Angiostrongylus vasorumandCrenosoma vulpisin red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Newfoundland, Canada

Abstract

Angiostrongylus vasorum and Crenosoma vulpis infect the pulmonary arteries and airways, respectively, of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Both are widespread in Europe, but within North America, A. vasorum occurs only on the island of Newfoundland. During 2000–2002, 366 red fox carcasses were examined from six regions of Newfoundland for the purpose of determining the distribution of both parasites, effects on the condition of their host, and whether infection with one affects that of the other. Crenosoma vulpis occurred island-wide with a prevalence of 87% and mean (±SE) intensity of 230 ± 20.8. Young-of-the-year red foxes had more C. vulpis (260 ± 39.4) than yearlings (91 ± 31.2) or adults (78 ± 41.1) (χ2 = 25.72, df = 2, p < 0.001), and numbers of adult worm were weakly related to fecal output of first-stage larvae (r2 = 0.20, p < 0.001) but not to host sex or body-fat index. Angiostrongylus vasorum occurred only in southeast Newfoundland where prevalence was 56% and mean intensity was 72 ± 7.6. Its distribution may be limited by cold, as it was absent from areas with mean winter temperatures below –4 °C. Intensity of adult A. vasorum was not related to host age, sex, larval output, or measures of body condition. Although referred to as a heartworm, 88% of adult worms were actually found in the pulmonary arteries rather than in the right ventricle. Furthermore, there was no apparent association between infections with the two parasites (Gc[1] = 0.10) even though 40% of red foxes had dual infections.

Distribution of Crenosoma Vulpis and Eucoleus Aerophilus in the Lung of Free-Ranging Red Foxes (Vulpes Vulpes)

“…6,11 Crenosoma vulpis infects the bronchi, bronchioles, and trachea and is endemic in red fox populations in Europe and the northeastern parts of North America, particularly Atlantic Canada. 10,11,14,15,17 Recently, crenosomosis has also been recognized as an important cause of chronic respiratory disease in dogs in Atlantic Canada. 1,5 Little is known concerning the pathogenicity of C.…”

Pathological Findings in Dogs Naturally Infected with Angiostrongylus Vasorum in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

“…29 More recent studies indicate a relatively high infection rate in foxes limited to the southeastern part of the island of Newfoundland, specifically in the Avalon and Burin Peninsulas and along the eastern coast from Hamilton to Bonavista Peninsula. 14 Since 1996, dogs from this area have been diagnosed with angiostrongylosis with increasing frequency via fecal examination using the Baermann technique or at postmortem. 5,9 The purpose of this report is to describe the pathological findings in a group of dogs naturally infected with A. vasorum from this relatively new North American endemic focus.…”

Detection of Angiostrongylus vasorum in Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Brandenburg, Germany

“…Red foxes (n = 399) from the Iberian peninsula were investigated before, with a mean prevalence of 17.5 % of A. vasorum infection varying in 5 geographical areas from 3.8 % in Andorra with a high-mountain climate to 36 % on the Cantabrian coast with a maritime climate (Segovia et al 2004). Climate seems to play an important role in parasite distribution, as also seen in Canada, where A. vasorum is only found in the south-eastern area of Newfoundland with a mean winter temperature above -4 °C, whereas Crenosoma vulpis occurs island-wide (Jeffery et al 2004). Those two areas were used by Morgan et al (2009) .…”

“…Expansion is, however, occurring from these foci into regions that were formerly not endemic, as seen in Great Britain, where new cases have evolved in dogs from Scotland (Helm et al 2009) and northern England (Yamakawa et al 2009) as well as in foxes from Scotland (Philbey and Delgado 2013). An important endemic focus outside of Europe is the Canadian province of Newfoundland-Labrador, where 56 % of red foxes were found to be infected with A. vasorum of European origin (Jeffery et al 2004;Jefferies et al 2010). A. vasorum needs gastropods (slugs and snails) as intermediate hosts to maintain its indirect life cycle.…”