Lungworm-infected reindeer in Calgary could help northern ungulates

A type ofparasite that can grow up to 65 centimetres long and live by the hundreds inside the lungs of large mammals is spreading across the Canadian North.

Lungworms used to be contained to the mainland of the northern territories, but in 2008 the first case was discovered on Victoria Islandand their reach among oxen and caribou is growing in the Arctic archipelago.

Now, researchers hope eight reindeer living in captivity in Calgary can help save the lives of ungulates in the wild by giving them insights into how the parasites behave.

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Susan Kutz, an associate professor in veterinary medicine at the U of C,said the reindeer have been inoculated with lungworms so scientists can study the life cycles of the parasites and how they react to different temperatures.

Kutz said climate change has dealt Arctic ungulates a double blow by removing the "temperature constraints" that used to limit the geography in which lungworms could survive, while also altering the northern environment in ways that make the animals more susceptible to parasites and other pathogens as well as predators.

Some muskoxen have been found with 600 to 700 lungworm-filled nodules in their lungs, Kutz said, making them easier targets for bears and wolves trying to chase them down.

"What that means is there's less capacity for breathing," she said. "There's so many worms in there, the animals just aren't as able to breathe as well."

Many of the affected species in the Arctic are an important source of food for the Inuit and Dene people, Kutz noted.