Increase in number of helminth species from Dutch red foxes over a 35-year period.
BACKGROUND
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is host to a community of zoonotic and other helminth species. Tracking their community structure and dynamics over decades is one way to monitor the long term risk of parasitic infectious diseases relevant to public and veterinary health.


METHODS
We identified 17 helminth species from 136 foxes by mucosal scraping, centrifugal sedimentation/flotation and the washing and sieving technique. We applied rarefaction analysis to our samples and compared the resulting curve to the helminth community reported in literature 35 years ago.


RESULTS
Fox helminth species significantly increased in number in the last 35 years (p-value <0.025). Toxascaris leonina, Mesocestoides litteratus, Trichuris vulpis and Angiostrongylus vasorum are four new veterinary-relevant species. The zoonotic fox tapeworm (E. multilocularis) was found outside the previously described endemic regions in the Netherlands.


CONCLUSIONS
Helminth fauna in Dutch red foxes increased in biodiversity over the last three decades.
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, P,O, Box 1, Bilthoven, BA 3720, The Netherlands. frits.franssen@rivm.nl.
Frits
F
Franssen
Rolf
R
Nijsse
Jaap
J
Mulder
Herman
H
Cremers
Cecile
C
Dam
Katsuhisa
K
Takumi
Joke
J
van der Giessen
D000818:Animals; D005589:Foxes / Q000469:parasitology*; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000469:parasitology; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006376:Helminths / Q000145:classification*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors