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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Helminth Collection and Identification from Wildlife
Published on: December 14, 2013
Epidemiology of reindeer parasites
1Department of Ecology, Institute of Biology and Geology, University of Tromsø, N-9001 Tromsø, Norway.
Abstract:
Every Christmas we sing about Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer, but do we give much thought to why his nose is red? The general consensus is that Rudolf has caught a cold, but as far as I know no proper diagnosis has been made of his abnormal condition. I think that, rather than having a cold, Rudolf is suffering from a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. To some this may seem a bit far-fetched as one would not expect an animal living with Santa Claus at the North Pole to be plagued by parasites, but I shall show otherwise.

