Trends in Parasitology
Wilderness in the city: the urbanization of Echinococcus multilocularis
Section snippets
The urban fox phenomenon
Red foxes living in urban areas have been known in Britain since the 1930s [12]. In the 1970s and 1980s, urban fox densities of up to five family groups per km2 were recorded. Because these observations were unique, urban foxes were initially thought to be an isolated British phenomenon 13, 14.
In the 1970s and 1980s, continental fox populations suffered heavily from a rabies epizootic, a zoonosis not present in the UK. Subsequently, fox populations decreased drastically. However, fox
Echinococcus multilocularis in urban settings
In the past five years, the occurrence of E. multilocularis in urban foxes has been reported from several European cities (e.g. Copenhagen [29], Geneva [30], Stuttgart [7] and Zürich [31]). To date, the urban transmission of E. multilocularis has been most comprehensively documented in Zürich. Over a period of 26 months (1996–1998), foxes were examined for intestinal infections with E. multilocularis and other helminths (Table 1). Seasonal differences in the prevalence of E. multilocularis were
Echinococcus multilocularis infection in domestic carnivores
The presence of an urban wildlife cycle of E. multilocularis is now documented in several European cities. Hence, there is an increasing risk of infection with E. multilocularis for domestic dogs and cats by preying on metacestode-infected rodents. Both dogs and cats can reach extremely high population densities in urban areas. According to the Zürich dog tax statistics, there are 0.7 dogs per ha and the cat population is estimated to be around three times higher. In Brooklyn, New York,
Options on control of AE in urban areas
The high prevalence of E. multilocularis in growing urban fox populations, the environmental contamination with eggs and the emerging public awareness concerning urban zoonoses could justify implementation of control strategies in the future. Apart from ongoing, carefully planned information campaigns about this zoonosis and its potential risks [45], research on possible control strategies is of major interest.
A reduction in the abundance of intermediate rodent hosts is very difficult and
Conclusions
On the basis of the high prevalence of E. multilocularis in the growing fox populations, the total biomass has probably increased significantly in the past 20 years in central Europe. As illustrated in Figure 5, various factors determine the degree of E. multilocularis egg contamination, which reaches a maximum in villages and urban peripheries where rural and urban habitats intersect. Because the public intensively uses these areas, they could play an important role for transmission of human
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the support of our research activities by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant no. 31–47031.96), the Swiss Federal Office of Veterinary Medicine, Berne, the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science (EU FAIR Projekt CT97–3515/BBW Nr. 97.0586), and the European Commission (Project Echinorisk, Contract QLK2-CT-2001–01995). We are grateful to Andreas König, Dorothea Thoma and Claude Fischer for the provision of unpublished observations.
References (60)
- et al.
Alveolar echinococcosis in humans: the current situation in Central Europe and the need for countermeasures
Parasitol. Today
(1999) An epidemiological and ecological study on human alveolar echinococcosis transmission in Gansu, China
Acta Trop.
(2000)Flexible spatial organization of urban foxes, Vulpes vulpes, before and during an outbreak of sarcoptic mange
Anim. Behav.
(2000)Assessment of the epidemiological status of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes in France using ELISA coprotests on fox faeces collected in the field
Int. J. Parasitol.
(2001)Time course of coproantigen excretion in Echinococcus multilocularis infections in foxes and an alternative definitive host, golden hamsters
Int. J. Parasitol.
(1996)Echinococcus multilocularis in domestic cats in France. A potential risk factor for alveolar hydatid disease contamination in humans
Vet. Parasitol.
(2000)- et al.
Veterinary aspects of alveolar echinococcosis – a zoonosis of public health significance
Vet. Parasitol.
(2001) Improvement of a polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of Echinococcus multilocularis DNA in faecal samples of foxes
Vet. Parasitol.
(1996)Life cycles of Echinococcus multilocularis in relation to human infection
J. Parasitol.
(1991)Epidemiology and control of hydatid disease
Geographic distribution and prevalence
Echinococcus multilocularis in animal hosts: new data from western Europe
Helminthologia
Echinococcus multilocularis: an emerging pathogen in Hungary and Central Eastern Europe?
Emerg. Infect. Dis.
Role of rabies in recent demographic changes in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations in Europe
Mammalia
The final phase of the rabies epizootic in Switzerland
Schweiz. Arch. Tierheilkd.
The rise of urban fox populations in Switzerland
Mamm. Biol.
A discriminant analysis of the current distribution of urban foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Britain
J. Anim. Ecol.
Distribution, habitat utilization and age structure of a suburban fox (Vulpes vulpes) population
Mamm. Rev.
The distribution and ecology of foxes, Vulpes vulpes (L.), in urban areas
Reproductive-performance of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 1987–1992
Mamm. Biol.
Oral immunization of wildlife against rabies: concept and first field experiments
Rev. Infect. Dis.
Urban fox population in Oslo
Revue d'Ecologie
The food of rural and suburban woodland foxes Vulpes vulpes in Denmark
Nat. Jutl.
Home ranges, movements and habitat associations of red foxes Vulpes vulpes in suburban Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Can. J. Zool.
Preliminary study of the role of red foxes in Echinococcus multilocularis transmission in the urban area of Sapporo, Japan
Parasitology
Drifting territoriality in the red fox Vulpes vulpes
J. Anim. Ecol.
Dispersal distance, home-range size and population density in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes): a quantitative analysis
J. Appl. Ecol.
Comparison of heavy metal concentrations in tissues of red foxes from adjacent urban, suburban, and rural areas
Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.
Cited by (390)
Control of companion animal parasites and impact on One Health
2024, One HealthEchinococcus species in wildlife
2024, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and WildlifeExposure assessment of anticoagulant rodenticides in the liver of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Slovenia
2024, Science of the Total EnvironmentMultiscale ecological drivers of Echinococcus multilocularis spatial distribution in wild hosts: A systematic review
2024, Food and Waterborne ParasitologyUnusual parasitoses in urban dogs: Urinary capillariosis and linguatulosis, cases report
2024, Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports