Endoparasites of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Central Italy

Abstract

A parasitologic study on 129 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Tuscany (central Italy) was carried out in 2004-2006. Five intestinal species were found at necropsy: Dipylidium caninum (prevalence 57.3%), Mesocestoides lineatus (45.4%), Uncinaria stenocephala (39.1%), Toxocara canis (9.1%), and Toxascaris leonina (5.4%). Other parasites not associated with the intestine included Crenosoma vulpis (14.7%), Capillaria aerophila (7.0%), Angiostrongylus vasorum (7.0%), and filarial parasites (17.8%). Coprologic tests were less sensitive and less specific in identifying parasites than direct examinations at necropsy. Trichinella larvae were not found in muscles submitted to artificial digestion. By immunologic assay, antigens of Echinococcus spp. were detected in fecal samples of 20 foxes, but results could not be confirmed by fecal examination or molecular tests.

Helminth parasites of the red foxVulpes vulpes(L., 1758) and the wolfCanis lupus italicusAltobello, 1921 in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

“…The mean intensity recovered was the highest among tapeworms (91.7; Table I), as already reported by other authors (e.g. Segovia et al 2004;Saeed et al 2006;Magi et al 2009Magi et al , 2016. Curiously, another fox had several tetrathyridia encysted in the hepatic parenchyma, mainly under the gallbladder; no mature tapeworms were recovered in the small intestine.…”

“…Guberti & Poglayen 1991: P = 46.4%, MI = 5.7 of 153 foxes; Manfredi et al 2003: P = 56.1% of 42 foxes). Differently from Soldati et al (1976), Magi et al (2009Magi et al ( , 2016 and Capelli et al (2003), we couldn't find any Toxascaris leonina. This actually agrees with most studies on helminths of foxes, in which a higher prevalence of T. canis was usually reported (LoosFrank & Zeyhle 1982;Richards et al 1995;Vervaeke et al 2005;Al-Sabi et al 2014).…”

“…More recently, Ferroglio et al (2012) described the infection in a dog from Aosta Valley. We did not find any other reports of this trematode in several parasitological surveys on Italian foxes (Soldati et al 1976;Rossi et al 1983;Poglayen et al 1985;Leoni et al 1986;Iori et al Guberti & Poglayen 1991;Capelli et al 2003;Manfredi et al 2003;Di Cerbo et al 2008;Magi et al 2009Magi et al , 2016. In the present study, the infection was observed in only three foxes (prevalence 5.3%; Table I), all living in lowlands rich in humid areas and channels, a suitable environment for the lifecycle development of the parasite ( Figure 2).…”

“…It has been found also in red foxes from Portugal (Carvalho-Varela & Marcos 1993: P = 11.8% of 306 foxes; Eira et al 2006: P = 3.2% of 62 foxes), Spain (Gortázar et al 1998: P = 12.7% of 415 foxes; Segovia et al 2004: P = 0.2% of 399 foxes), Italy (Leoni et al 1986: P = 1.1% of 85 foxes; Magi et al 2009: P = 6.2% of 129 foxes) and in the Iberian wolf (Segovia et al 2001: P = 2.1% of 47 wolves). Since mosquitoes are biological vectors of the parasite, humid temperate habitats are most suitable for its diffusion (Gortázar et al 1998;Eira et al 2006;Martínez-Carrasco et al 2007).…”

Crenosoma vulpisinfection in a four-month old puppy

“…The scant number of reported cases has led practitioners to consider crenosomosis as a rare parasitic disease in dogs. C. vulpis is recognized as the primary cause of pulmonary infections in foxes (Magi et al, 2009), with 10.8 % of foxes scoring positive for this parasite in Great Britain (Taylor et al, 2015). This high prevalence in foxes may suggest that this animal species may act as a reservoir host for the infection of dogs living in the UK and that it may also be prevalent in dogs despite the low evidence in the UK (Cobb & Fisher, 1992;Reilly et al, 2000).…”