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On the Move? E chinococcus multilocularis in Red Foxes of Saxony‐Anhalt ( G ermany)
Author(s) -
Denzin N.,
Schliephake A.,
Fröhlich A.,
Ziller M.,
Conraths F. J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
transboundary and emerging diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.392
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1865-1682
pISSN - 1865-1674
DOI - 10.1111/tbed.12026
Subject(s) - echinococcus multilocularis , vulpes , alveolar echinococcosis , biology , veterinary medicine , echinococcosis , parasite hosting , geography , zoology , ecology , medicine , predation , world wide web , computer science
Summary Echinococcus multilocularis is a cestode parasites that frequently occurs in the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), which is the main definitive host in Central Europe. The parasite may infect humans as accidental intermediate hosts and cause alveolar echinococcosis. In the German federal state of Saxony‐Anhalt, the occurrence of E. multilocularis in red foxes as a possible source of infection for humans was studied from 1998 to 2010. A significant shift in the geographical centroid of the occurrence of E. multilocularis from a long‐known highly endemic area in the southwest of the state towards the north‐northeast (3.2 km/year) was found. The overall prevalence in the state increased significantly from 13.6% (1998–2005) to 23.4% (2006–2010). No autochthonous cases of alveolar echinococcosis have been reported to date in Saxony‐Anhalt, but this might change in the near future with the spread and increasing biomass of the parasite.