Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 28, 2025
Environmental Screening of Aeromonas hydrophila, Mycobacterium spp., and Pseudocapillaria tomentosa in Zebrafish Systems
Published on: December 8, 2017
First Report of Sarconema eurycerca Heart Infection in Mute Swans in Serbia
Biljana Djurdjević1, Ivana Vučićević2, Danica Bogunović3
1Department of Epizootiology, Clinical Examination and DDD, Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad", Novi Sad, Serbia. biljana@niv.ns.ac.rs.
Background:
The Sarconema eurycerca heart infection may be one of the main causes of death in swans and geese due to severe heart lesions. To date, there have been no reports of Sarconema eurycerca in mute swans (Cygnus olor) in Serbia and this parasite has never been morphologically characterized in wild birds from this region.
Methods:
In spring 2021, eight dead mute swans (Cygnus olor) were collected during avian influenza surveillance on the territory of the Province of Vojvodina and submitted to Scientific Veterinary Institute "Novi Sad" to determine the cause of death. The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N1 was determined in all swans using molecular methods.
Results:
Necropsy of the swans revealed changes characteristic for highly pathogenic avian influenza infection, such as severe haemorrhages and necrosis in different organs. Three of the eight swans showed massive subepicardial haemorrhages and myocarditis with intralesional 2-4 cm long whitish roundworms. Histopathologically, haemorrhages and many adult heart worms were observed in the myocardium. Based on morphological features of parasites, infection by Sarconema eurycerca was concluded.
Conclusion:
According to the available scientific literature, the presence of heart roundworms in swans has not yet been confirmed in our country. This report is the first published case of cardiac filariasis associated with S. eurycerca infection in mute swans in the Republic of Serbia.
