Helminth parasites of Eastern European Hedgehog (Erinaceus concolor) in Northern Iran

Background: Recently there is a high tendency among exotic pet owners for keeping hedgehogs. This mammal can transfer some significant zoonotic pathogens to human. Hence, the present study was conducted for the first time to prepare a list of helminth parasites of hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor) in North of Iran. Methods: Ten (four males and six females) road killed hedgehogs were collected during April to January 2011 in rural areas of Babol city, Mazandaran province, Iran. All of internal organs were scrutinized for helminth burden. The extracted specimens were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol and then cleared in Lactophenol solution. Helminth identification was carried out according to available systematic keys. Results: All the examined hedgehogs (100%) were infected with parasitic helminth as following: two hedgehogs (20%) were infected with Crenosoma striatum, four hedgehogs (40%) harbored Physaloptera clausa, one (10%) host had Hymenolepis erinacei and three (30%) of them were infected with Nephridiacanthus major. Conclusion: This is noteworthy that the current survey is the first report of helminth parasites fauna of Eastern European Hedgehog in Iran. Since this is the first such investigation in our country, more researches are required to perform on unexplored areas of Iran in order to increase our knowledge regarding hedgehog parasitic diseases.