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A grid-cell based fecal sampling scheme reveals: land-use and altitude affect prevalence rates of Angiostrongylus vasorum and other parasites of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

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Abstract

In view of the role of foxes as a reservoir for Angiostrongylus vasorum, a nematode of the heart and lungs of dogs and foxes, its occurrence across Switzerland was investigated in foxes applying a standardized sampling scheme for fox fecal samples. In 72 study areas, which consisted of three 1-km2 grid cells, a total of 1481 samples were collected by walking transects following linear features in the terrain, and analyzed by a flotation-sieving method. The overall prevalence rate of A. vasorum in fecal samples was 8.8% (95% confidence interval, CI 7.4–10.3%), being significantly higher in the Swiss Plateau (11.4%, CI. 9.4–13.8%) compared with other bioregions, and more prevalent in areas with less than 50% of cultivated land (p = 0.043). Prevalence rates increased with decreasing altitudes being significantly higher below 400 m above sea level (20.6%, 95% CI 15.2–26.9%), while all samples collected above 900 m asl were negative. Eggs of Toxocara sp. (12.1%), Taeniidae (10.5%), Capillaria spp. (8.3%), Trichuris vulpis (5.5%), hookworms (5.3%), Toxascaris leonina (1.3%) and Strongyloides sp. (0.4%) were furthermore identified. Taeniid eggs were positively and Capillaria spp. negatively associated with the amount of cultivated land. The prevalence rates based on our fecal analyses were generally lower compared with previous studies from Switzerland which were based on fox necropsies. However, the grid cell–based sampling scheme with replicable transects for fox feces collection proved to be a suitable, non-invasive method for parasitic large-scale surveys providing information on the relative infectious pressure for the local dog population.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Jeannine Hauri, Lucia Kohler and Katharina Huggel for their support with laboratory work; Prof. Alexander Mathis and Dr. Felix Grimm for their advice regarding biomolecular issues; Dr. Iskender Ziadinov for his help with the fox sampling; and Dr. Ramon Eichenberger for support.

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  1. Daniel Hegglin and Manuela Schnyder contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland

    Barbara Koller, Daniel Hegglin & Manuela Schnyder

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  1. Barbara Koller
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Correspondence to Manuela Schnyder.

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Koller, B., Hegglin, D. & Schnyder, M. A grid-cell based fecal sampling scheme reveals: land-use and altitude affect prevalence rates of Angiostrongylus vasorum and other parasites of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Parasitol Res 118, 2235–2245 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-019-06325-7

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