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Crenosoma vulpis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Northern Italy

  • Helminthology - Short Communication
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Abstract

Crenosoma vulpis, the fox lungworm, is a nematode parasite of wild and domestic canids belonging to the super-family Metastrongyloidea. A survey of infection was carried out examining 88 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) obtained during the regular hunting season (2014–2015) from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Carcasses were stored frozen (− 21 °C) prior to necropsy. Lungs were examined for the presence of adult worms by dissection of the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles, and then the lung tissue was examined for first-stage larvae (L1) by the Baermann method. No adult stages were detected, but L1, identified based on morphology as Crenosoma vulpis, were recovered from 28.4% (25/88) of the fox lungs. No significant differences in infection were found based on sex or geographical distribution. A brief review on C. vulpis report in red foxes in Italy and other European countries was also carried out.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064, Ozzano Emilia, BO, Italy

    Benedetto Morandi, Sofia Bertaso, Andrea Gustinelli, Roberta Galuppi & Giovanni Poglayen

  2. Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, C1A 4P3, Canada

    Gary Conboy

  3. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”(IZSLER), sez. Forlì, Via don E. Servadei 3E/3F, 47122, Forlì, Italy

    Giovanni Tosi

Authors
  1. Benedetto Morandi
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  2. Sofia Bertaso
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  3. Gary Conboy
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  4. Andrea Gustinelli
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  5. Roberta Galuppi
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  6. Giovanni Tosi
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  7. Giovanni Poglayen
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Correspondence to Benedetto Morandi.

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Morandi, B., Bertaso, S., Conboy, G. et al. Crenosoma vulpis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Northern Italy. Parasitol Res 118, 1981–1985 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06272-3

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