Diseases and Parasites
The European polecat may suffer from distemper, influenza, the common cold and pneumonia. Occasionally, it is affected by malignant tumours and hydrocephaly. It commonly has broken teeth and, on rarer occasions, fatal abscesss on the jaw, head and neck. In mainland Europe, it is a carrier of trichinosis, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis and adiaspiromycosis. Incidences of polecats carrying rabies are high in some localized areas.
Ectoparasites known to infest polecats include flea species such as Ctenocephalides felis, Archaeospylla erinacei, Nosopsyllus fasciatus and Paraceras melis. The tick Ixodes hexagonus is the polecat's most common ectoparasite, which is sometimes found in large numbers on the neck and behind the ears. Another, less common species to infest polecats is I. canisuga. The biting louse Trichodectes jacobi is also known to infest polecats.
Endoparasites carried by polecats include the cestodes Taenia tenuicollis and T. martis and the nematodes Molineus patens, Strongyloides papillosus, Capilliaria putorii, Filaroides martis and Skjrabingylus nasicola.
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