First report of Trichinella pseudospiralis in a red fox in mainland Britain

- Active surveillance of red foxes for Trichinella has been undertaken in mainland Britain since 1999 with all samples testing negative.
- In December 2013, for the first time under the surveillance programme, a batch tested positive for Trichinella.
- The isolated larvae were identified as Trichinella pseudospiralis.
- This is the first report of T. pseudospiralis in Great Britain.

Active surveillance of red foxes for Trichinella has been undertaken in mainland Britain since 1999. Post-mortems are carried out, followed by a magnetic stirrer method for sample digestion based on European Commission (EC) Regulation 216/2014 (which amends 2075/2005). Initially samples are tested in batches of 20 foxes and in December 2013, for the first time under the surveillance programme, a batch tested positive for Trichinella at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, York. Further individual tests identified one infected fox, from the Bristol area. The larvae were identified as Trichinella pseudospiralis. This is the first report of T. pseudospiralis in Great Britain and suggests the possibility of a cycle of infection existing in wildlife.