Moniezia expansa in farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Authors: Mason PC, Moore GH
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 31, Issue 12, pp 226, Dec 1983
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Deer, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Abdomen, Alimentary system/gastroenterology, Cestode, Parasites - internal
Article class: Correspondence

---

Abstract: Cestodes of the genus Moniezia are common parasites of lambs in this country. This is the first report of the recovery of Monieziu from deer in New Zealand. Moniezia expansa (Rudolphi, 1810) Blanchard, 1891, was recovered from the intestine of a 4-month-old red deer (Cervus elaphus) slaughtered at the commencement of a deer calf drenching trial at Invermay Agricultural Research Centre in March 1976. During the same trial faecal samples were collected monthly, from March to September, from 84 calves. Moniezia sp. eggs were observed in 8 of 84 samples in March and 9 of 82 samples in April. No Moniezia eggs were observed in samples collected from May through to September. The absence of Moniezia eggs from faeces collected after April could not be attributed to drenching effects alone. The 84 calves sampled in March had not been treated with any anthelmintic. Forty eight of the calves sampled in subsequent months had not been treated with an anthelmintic effective against Moniezia. In April, faecal samples from 8 of these calves were positive, but they were all subsequently negative. These results suggest that a self-cure occurred between April and May, when the calves were about 5 months old…

---