# Non-Invasive Diagnosis and Management of Pancreatic Tetragomphius sp. Infection in Asian Badgers (Meles leucurus) Using Computed Tomography

## TL;DR

This paper shows how CT scans helped diagnose and treat a rare roundworm infection in Asian badgers, avoiding risky procedures.

## Contribution

First report of using CT imaging for diagnosing Tetragomphius sp. infection in live Asian badgers.

## Key findings

- CT scans revealed a pancreatic nodule in a live badger, which shrank after deworming treatment.
- Postmortem examination confirmed Tetragomphius sp. infection in a dead badger with similar pancreatic lesions.
- Findings suggest that pancreatic nodules in Asian badgers may be parasitic, not tumors.

## Abstract

Asian badgers can sometimes develop rare parasitic infections in the pancreas caused by roundworms. These infections may appear similar to tumors, making diagnosis difficult. This report describes two related cases involving rescued Asian badgers in Korea between 2020 and 2025. In the first case, a badger had died, and an examination after death showed clear evidence of worm infection in the pancreas. In the second case, a live badger was found to have a similar lump during a computed tomography (CT) scan. Because the earlier case had already shown a parasitic cause, veterinarians suspected the same problem and started deworming without needing a risky biopsy. Follow-up CT scans showed that the lump had shrunk a lot after treatment, supporting a diagnosis of parasitic infection. These cases show that what seems to be a pancreatic tumor in Asian badgers may actually be a treatable parasitic infection. Using CT imaging, knowledge from earlier cases, and response to medication can help veterinarians diagnose these difficult conditions safely and with less stress for wildlife.

Pancreatic lesions in wildlife are rarely diagnosed antemortem and are often misinterpreted as neoplastic due to limited diagnostic information. This report describes two clinically linked cases of pancreatic infection caused by Tetragomphius spp. in rescued Asian badgers (Meles leucurus) from Gangwon State, Republic of Korea, between 2020 and 2025, and the diagnostic advantages of advanced imaging techniques. The first case involved a badger rescued from a trap with severe traumatic injuries that was subsequently euthanized. Postmortem examination revealed nematodes identified as Tetragomphius sp. within the pancreatic duct, alongside tumor-like nodular lesions in the pancreatic tail. These findings were critical for the second case, where a rescued badger with no overt clinical signs underwent computed tomography (CT) that revealed a pancreatic tail nodule and splenomegaly. Drawing on findings from the initial necropsy case, a parasitic etiology was tentatively diagnosed in a second live badger presenting with a similar pancreatic nodule. Follow-up CT indicated a significant reduction (approximately 75%) in lesion size, supporting a diagnosis of parasitic infection. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of a CT-based therapeutic diagnosis of pancreatic Tetragomphius infection in a live Asian badger. These cases demonstrate that pancreatic nodules in Asian badgers may result from parasitic infection rather than neoplasia and emphasize the integration of pathological precedent, advanced imaging, and therapeutic response in wildlife medicine.