Canidae, Fischer, 1817

Holland, Celia V., 2023, A walk on the wild side: A review of the epidemiology of Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati in wild hosts, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 22, pp. 216-228 : 217

2. Canidae as hosts for T. canis

T. canis is transmissible to wild canids as a result of ingestion of embryonated eggs from the environment, transplacental transmission of reactivated somatic larvae and the consumption of paratenic hosts mainly small rodents and birds ( Otranto and Deplazes, 2019), although the relative importance of such routes will obviously vary by host species.

A total of 19 species of canids have been shown to act as definitive hosts for T. canis (see Table 1 and Table S1) with one species, the crab-eating fox, described as harbouring eggs identified only to the generic level as Toxocara spp. On the basis of the numbers of papers listed in Table S1 (Supplementary material), the top three species are described in more detail in the text and in Tables 2–4 – the Red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), the European wolf ( Canis lupus) and the golden jackal ( Canis aureus). The raccoon dog ( Nyctereutes procynoides ) has also be included as an example of an invasive canid species.