The first report of Angiostrongylus vasorum (Nematoda; Metastrongyloidea) in Poland, in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Abstract

Angiostrongylus vasorum belongs to the superfamily of Metastrongyloidea. This nematode occurs in foxes, dogs and other predators. The Nematode A. vasorum place themselves in the pulmonary artery and its branches, and in the right ventricle and atrium of the heart. Numerous species of land snails are the intermediate hosts of the parasite. In 2013, lungs and hearts of 76 foxes shot in the Forest District Głęboki Bród in Augustowska Primeval Forest were parasitologically necropsied. Four of the examined foxes were infected with the nematode A. vasorum, a prevalence of 5.2%. In one fox pericardium there were 6 male and 6 female nematodes. In the remaining three foxes nematodes were localized in the pulmonary artery. In two foxes 2 specimens of nematodes were detected (male and female, and two females) while 1 female was detected in the other fox. This is the first report of the presence of the nematode A. vasorum in fox in Poland.