title: Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and wild dogs (dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) and dingo/domestic dog hybrids), as sylvatic hosts for Australian Taenia hydatigena and Taenia ovis.
abstract: Foxes (n = 499), shot during vertebrate pest control programs, were collected in various sites in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australia (WA). Wild dogs (dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) and their hybrids with domestic dogs) (n = 52) captured also as part of vertebrate pest control programs were collected from several sites in the ACT and NSW. The intestine from each fox and wild dog was collected, and all Taenia tapeworms identified morphologically were collected and identified to species based on the DNA sequence of the small subunit of the mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rrnS) gene. Taenia species were recovered from 6.0% of the ACT/NSW foxes, 5.1% of WA foxes and 46.1% of ACT/NSW wild dogs. Taenia ovis was recovered from two foxes, 1/80 from Jugiong, NSW and 1/102 from Katanning, WA. We confirm from rrnS sequences the presence of T. ovis in cysts from hearts and diaphragms and T aenia hydatigena in cysts from livers of sheep in Australia. T. ovis was not recovered from any of the wild dogs examined but T. hydatigena were recovered from 4(8.3%) wild dogs and a single fox. With foxes identified as a definitive host for T. ovis in Australia, new control strategies to stop transmission of T. ovis to sheep need to be adopted.
authors.affiliation: School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
authors.forename: Nigel A R
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Urwin
authors.affiliation: School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
authors.forename: Kate L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
authors.forename: Jan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lievaart
authors.affiliation: Institute for Parasitology, Winterthurerstr 266a, University of Zürich, Zürich CH-8057, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Armua-Fernandez
keywords: Australia; Dingoes; Foxes; T. hydatigena; Taenia ovis