Dietmar Hamel, Steffen Rehbein
Recent publications have indicated an interest in Cysticercus tenuicollis, the metacestode (larval stage) of the canid cestode Taenia hydatigena, in wild ungulates, but occurrence in mountain ungulates appears to be largely ignored. Therefore, data of chamois from Germany, obtained between 2004 and 2006, were compiled and retrospectively evaluated. Cysticercus tenuicollis was found in 27 of 223 (12.1%, CI95 8.3-16.9%) of chamois examined. Infected chamois aged 1 to 15 years and had a low number of one to three cysticerci, which were recovered from abdominal cavity organs exclusively, most often adhering to the mesenteries and the omentum. Variation in the prevalence of infection suggests a positive association of the infection with host age (0% in kids [0/43], 5% in >1-to-3-year-old chamois [5/100], 27.5% in 4-year-old chamois [22/80]; p < 0.0001) which was supported by higher Cysticercus tenuicollis counts in the ≥4-year-old animals compared to the >1-to-3-year-old animals (0.39 ± 0.74 vs. 0.06 ± 0.28; p < 0.0001). Sex appeared to be no risk factor for the occurrence of Cysticercus tenuicollis in chamois (prevalence in >1-year-old chamois: 16.2% in males and 13.4% in females). Although considered of minor importance in wild ungulates, Cysticercus tenuicollis in chamois is an indicator for the presence of T. hydatigena in carnivores thriving or roaming in mountain habitats. To facilitate future research on metacestode infections in chamois, a compilation of the literature on the metacestodes of taeniid cestodes, which have been recorded in both Northern chamois and Southern chamois, is provided.