Habitat and host factors associated with liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) diagnoses in wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the Scottish Highlands.
Andrew S FrenchRuth N ZadoksPhilip J SkuceGillian MitchellDanielle K Gordon-GibbsMark A TaggartPublished in: Parasites & vectors (2019)
We are cautious to extrapolate our findings geographically, owing to a large proportion of variation attributable to overarching differences among estates. Nevertheless, the temporal transferability of our model is encouraging. While we did not identify any non-zero relationship between meteorological variables and probability of diagnosis, we attribute this (in part) to limitations of interpolated meteorological data. Further study into non-independent diagnoses within estates and differences among estates in terms of deer management, would improve our understanding of F. hepatica prevalence in wild deer.