Parasitic infections of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) in south -western Slovakia

A total of 74 European brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778), hunted during the winter seasons of 2006 and 2007, were examined by dissection for the presence of helminths and coprologically for protozoa. The animals came from five districts with a high population density of this species. Our results revealed 54.5 % of specimens being infected with one or more helminth species and a high prevalence of eimeriid coccidia (91.89 %). The most prevalent helminth species was Trichuris leporis (55.41 %). Lower prevalence was found for Passalurus ambiguus (12.16 %) and Trichostrongylus retortaeformis (6.76 %). The intensity of infection was low for all parasite species. As for coccidia, Eimeria semisculpta (74.35 %) and E. leporis (61.54%) were recorded in all districts. Other coccidia showed lower prevalence rates: E. robertsoni (15.38 %), E. europaea (12.82 %), E. babatica (12.82 %), E. hungarica (5.13 %) and E. towsendi (2.56 %), occurring only in some districts. The highest infection rate was observed in E. semisculpta, 7657.8 oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG). The potential effect of protozoan infection on hare mortality is discussed.