A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis

Abstract Between October 2018 and December 2020, an opportunistic collection of tissues from 218 foxes was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) in this species. A pooled sample of lymph nodes, lung and other tissues from each fox, was cultured for the presence o...

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Main Authors: Denise Murphy, William FitzGerald, Guy McGrath, Catherine Swan, Kevin Kenny
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-03-01
Series:Irish Veterinary Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-025-00295-2
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author Denise Murphy
William FitzGerald
Guy McGrath
Catherine Swan
Kevin Kenny
author_facet Denise Murphy
William FitzGerald
Guy McGrath
Catherine Swan
Kevin Kenny
author_sort Denise Murphy
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Between October 2018 and December 2020, an opportunistic collection of tissues from 218 foxes was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) in this species. A pooled sample of lymph nodes, lung and other tissues from each fox, was cultured for the presence of M. bovis. The organism was not isolated from any fox samples, but non-tuberculous mycobacteria were recovered from 20 foxes. These results suggest that it is unlikely that foxes represent a significant wildlife source of M. bovis in Ireland.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2046-0481
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series Irish Veterinary Journal
spelling doaj-art-2422202cbe474cc09cfe4f55b19217ec2025-08-20T03:41:49ZengBMCIrish Veterinary Journal2046-04812025-03-017811510.1186/s13620-025-00295-2A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovisDenise Murphy0William FitzGerald1Guy McGrath2Catherine Swan3Kevin Kenny4Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Athlone Regional Veterinary LaboratoryDepartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Backweston CampusCentre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, University College DublinDepartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Laboratories, Backweston CampusDepartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Laboratories, Backweston CampusAbstract Between October 2018 and December 2020, an opportunistic collection of tissues from 218 foxes was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) in this species. A pooled sample of lymph nodes, lung and other tissues from each fox, was cultured for the presence of M. bovis. The organism was not isolated from any fox samples, but non-tuberculous mycobacteria were recovered from 20 foxes. These results suggest that it is unlikely that foxes represent a significant wildlife source of M. bovis in Ireland.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-025-00295-2Mycobacterium bovisIrelandRed foxBovine tuberculosisWildlife risk
spellingShingle Denise Murphy
William FitzGerald
Guy McGrath
Catherine Swan
Kevin Kenny
A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis
Irish Veterinary Journal
Mycobacterium bovis
Ireland
Red fox
Bovine tuberculosis
Wildlife risk
title A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis
title_full A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis
title_fullStr A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis
title_full_unstemmed A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis
title_short A survey of Irish red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to establish the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis
title_sort survey of irish red foxes vulpes vulpes to establish the prevalence of mycobacterium bovis
topic Mycobacterium bovis
Ireland
Red fox
Bovine tuberculosis
Wildlife risk
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-025-00295-2
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