Ascaris suum and Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus cause a large loss of yield in farm
animals as well as in free-living and captive wild boar herds, thereby causing economic
damage. This study compared A. suum and M. hirudinaceus infections in free-ranging
and captive wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Hungary. The authors measured the A. suum and
M. hirudinaceus infections of a 248-hectare wild boar garden and an 11,893-hectare
free-living wild boar herd in the sample area. In all cases, samples were collected
from shot wild boars. In total, 216 wild boars were examined from June 2015 to June
2023 in Hungary. Of the 173 dissected wild boars from the wild, 57 (32.9%) were infected
with A. suum, while 30 (69.8%) of the 43 individuals from the captive area were infected.
The prevalence of M. hirudinaceus in the free-living area population was 9.25% (16
wild boars), while that of the captive population was 34.89% (15 wild boars). In the
case of the examined helminths, the captive herd was 36.9% more infected than the
herd living in the open area.
