title: High infection rate of zoonotic Eucoleus aerophilus infection in foxes from Serbia.
abstract: The respiratory capillariid nematode Eucoleus aerophilus (Creplin, 1839) infects wild and domestic carnivores and, occasionally, humans. Thus far, a dozen of human infections have been published in the literature but it cannot be ruled out that lung capillariosis is underdiagnosed in human medicine. Also, the apparent spreading of E. aerophilus in different geographic areas spurs new studies on the epidemiology of this nematode. After the recognition of the first human case of E. aerophilus infection in Serbia, there is a significant merit in enhancing knowledge on the distribution of the nematode. In the present work the infection rate of pulmonary capillariosis was investigated in 70 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from the northern part of Serbia by autopsy. The estimated infection rate with Eucoleus aerophilus was 84%. In contrast, by copromicroscopic examination only 38% of foxes were positive. In addition, 10 foxes were investigated for the closely related species in nasal cavity, Eucoleus boehmi, and nine were positive. Our study demonstrates one of the highest infection rates of pulmonary capillariosis in foxes over the world.
authors: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.
authors: Vesna
authors: V
authors: Lalošević
authors: Dušan
authors: D
authors: Lalošević
authors: Ivan
authors: I
authors: Capo
authors: Verica
authors: V
authors: Simin
authors: Annamaria
authors: A
authors: Galfi
authors: Donato
authors: D
authors: Traversa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005589:Foxes / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000469:parasitology; D009348:Nematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015995:Prevalence; D055771:Serbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012744:Sex Ratio; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology