Echinophthirius horridus

Herzog, Insa, Wohlsein, Peter, Preuss, Anika, Gorb, Stanislav N., Pigeault, emi, Ewers, Christa, Prenger-Berninghoff, Ellen, Siebert, Ursula & Lehnert, Kristina, 2024, Heartworm and seal louse: Trends in prevalence, characterisation of impact and transmission pathways in a unique parasite assembly on seals in the North and Baltic Sea, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 23, pp. 100898-100898 : 100898-

3.2. E. horridus and A. spirocauda in grey seals

E. horridus was found in 10% (11/106) of grey seals between 2014 and 2021 ( Table 2). Two animals were infected mildly, four moderately and five severely. The GAM model showed a significantly higher seal louse prevalence in grey seals from the Baltic Sea (10/33) compared to grey seals from the North Sea (1/71) ( Table 4). A significant difference was observed between sampling years, showing an increase in prevalence over the last years. From 2014 until 2018 no seal louse infection was detected, in 2019 the seal louse prevalence was above 10% and in the two following years above 30% ( Table 2). The used model revealed a significant difference between the sampling months ( Table 4), showing a peak in prevalence during the winter months. No other independent variable affected the presence of lice significantly. In all five severely infected grey seals alopecia was recorded, severe dermatitis and intralesional bacteria were diagnosed histologically. A. spirocauda was found in two male adult grey seals in 2018 and 2020 from the North Sea (see Lehnert et al., 2023) .