Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) as sentinels for parasitic zoonoses, Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella nativa, in the northeastern Canadian Arctic.

ABSTRACT: Outbreaks of Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp. have been recurring for decades among Inuit of Nunavik, northeastern Canada. Contact with wildlife has been identified as a risk factor for Inuit exposure to T. gondii, but reservoirs have yet to be confirmed based on direct detection of DNA or organism. Similarly, little is known about the occurrence of Trichinella spp. in wildlife species of Nunavik other than walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and bears (Ursus americanus, Ursus maritimus). Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were targeted as possible sentinels for T. gondii and Trichinella spp. because of their high trophic position within the Arctic food chain as carnivorous scavengers. A total of 39 red foxes were sampled from four communities

SUBMITTER: Nicholas B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6199765 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature