Introduction: Foxes are hosts of a range of zoonotic parasites including Echinococcus multilocularis, Toxocara canis and Trichinella spp. Vulpine trichinellosis has long been known in Austria, but generally at low prevalence. This study presents prevalence data from endemic areas of Trichinella infections in foxes. Materials and methods: Masseter and tongue samples from 1,546 foxes with known origin (sample coordinates from the provinces of Carinthia [n=401], Salzburg [108], Styria [493], Tyrol [395] and Vorarlberg [149] were determined by Geographic Information System), sent to the State Veterinary Laboratory in Moedling for rabies testing, were examined for Trichinella with the compression technique. Positive samples were evaluated quantitatively by digestion and differentiated by PCR. Results: 24 foxes (1.55 %) were positive (Carinthia: 1.52 Salzburg: 2.77 %, Styria: 1.62 %, the Tyrols: 1.26 Vorarlberg: 1.44 %). In addition to the formerly known distribution of vulpine trichinellosis, positive animals were also found close to the border to Slovenia. Highest numbers of larval per gram muscle tissue (Ipg) were found in the tongues (1-257 Ipg compared to 0-43 Ipg in masseter muscle tissue). Molecular, differentiation identified all samples as T britovi. Conclusion: Detection of larvae is more sensitive in tongue samples than in masseter muscle and can conveniently be done alongside with the rabies testing. Samples should be examined from single animals, not pooled, since this can decrease the sensitivity of the test. Although the observed prevalence of Trichinella in foxes is most likely underestimated due to the low sensitivity of the compression technique, it is at a low level, comparable to other endemic areas, and appears to be stable, especially in Carinthia and Styria. In remote areas, the parasites' life cycle is obviously maintained in the fox population. Since transmission from wildlife to domestic pigs has been reported for T britovi (the species identified in this study), its occurrence in wildlife must be taken as an indicator of a potential risk for human infections.
