title: Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) cannibalistic behaviour and the prevalence of Trichinella britovi in NW Italian Alps.
abstract: Food habits of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) were studied in the Aosta Valley region (NW Italian Alps) and were related to the prevalence of Trichinella infection in the red fox itself and in two Mustelid species (the stone marten (Martes foina) and the badger (Meles meles)). The search of Trichinella by the automatic digestion of muscles samples led us to determine a prevalence of 3.5+/-1.2% in red foxes, 7.9+/-4.3% in stone martens and 1.9+/-1.8% in badgers, with no significant differences among the species. All larvae were identified as Trichinella britovi. The fox diet was assessed through the analysis of both faeces (n=180) and the stomach contents of road-killed animals (n=109). Our results confirmed the opportunistic feeding behaviour of the red fox, which is able to use various trophic resources, both of animal and vegetal origin: e.g. wild and cultivated fruits (F%=47.1; V%=67.3), rodents (F%=22.8; V%=64.8) and carrion (F%=15.6; V%=78.6) formed the bulk of the fox's diet. The frequency of occurrence of potential events of cannibalism was 1.0%, even if the complete absence of undigested remains, other than hairs, suggested the possibility of confusing cannibalism with coat-cleaning. We suggest that intra-specific necrophagy could not represent the unique way of transmission of the nematode in natural conditions.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Piemonte Liguria, Valle d'Aosta, Aosta Unit, Ce.R.M.A.S. National Reference Centre for Wild Animal Diseases, Via Guido Rey, 5, 11100 Aosta, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Remonti
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balestrieri
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Domenis
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Banchi
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lo Valvo
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robetto
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orusa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002190:Cannibalism; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D017753:Ecosystem; D005243:Feces; D005589:Foxes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007814:Larva; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D009132:Muscles / Q000469:parasitology; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000469:parasitology; D015995:Prevalence; D013045:Species Specificity; D013270:Stomach; D014234:Trichinella / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014235:Trichinellosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*