcass weight/live bodyweight) was
calculated.
Blood samples were transferred into sterile tubes with
lithium heparin and, at sampling after treatment, also into
sterile tubes without anticoagulant, immediately after ex-
traction. All samples were maintained at 4°C during trans-
port and centrifuged immediately after arrival at the
laboratory (about 4 h after sampling) after realizing two
blood smears from heparinized blood. Serum was sepa-
rated and frozen at −20°C until further analysis.
Haematological parameters analyzed included total red
blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts,
packed cell volume (PCV) and differential leukocyte count.
Serum biochemical parameters measured included total
protein, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, total bilirubin,
lactate, creatinine, urea, chloride, alanine phosphatase (AP),
alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransfer-
ase (AST), creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase
(LDH) activities. Total RBC and WBC counts were per-
formed in a haematocytometer (modified Neubauer’s cham-
ber) after staining with Turck’s and Hayem’s solutions,
respectively. PCV was determined by the microhaematocrit
method, and differential leukocyte counts were realized
under oil immersion (×100) after staining the smears with a
quick panoptic stain (Química Clínica Aplicada, Amposta,
Spain). All biochemical parameters were determined by
means of an automated analyzer (Cobas Mira, Roche,
Nutley, USA) using ABX diagnostics reactives (Montpel-
lier, France), except for chloride, which was analyzed with
Gernon reactives (Lindau, Germany).
584

The statistical analysis was divided in four steps
First, to assess the effect of ivermectin treatment on
haematological and serum biochemical parameters, a re-
peated measures analysis of the variance was performed
using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS System for
Windows V8 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). The
main factor was treatment (ivermectin-medicated feed or
unmedicated control), and the repeated factor was time.
Least-square means were used due to the unbalanced dis-
tribution of animals in the groups. The minimum accepted
significance level was p<0.05 for all parameters.
Second, to determine the potential effects of parasitation
and parasitic burden on cellular immunity in the European
wild boar, the correlation of skin reaction to PHA and
parasitic egg count at day 0 was analyzed, as well as the
correlation between PHA skin reaction and total number of
adult parasites found at post-mortem examination in non-
treated animals only (because PHA test was performed
before the ivermectin treatment). A comparison between
the variation of PHA skin reaction and the variation of
parasitic parameters, as well as the remaining clinical pa-
rameters, could not be performed, because PHA skin re-
action was determined only once at the beginning of the
study (a second determination within such a short interval
would have produced unreliable results).
Third, to evaluate the effect of the ivermectin treatment
and the related decrease of parasitic burdens on the
haematological and serum biochemical parameters, the
correlation between the variation of these parameters
between times 1 and 2 and the variation of parasitic burden
during the same period was determined. Pearson’s corre-
lation coefficient was determined using the PROC CORR
procedure of the SAS System for Windows V8.
Finally, to reduce the possibility of statistical correlation
due to chance alone, avoiding multicollinearity and to
determine the most reliable combination of clinical pa-
rameters to assess parasitic burden and ivermectin effect in
the European wild boar, the clinical parameters were di-
vided in three clusters (erythrocytic, leukocytic and serum
biochemical parameters). A multivariate regression analy-
sis between each one of these clusters and the variation of
parasitic burden was performed with the PROC REG
procedure of the SAS System for Windows V8.

Table 1 Haematological and serum biochemical values of treated and control wild boars at the beginning and at the end of the study
Parameter Initial control Initial treated Final control Final treated
N Mean (SD) N Mean (SD) N Mean (SD) N Mean (SD)

Red blood cells (×1012/L) 6 8.76 (1.26) 10 8.54 (1.15) 5 6.4 (0.96) 13 7.87 (2.64)
White blood cells (×109/L) 6 16,483 (4,947)a 10 18,390 (3,197) 5 6,900 (2,944)b* 14 13,800 (6,983)*
Packed cell volume (L/L) 6 0.51 (0.03) 10 0.48 (0.05) 5 0.44 (0.06) 14 0.48 (0.04)
Lymphocytes (×109/L) 5 9,757 (3,385) 10 11,928 (3,279) 4 3,963 (2,641) 11 8,303 (6,586)
Monocytes (×109/L) 5 502 (317) 10 594 (308) 4 91 (63) 11 559 (413)
Neutrophils (×109/L) 5 4,935 (2,765) 10 5,241 (3,717) 4 3,330 (3,482) 11 5,334 (4,032)
Band neutrophils (×109/L) 5 110 (165) 10 21 (67) 4 113 (106) 11 51 (74)
Eosinophils (×109/L) 5 359 (640) 10 483 (376) 4 170 (174) 11 385 (363)
Basophils (×109/L) 5 36 (81) 10 123 (156) 4 58 (68) 11 40 (49)
Total protein (g/L) 9 68.1 (6.9)a 14 69.7 (7.8)a 5 81.8 (9.4)b 15 76.4 (7.5)b
Cortisol (nmol/L) 2 1,318.1 (1,087.7) 3 296.7 (321.6) 6 318.3 (316.8) 11 418.5 (365.5)
Glucose (mmol/L) 8 5.26 (1.73) 13 6.05 (1.92) 2 4.02 (0.76) 7 7.68 (3.45)
Cholesterol (mmol/L) 8 3.95 (0.69) 13 3.47 (0.64) 7 5.48 (3.43) 14 4.12 (0.87)
Triglycerides (mmol/L) 8 0.98 (0.4) 13 0.95 (0.35)a 6 1.93 (2.08)* 12 2.29 (1.19)b*
Total bilirubin (μmol/L) 5 1.20 (0.92) 8 1.50 (0.47) 2 2.65 (1.57) 8 2.20 (1.72)
Lactate (mmol/L) 5 22.05 (1.85) 11 18.49 (6.20)a 6 33.28 (11.91) 13 37.11 (14.80)b
Creatinine (μmol/L) 8 128.18 (20.60) 13 131.24 (28.15)a 7 198.27 (100.64) 14 211.53 (127.61)b
Urea (mmol/L) 8 5.18 (2.24)a 13 3.55 (0.67) 7 9.56 (6.92)b 12 4.59 (1.58)
ALT (UI/L) 8 38 (18) 13 38 (18) 7 318 (332) 14 114 (141)
AP (UI/L) 8 95 (26) 14 103 (51) 5 161 (87) 15 110 (63)
AST (UI/L) 8 57 (15)a 13 116 (191)a 7 2,256 (2,066)b 14 921 (986)b
CK (UI/L) 9 3,106 (7,672) 14 3,239 (6,103) 7 158,716 (198,558) 15 53,598 (127,226)
LDH (UI/L) 8 791 (114)a 13 973 (642) 5 35,734 (52,079)b 14 9,668 (16,665)
Chloride (mmol/L) 8 107.3 (4.3) 13 107.8 (4.8) 5 99.5 (32.5) 12 111.6 (9.0)
Sodium (mmol/L) – – – – 4 162.8 (17.4) 8 157.3 (19.2)
Potassium (mmol/L) – – – – 3 15.5 (4.0) 7 11.0 (4.6)
N sample size, SD standard deviation
*Means are statistically different between the treatment and control groups at the same time
a,b
Means with different superscripts are significantly different in the same treatment group between the beginning and the end of the study
 585
Table 2 Correlation between R2 p Value Correlation sense
clinical and parasitological var-
iations of wild boars
Total adult parasites
Band neutrophils 0.7556 0.0023 Positive
Phytohaemagglutin* 0.8897 0.0161 Positive
Total egg burden (EPG)
Band neutrophils 0.9324 <0.0001 Negative
Creatinine 0.4228 0.0047 Negative
*Correlation has been deter-
mined for the variation of the Total protein 0.4000 0.0049 Negative
parasitic parameters during the Metastrongylus sp. eggs (EPG)
studies for all the clinical Band neutrophils 0.9774 <0.0001 Negative
parameters, except for hae- Phytohaemagglutinin* 0.8352 0.0015 Positive
magglutinin, the correlation of
which is analyzed against final Creatinine 0.4798 0.0042 Negative
values of untreated wild boars Total protein 0.3310 0.0197 Negative
(adult parasites) and initial Ascaris sp. eggs (EPG)
parasitic values of all animals AP 0.3666 0.0129 Negative
(Metastrongylus sp. eggs)

Results Carcass performance was statistically higher (p=0.0403)

Parasite egg count was significantly lower in the treated
group after treatment (Fernández de Mera et al. 2004).
The prevalence and the intensity of Metastrongylus sp.
parasitation and the prevalence of A. suum were also sig-
nificantly lower in the treated wild boars than in the control
ones after the ivermectin treatment (Fernández de Mera et
al. 2004).
WBC statistically decreased (p=0.0084) over time only
in the untreated group, reaching statistically significant
(p=0.0373) lower values than the treated group at the end
of the treatment. Total protein and AST activity increased
significantly from the beginning to the end of the treatment
in both the control (p=0.0308 and p=0.0106, respectively)
and the treated groups (p=0.0097 and p=0.0099, respec-
tively). Triglyceride (p=0.0013), lactate (p=0.0032) and
creatinine (p=0.0237) concentrations increased signifi-
cantly over time only in the treated group, and after the
ivermectin treatment, triglyceride concentration was statis-
tically higher (p=0.0057) in the treated group than in the
control group. Urea and LDH increased during the study
only in the control group (p=0.0379 and p=0.0321, re-
spectively) (see Table 1).
in the treated wild boars (0.655) than in the control ones
(0.613).
No differences in clinical parameters were observed
between animals handled for PHA injection and animals of
both groups that were not injected with PHA.
Band neutrophils showed a statistically significant pos-
itive correlation with the variation of total number of adult
parasites, variation of total number of eggs and variation of
Metastrongylus sp. EPG. Total protein and creatinine
concentrations were negatively correlated with total egg
count and Metastrongylus sp. eggs variations. Variation of
AP activity was negatively correlated with Ascaris sp. eggs
variation. PHA skin reaction was positively correlated with
total number of adult parasites in untreated animals and
Metastrongylus sp. eggs number at time 0 (see Table 2).
The statistical regression study proposed two statistically
significant models highly correlated with the variation of
Metastrongylus sp. eggs, one including leukocytic param-
eters (variation of band neutrophils, eosinophils and neu-
trophils) and the other including biochemical parameters
(variation of triglycerides, CK, ALT, AST, LDH and AP)
(see Table 3). No statistically significant model was found
for the erythrocytic cluster.

Table 3 Correlation between blood clusters and Metastrongylus sp.

EPG variations in wild boar Discussion
2
Analysis R P value
A number of studies have reported effects of parasitation
Leukocytic cluster on different blood constituents in domestic, laboratory and
Band neutrophils 0.9998 <0.0001 wildlife species (Herd and Kociba 1985; Ubelaker et al.
Eosinophils 1993; Sartorelli et al. 1995; Kolb et al. 1996; Hanni et al.
Neutrophils 2003; Purohit et al. 2003). However, this relationship has
Serum biochemical cluster
not been demonstrated in the European wild boar in spite of
Triglycerides
previously conducted studies (Zajicek et al. 1976; Wolkers
et al. 1994a; Shender et al. 2002).
CK
Ivermectin treatment has shown to reduce the prevalence
ALT 0.9320 0.0086
and intensity of parasitation in domestic pigs and wild
AST
boars, although it proved to be less effective against whip-
LDH
worms. As previously reported (Fernández de Mera et al.
AP
2004), treated wild boars in our study had lower egg and
586
worm (Metastrongylus sp. and A. suum) counts than before
treatment and than untreated controls after the treatment
(Fernández de Mera et al. 2004). As a result of this
significant reduction in parasite burdens in treated wild
boars, we expected haematological and serum biochemical
parameters to change, as well as finding statistically sig-
nificant differences for these parameters between treated
and untreated wild boars.
Several haematological and serum biochemical param-
eters (numbers of band neutrophils, eosinophils and neu-
trophils, activities of CK, ALT, AP, AST and LDH and
trygliceride levels), as well as the reaction to the PHA
injection, varied with parasitation or were correlated with
its intensity. Increase over time and statistically significant
higher values of serum triglyceride concentration after treat-
ment in ivermectin-treated wild boars (Table 1) seem to
indicate an enhanced fat absorption in the gut in treated
animals that may be due to the decrease of parasite com-
petition and parasite originated lesions. Although higher
triglyceride values have been related to higher helminth
abundance in free-ranging Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) due to
mobilization of stored fat (Sartorelli et al. 1995), lack of
parasite-induced fat mobilization has been reported in the
wild boar (Wolkers et al. 1994a). During our study, the wild
boars were kept in captivity and fed ad libitum, which
could explain that triglyceride levels in both treated and
control animals increased over time, while differences in
triglyceride levels between both groups at the end of the
study could account for reduction in parasite burdens in the
treated wild boars. Serum creatinine concentration is di-
rectly correlated with muscular mass, although it is also
influenced by creatinine dietary intake and rate of synthesis
(Finco 1997). Serum creatinine increase in treated wild
boars (Table 1) seems to further indicate better dietary
performance with increase in muscular mass during the
study in these animals. Negative correlation of creatinine
with total and Metastrongylus sp. egg burden variation
(Table 2) further suggests an increase of muscular mass in
ivermectin-treated wild boar. Higher values of serum non-
esterified fatty acids and creatinine concentrations due to
food restriction have been previously described in wild
boar (Wolkers et al. 1994b), which agrees with our results.
ALT and LDH are found in skeletal muscle (Kramer and
Hoffmann 1997), and their negative correlation with egg
burden variation (Table 2) seems to corroborate creatinine
data, indicating muscular increase in treated animals. Cor-
relation of serum AP activity variation with Ascaris sp.
EPG and total EPG variation (Table 2) is more difficult to
explain, because it is a non-specific enzyme widely dis-
tributed in the organism (Kramer and Hoffmann 1997).
Nevertheless, it could also be related to a higher diet
absorption and growth activity in treated wild boars. The
higher carcass performance of treated wild boars seems to
further indicate their higher dietary absorption and growth
activity.
Band neutrophil and PHA skin reaction positive corre-
lation with the number of total adult parasites and PHA
skin reaction positive correlation with Metastrongylus sp.
eggs (Table 2) seem to indicate an active cellular immune
response related to the parasitic burden. Similar increases
related to parasite infestation have been reported in rats and
domestic goats and were attributed to the stimulation of the
immune system by parasite antigens (Yong and Dobson
1984; Fernández del Palacio et al. 1985). However, the
decrease of the WBC count during the study only in the
control wild boars with significantly lower values at the end
of the study in this group (Table 1), together with negative
correlation of band neutrophils and total protein with total
and Metastrongylus sp. EPG variation (Table 2), suggests a
stronger immune response in treated animals. Higher
immune responses after ivermectin treatment have been
reported previously and were considered to be related to
massive release of antigens due to synchronous death of
parasites, although the type of immune changes seems to
depend on the type of parasite and the host species (Uhlír
and Volf 1992; Njoo et al. 1994; Savanur et al. 1996; Cooper
et al. 2002). Moreover, the effect of ivermectin seems to
depend not only on its parasiticidal action but relies also on
an activation of host immunocompetence (Wildenburg et
al. 1998; Ali et al. 2002, 2003). The tendency to a heavier
spleen (mean±standard deviation) in treated wild boars
(112.35±38.74 g) in comparison to untreated ones (72.78±
48.45 g), although not significant (p=0.0632), agrees with
an increase of immune response in treated wild boars.
The apparent improvement in parameters related with
the immune capacity after ivermectin treatment opens the
discussion on the convenience of anthelminthic treatments
in captive reared (overdense) wild boars, where other
disease agents such as Porcine Circovirus type 2 can reduce
the immune capacity of young animals, possibly contribut-
ing to piglet mortality (Vicente et al. 2004). Our results also
underline that parasite burdens need to be taken into
account in studies on haematological and serum biochem-
ical parameters and PHA reaction. This is important, for
example, in relation with skin testing of wild boar for
tuberculosis.
Ivermectin treatment significantly reduced EPG but had
an incomplete effect on adult parasites (Fernández de Mera
et al. 2004). This could explain the variations in the degree
of correlation of clinical parameters with the different par-
asite parameters (namely, adults and egg output), in ad-
dition to the independent immunostimulant effect of
ivermectin. However, the statistical correlations found
for leukocytic and biochemical measures with total
Metastrongylus sp. eggs (Table 3) indicate that there is a
direct effect of parasitation on clinical parameters in the
wild boar, in contrast to previous results from other
authors (Zajicek et al. 1976; Wolkers et al. 1994a; Shender
et al. 2002).
In conclusion, we show for the first time a relationship
between clinical parameters and parasitic burden in the
European wild boar. Haematological and serum biochem-
ical changes found according to parasitic burden and/or
antiparasitic treatments are probably mainly related to dif-
ferences in nutrients uptake and growth activity and in their
immune response. When interpreting clinical and haemato-
logical parameters for European wild boars, parasitic

burdens or recent antiparasitic treatments have to be taken
into account.
Acknowledgements This study was carried out according to
current legislation. It was supported by project AGL2001-3947,
MCYT, and FEDER and is also a contribution to the agreement
between FG-UCLM and Grupo Santander and to the agreement
between Yolanda Fierro and the UCLM. J. Vicente had a grant from
the JCCM. The authors also wish to thank the collaboration of Dr.
Santiago Lavín and the Servei d’Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge of
the Autonomous University of Barcelona in the analysis of blood and
serum samples.
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