Prevalence of Internal Parasites in the Feral Hog Population of East Texas

The control of parasite populations is a key factor to maintaining proper animal health and performance in livestock production enterprises. Feral hogs (Sus Scrofa), which are prominent throughout East Texas, are carriers of many different internal parasites and can potentially transfer those parasites to livestock animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of internal parasites in the feral hog population in East Texas. To accomplish this, 50 fecal samples from feral hogs were collected at three different sites in the Huntsville, TX area (Gibbs Ranch, Huntsville State Park, and Riverside) for a total of 150 samples. Collections took place in the spring of 2017 and fecal egg counts were performed by a trained technician to identify and quantify parasites in the fecal matter. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS to determine differences in the prevalence of internal parasites among the collection sites. No differences were detected in the populations of coccidia, kidney worms, liver flukes, red worms, lungworms, roundworms, tapeworms, or threadworms among the three collection sites. Roundworms were the most prevalent parasite across the three collection sites and were present in 42% of all samples. The percentage of samples that were positive for trichinella was greater (P < 0.01) at Gibbs Ranch than at Riverside or Huntsville State Park, with no positive animals detected at either of the latter locations. The number of samples that were positive for whipworms, while not statistically significant (P = 0.12), was numerically lower at Gibbs Ranch (n = 10) compared to the Huntsville State Park (n = 19) and Riverside (n = 17) locations. Since trichinella was only detected at one of the three locations, there is a possibility that the working ranch, located at Gibbs Ranch, could be a factor influencing the prevalence of trichinella and the numerical decrease in whipworms observed at that location. The data from this study confirm that feral hogs harbor a number of parasites that are potentially transferrable to livestock animals, and due to the abundance of roundworms across the three locations, roundworms should be targeted when planning parasite control programs.