TY  - JOUR
T1  - Hyperplastic and Metaplastic Changes in the Bronchi and Bronchioles of Red Foxes (<I>Vulpes vulpes</I>) Naturally Infected with <I>Crenosoma vulpis</I> and <I>Eucoleus aerophilus</I>
AU - , Alicia M. Nevarez-Garza AU - , Alfonso Lopez AU - , Gary Conboy AU - , William Ireland 
JO  - Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances
VL  - 7
IS  - 10
SP  - 1252
EP  - 1256
PY  - 2008
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1680-5593
DO  - javaa.2008.1252.1256
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2008.1252.1256
KW  - Bronchiolitis
KW  -bronchitis
KW  -chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
KW  -Crenosoma vulpis
KW  -Eucoleus aerophilus
KW  -foxes
KW  -goblet cell metaplasia
KW  -lungworm
AB  - <I>Crenosoma vulpis</I> and <I>Eucoleus aerophilus</I> are 2 important lung nematodes of wild and domestic carnivores. A recent report underscored the severity of bronchial gland hyperplasia and bronchiolar metaplasia in parasitized foxes. The objective of this study was to quantify the degree of bronchial gland hyperplasia and bronchiolar metaplasia in foxes naturally infected with <I>C. vulpis</I> and <I>E. aerophilu</I>s. Fifty-one trapped wild foxes and 12 farmed foxes were necropsied and 6 lung sites were processed for histopathological examination. The degree of bronchial gland hyperplasia was evaluated using the Reid index (bronchial gland to bronchial wall ratio) and the severity of goblet cell metaplasia was determined by morphometric analyses. None of the farmed foxes had microscopic evidence of nematodes in the lung, whereas evidence of<I> C. vulpis</I> and <I>E. aerophilu</I>s was detected in 66.6% (34/51) and 49% (25/51), respectively, of the wild foxes. Lungworms caused a significant increase in the Reid index with 2-fold increase in the size of bronchial glands. Bronchiolar goblet cell metaplasia was present in 60.7% (31/51) of foxes harboring <I> C.  vulpis </I> and  in  23.5%  (12/51)  of  those  with <I>E.  aerophilus</I>.  The  odds  ratio  for  bronchiolar goblet cell metaplasia was 16.0 (p&lt;0.001) for <I>C. vulpis</I>  and  9.0 (p&lt;0.001) for <I>E. aerophilus.</I> It was concluded that the severity of airway inflammation and bronchiolar obstruction in foxes parasitized with <I>C. vulpis</I> and <I>E. aerophilus</I> is similar to that reported in humans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The clinical significance of airway changes in apparently healthy wild foxes needs to be investigated.
ER  -