Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1980

Thesis Director

Richard D. Andrews

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Abstract

The heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, is widespread in dogs in North America and has been reported in wild canids in many states. This is a report of this parasite in hearts removed from coyote, red fox and gray fox carcasses collected in Illinois. A total of 415 coyotes had a significantly higher infection rate (23.6%) than 225 red foxes (3.6%) and 99 gray foxes (3.0%). Infection rates in red foxes and coyotes were significantly higher in or near the Wabash Border Natural Division along the eastern side of the state, suggesting a relationship between infection rates and this region. The mean number of worms in coyotes (8.1), red foxes (6.8) and gray foxes (1.3) did not differ significantly. Coyotes supported a maximum of 52 worms; red foxes, 21 worms; and gray foxes, 2 worms. An exponential decrease in the number of infected coyotes was noted as worm loads increased; 56.5% of 85 infections consisted of one to four worms, while only 16.5% of the infections had 15 or more worms. The percentage of the coyote sample with the potential to provide microfilariae to vectors (13.1%), based on the presence of both male and female worms, was significantly greater than the same parameter for both red foxes (1.3%) and gray foxes (1.0%).

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