Monitoring of environmental contamination by Echinococcus multilocularis in an urban fringe forest park in Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis environmental contamination in an urban fringe-the Nopporo forest park of Sapporo city, Hokkaido, Japan. A secondary aim was to determine possible transmission risks areas by associating percentage occurrence of E. multilocularis-positive faeces with the different land-use classes. Methods Wild fox faeces collected from the environment were examined by intravital methods, such as the taeniid egg sucrose floatation technique, E. multilocularis coproantigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent analysis and DNA test of taeniid eggs by PCR. Geospatial maps produced by the Global Positioning System and Landsat data were analysed using geographic information system software to determine the association between percentage occurrences of E. multilocularis-positive fox faeces and land-use classes. Results Our findings showed high prevalence rates in both E. multilocularis egg and coproantigen-positive faeces (16 and 49%, respectively) in the investigated urban fringe forest park. Data revealed that percentage occurrence of E. multilocularis-positive fox faeces was associated with land-use classes, such as forest and open field (P \ 0.05). Conclusions We conclude that Nopporo forest park in the urban fringe of Sapporo city, Hokkaido is a reservoir with a high prevalence of zoonotic infective agents for alveolar echinococcosis. Our findings suggest that interface habitats between forests or woodlands and open fields are indispensable for continued maintenance of the life-cycle of E. multilocularis and, as such, constitute high risk areas for echinococcosis transmission.

Detection of Echinococcus multilocularis in Carnivores in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran Using Mitochondrial DNA

“…In comparison to the prevalence of infection in foxes in Belgium (24.55%) [33], Switzerland (47%–67%) [26], Ukraine (36%) [34], Kyrgyzstan (64%) [35], and Japan (49%) [36], it is assumed that Razavi Khorasan Province is hyperendemic for this tapeworm.…”

Environmental changes impacting Echinococcus transmission: research to support predictive surveillance and control

“…The prevalence of E. multilocularis infection in foxes is linked to their feeding habits, which are influenced by the extent that these animals have adapted to the urban environment, with a decreasing gradient suggested from rural to periurban to urban areas (Reperant et al ., ; Giraudoux et al ., ; Lagapa et al ., ). Radio tracking of foxes revealed relatively small home ranges of urban foxes and a spatial separation between urban and rural foxes (Deplazes et al ., ).…”

Trophic ecology, behaviour and host population dynamics in Echinococcus multilocularis transmission

“…Additionally, a high spatial and temporal variability in dog faeces density was recorded in Asian study sites where pastoralism is the main activity (China, Kyrgyzstan), with a strong infection pressure in the vicinity of households (Vaniscotte et al, 2011;Van Kesteren et al, 2013). In urban and peri-urban settings, contrasting patterns of the impact of urbanisation level and habitat type on fox distribution or fox faeces density were recorded (Lagapa et al, 2009;Janko et al, 2011;Robardet et al, 2011), but few data are available to draw strong conclusions.…”

“…The Nopporo Forest Park (20.5 km 2 ) is located in the urban fringe of Sapporo city, 15 km away from the centre. Lagapa et al (2009) quantified the distribution of fox faeces in several habitats. The average percentage of copro-ELISA positive faeces was 49%, and faeces samples were mostly collected in forest (almost 60% of the total number of faeces found) and open-field (almost 40%), compared to building, ground, rice field and other habitats.…”