Infectious canine hepatitis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the United Kingdom.

The pathological findings are described in three cases of infectious canine hepatitis in free-ranging red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in England. The foxes died after short periods of clinical illness. Mild jaundice and hepatic congestion were evident grossly. On histopathological examination, intranuclear inclusion bodies were visible in hepatocytes, in association with hepatocyte dissociation and necrosis, as well as in renal glomeruli, renal tubular epithelial cells and vascular endothelial cells. Canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1) was isolated from all three foxes. In a serological study, antibodies to CAV-1 were detected in tissue fluid extracts taken from 11 of 58 (19 per cent) frozen red fox carcases from England and Scotland.

Prevalence of zoonotic important parasites in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Great Britain.

A national necropsy survey of red foxes was carried out across Great Britain to record Echinococcus, Trichinella and Toxoplasma. The survey did not record directly, or indirectly using coproantigen/PCR tests, evidence for the presence of Echinococcus multilocularis in 588 animals, although E. granulosus was suspected in six animals. Parasitological evidence for Trichinella spp. could not be found in 587 fox muscle digests, and a specific PCR test also failed to detect Toxoplasma in a sub-set of 61 random fox tongue biopsies. The upper 95% confidence interval for the above parasites was 0.60% (E. multilocularis), 0.60% (Trichinella spp.) and 5.6% (Toxoplasma). The commonest gut parasites were the hookworm Uncinaria stenocephala (41.3%) and the ascarid Toxocara canis (61.6%). This study also reports the second occurrence of Trichuris vulpis in Great Britain.

Echinococcus granulosus infections of dogs in the Durazno region of Uruguay.

The prevalence and distribution of Echinococcus granulosus in domestic dogs was examined in three dog populations in the Durazno region of Uruguay. The prevalence was 19.7 per cent in 704 dogs successfully purged with arecoline hydrobromide. Higher prevalences were detected in dogs from the rural area (30.0 per cent) and the village of La Paloma (25.9 per cent) than in the town of Sarandi del Yi (7.9 per cent). The frequency distribution of E granulosus was overdispersed (k, the negative binomial parameter = 0.08), with only a few animals harbouring heavy infections. The results of a questionnaire showed that the prevalence was greatest in male dogs, in dogs that were not kennelled, in dogs that had access to fields and in dogs that were not dosed with praziquantel. Dogs that were given raw sheep offal by their owners were no more likely to be parasitised than other dogs; this may reflect the inaccuracy of the owners' replies, or that the dogs were being infected outside their home.

Immunological assessment of exposure to Echinococcus granulosus in a rural dog population in Uruguay.

An ELISA was used to screen a dog population in Uruguay (Sarandi Del Yi, Durazno District) for the prevalence of specific serum antibodies (IgG, IgA and IgE) to Echinococcus granulosus. The sensitivity (61%) and specificity (97%) of the ELISA were determined using well-defined serum groups. A total of 408 dogs from Sarandi del Yi and environs were screened serologically, and 29.7% (8.6-13.8% for each antibody class) of dogs had positive levels of antibody to E. granulosus. This antibody prevalence (exposure) was significantly higher than the percentage of dogs found to be positive for E. granulosus worms by arecoline purgation (7.6%). This level of exposure to E. granulosus determined by ELISA is considered unacceptable from a public health perspective. Measures will now focus on obtaining data on the true prevalence of current infection in this dog population and on determining the transmission patterns of the disease in this endemic region.

Worldwide prevalence of lentivirus infection in wild feline species: epidemiologic and phylogenetic aspects.

The natural occurrence of lentiviruses closely related to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in nondomestic felid species is shown here to be worldwide. Cross-reactive antibodies to FIV were common in several free-ranging populations of large cats, including East African lions and cheetahs of the Serengeti ecosystem and in puma (also called cougar or mountain lion) populations throughout North America. Infectious puma lentivirus (PLV) was isolated from several Florida panthers, a severely endangered relict puma subspecies inhabiting the Big Cypress Swamp and Everglades ecosystems in southern Florida. Phylogenetic analysis of PLV genomic sequences from disparate geographic isolates revealed appreciable divergence from domestic cat FIV sequences as well as between PLV sequences found in different North American locales. The level of sequence divergence between PLV and FIV was greater than the level of divergence between human and certain simian immunodeficiency viruses, suggesting that the transmission of FIV between feline species is infrequent and parallels in time the emergence of HIV from simian ancestors.