Micro-Epidemiological Investigation of Echinococcus multilocularis in Wild Hosts from an Endemic Area of Southwestern Hungary

Abstract

Echinococcus multilocularis is a tapeworm causing severe zoonotic disease in temperate Europe. Between 2018 and 2020, 68 golden jackals and 94 red foxes were investigated to determine the prevalence of E. multilocularis infection and its driving factors. The overall prevalence (golden jackal: 41.2%; red fox: 12.5%) significantly differed, whereas the mean intensities did not. The spatial scan statistics revealed three significant clusters of E. multilocularis infection. The binary logistic and ordinal regression results revealed that the golden jackal is more likely to become infected than the red fox, and the probability of infection level was also higher in jackals. Our findings highlight the golden jackal’s role, which could be as important as the red fox in the spread of this severe zoonotic agent. This micro-epidemiological approach can advance the knowledge on local drivers which facilitate the spread of E. multilocularis and could cause a relevant public health problem on the continent.

Emergence of Echinococcus multilocularis in Central Continental Croatia: A Human Case Series and Update on Prevalence in Foxes

“…As in Croatia, in the neighboring countries, a rise in E. multilocularis infection prevalence among red foxes has been observed: in Slovenia, it increased from 2.6% (2010) [ 13 ] to 29.1% (2019–2022) [ 14 ]. In Hungary, the mean prevalence of red foxes gradually increased, and it was 5%, 10.7%, 7.9%, and 12.5% in 2002, 2008–2009, 2012–2013, and 2018–2020, respectively [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. In the Vojvodina Province of Serbia, a prevalence of 17.9% was recorded in 2016 [ 18 ].…”