Multivariable Spatial Analysis of the Ecological Factors Associated with Feces Count of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Nemuro, Hokkaido

摘要

Human alveolar echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with Echinococcus multilocularis via ingestion of the eggs. The eggs are contained in the feces of the definitive host, red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the disease is endemic in Hokkaido, Japan, Anthelmintic baits against the parasites in red foxes are distributed at regular intervals for the prevention of human infection. It is important to understand fox population and the environments where foxes defecate for both the quantification of the risk for human infection and the health governance. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the ecological conditions that foxes tend to defecate.