Echinococcus multilocularis in European wolves (Canis lupus).

Nested PCR was used as a diagnostic tool to investigate the presence of Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm in protected species of carnivores in Slovakia. Twenty-three faecal samples from wolves, four samples from bears and three samples from lynx from the Muránska Planina mountains and eight samples from wolves from the Bukovské Vrchy mountains were examined. E. multilocularis DNA was detected in two samples of wolves' faeces from the Muránska Planina mountains and one sample from the Bukovské Vrchy mountains. Examination of bears' and lynx faecal samples gave negative results. The detection of E. multilocularis in wolves has extended the range of its known definitive hosts in Europe.