A survey for Toxoplasma gondii in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) from Finnmark County, Norway

Samples (blood or tissue fluid) from 405 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Finnmark, Northern Norway, were assayed for antibodies against T. gondii using the direct agglutination test (DAT). The proportion of seropositive animals was 42.5 %, with no significant relationship between sex and infection. The proportion of seropositives seemed to increase with age, in agreement with findings in previous studies in other species. Genotyping of brain tissue by PCR was not successful what concerned T. gondii genomic DNA. This first report of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Norwegian red foxes from Finnmark County indicates that T. gondii is fairly common in red foxes from this area, and the high seroprevalence might be explained by widespread of the parasite in the diet of the foxes. This implies that the red fox is a host of significance in the maintaining of T. gondii in this northern region.