The prevalence of intestinal nematodes among red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in north-western Poland

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and Australia. The presence of nematode-infected foxes in urbanized areas increases the risk of transmission of nematodes to domestic dogs and thus, to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and speci...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta veterinaria scandinavica 2021-05, Vol.63 (1), p.19-19, Article 19
Main Authors: Tylkowska, Agnieszka, Pilarczyk, Bogumiła, Tomza-Marciniak, Agnieszka, Pilarczyk, Renata
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Casualties
Domestic animals
Ecological indicators
Females
Foxes
Helminths
Infections
Intestine
Large intestine
Males
Murder
Nematoda
Nematodes
Prevalence
Red fox
Small intestine
Species composition
Vulpes vulpes
Zoonoses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and Australia. The presence of nematode-infected foxes in urbanized areas increases the risk of transmission of nematodes to domestic dogs and thus, to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and species composition of intestinal nematodiasis in red foxes in Western Pomerania, a province in north-western Poland. The intestinal contents of 620 red foxes killed during a government reduction shooting programme were examined for adult nematodes using the sedimentation and counting technique (SCT). Intestinal nematodes, including Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina, Uncinaria stenocephala and Trichuris vulpis, were found in 77.3% (95% CI 73.8-80.4%) of the examined foxes with a mean infection burden of 20.1 nematode per animal. Male and female foxes had similar infection burdens. The nematodes are present in high prevalence and intensity among foxes in north-western Poland. Furthermore, this high prevalence of nematodes in foxes may likely constitute a health risk to humans and domestic animals due to increasing fox densities in urban and periurban areas.
ISSN:1751-0147
0044-605X
1751-0147
DOI:10.1186/s13028-021-00584-0