Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of urban and rural foxes around Melbourne, Australia
Bridget M. Graffeo, Ghazanfar Abbas, Charles Gauci, Kabir Brar, Leonardo Brustenga, Tharaka Liyanage, Megan Fisher, Jessica Haining, Jasmin Hufschmid, Ian Beveridge, Abdul Jabbar

TL;DR
This study found that most foxes in Melbourne are infected with parasites that could pose health risks to humans and pets.
Contribution
The study reports high helminth parasite prevalence in urban and rural foxes and identifies specific zoonotic risks.
Findings
92.2% of foxes had at least one gastrointestinal helminth parasite.
Common parasites included Toxocara canis, Uncinaria stenocephala, and Dipylidium caninum.
Parasite crossover between foxes, humans, and domestic animals poses a health risk.
Abstract
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is an introduced species to Australia whose population and spatial distribution have grown irreversibly. Due to their opportunistic feeding habits, extensive populations of foxes now inhabit urban and rural environments, where they coexist with humans and domesticated animals. The proximity of these predators presents public and animal health concerns as they harbour diseases that can cross between species. Accordingly, monitoring potential disease risk and prevalence in urban foxes is warranted. This study investigated the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in urban and rural foxes around Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gastrointestinal tracts of 51 opportunistically collected foxes were thoroughly examined to collect adult helminth (i.e., nematode and cestode) parasites from the stomach as well as from the small and large intestines. The results…
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Taxonomy
TopicsParasite Biology and Host Interactions · Helminth infection and control · Parasitic Infections and Diagnostics
