ONE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF THE GOLDEN JACKAL (CANIS AUREUS) EXPANSION: MAPPING INTESTINAL PARASITES IN NORTHEAST ITALY

INTRODUCTION. Since 1996, Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) has hosted a stable golden jackal (Canis aureus moreoticus) population (Lapini et al., 2009. Boll. Mus. civ. St. nat. Venezia 60: 169–186). As a legally protected species in Italy, the FVG population is continuously monitored for health status, human-wildlife interactions, and ecological trends. Given their role as potential reservoirs and bridge hosts for emerging parasites, understanding parasite-host dynamics is crucial for assessing impacts on local ecosystems and veterinary health. To address this, road-killed jackals have been examined in FVG for 15 years, also using InfoFaunaFVG, a progressive web app supporting regional wildlife health surveillance (Tomè et al., 2023. Eur. J. Wildl. Res. 69(2): 38). MATERIALS AND METHODS. From February 2009 to March 2025, dead—mainly road-killed—golden jackals were collected across FVG and submitted to necropsy. Intestinal contents were analysed using scraping, filtration, and counting techniques. Helminths were identified to species level based on morphometric keys and confirmed by sequencing the mtCO1 gene. Prevalence and mean intensity (mI), with their 95% confidence intervals, were calculated for each helminth species. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION. Among 109 examined carcasses, 75.2% (66.4–82.4) were infected with at least one helminth species (range 1–5), totalling 23 species. The most prevalent nematodes were Uncinaria stenocephala (29.4%, 21.6–38.5; mI 24), Toxocara canis (15.6%, 10.0–23.4; mI 3), Trichuris vulpis (8.3%, 4.4–15.0; mI 4), Pterygodermatites affinis (6.4%, 3.2–12.7; mI 3), and Molineus legerae (5.5%, 2.6–11.5; mI 44). Among cestodes, Taenia hydatigena (16.5%, 12.2–26.7; mI 5), T. krabbei (10.1%, 2.6–11.5; mI 3), T. serialis (7.3%, 3.8–13.8; mI 5), Taenia pisiformis (3.7%, 0.16–5.01; mI 5), and Mesocestoides litteratus (9.2%, 7.8–20.4; mI 16) were identified, while Alaria alata (6.4%, 3.2–12.7; mI 35) and Metagonimus yokogawai (5.5%, 2.6–11.5; mI 28) were the most prevalent trematodes. Other species had prevalence values lower than 2%. This study provides baseline data on the intestinal parasite community of golden jackals in FVG, which largely aligns with findings from other European populations (Gherman and Mihalca, 2017. Parasit Vectors, 10: 419). Despite generally low prevalence and mean intensity, the rich parasite community includes species shared with domestic dogs (U. stenocephala, T. canis, T. vulpis and T. hydatigena) and zoonotic pathogens (M. yokogawai, M. romanicus, T. martis and M. lineatus), underscoring potential epidemiological significance. Given the jackal’s dietary plasticity, its current expanding distribution, and its capacity to adapt to human-dominated habitats, continued health surveillance of this species is essential to elucidate its role in parasite transmission at the domestic–wildlife interface.