Bronchopulmonary Nematodes in Alpine Ibex: Shedding of First Stage Larvae Analyzed at the Individual Host Level.

Pneumonia is the most frequent cause of death for Alpine ibex () in Gran Paradiso National Park, (Italy). The etiology of this form of pneumonia is currently unknown and the identification of the primary etiological agent remains difficult due to biological and logistic constraints. Uncovering individual differences in Protostrongylid prevalence and intensity is important to further investigate the epidemiology of respiratory diseases and their relationship to heterozygosity and inbreeding in a once almost extinct population like .