Giardia and Cryptosporidium in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes): Screening for coproantigens in a population of central Italy and mini-review of the literature
Roberto Amerigo Papini
*
,
Ranieri Verin
Abstract
Giardia and Cryptosporidium are common protozoan parasites affecting several animal species and humans. The aim of this survey was to investigate, for the first time, their prevalence in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) faecal samples in central Italy. Seventy-one red foxes of different ages and sexes were examined for antigenic detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in fecal samples by means of a commercial rapid immunochromatographic test. The sample was randomly selected from foxes culled during a population control program. They were divided into groups based on sex and age (≤1-year-old and >1-year-old). Five (7%) and one (1.4%) out of 71 fecal samples were positive for the Giardia or Cryptosporidium antigens by immunochromatographic assay, respectively, and no coinfections were observed. The present prevalence rates of Giardia and Cryptosporidium antigens in faeces from V. vulpes suggest that this host species is likely to play only a limited role in the spread of the two protozoa in the study area. A concise review of the literature related to Giardia and Cryptosporidium in V. vulpes is presented.
Keywords: Giardia, Cryptosporidium, coproantigens, red fox, Vulpes vulpes
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Copyright
© 2019 Papini R.A. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank all the hunters engaged in fox control program within the territorial hunting areas of the Pisa province, named ATC 14 and ATC 15, for allowing us to collect animal data and to sample culled red foxes.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation Information
Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 42, Issue 1, Pages 101-106, p-ISSN 1409-7621, e-ISSN 1857-7415, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2019-0013, 2019
10.2478/macvetrev-2019-0013
