COPROANTIGEN DETECTION IN A SURVEY OF ECHINOCOCCUS-MULTILOCULARIS INFECTION AMONG RED FOXES, VULPES-VULPES SCHRENCKI, IN HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

Detection of Echinococcus coproantigen using sandwich enzyme-linked im munosorbent assay (sELISA) was performed on fecal samples of red foxes in Hokkaido, Japan. Fecal samples were collected around fox dens in 1 990 and 1992. The antibodies used for sELISA recognize heat-resistant antigens, thus all fecal samples were heated to render it safe for han dling before examination. Detection of taeniid egg in fox feces collec ted was considered as an indication of E. multilocularis infection. In fecal samples collected in 1990 and 1992, coproantigen positive resul ts out of taeniid-egg positive cases were 38/40 (95.0%) and 95/97 (97. 9%), respectively. In addition, coproantigen was detected regardless o f fecal condition when collected from the field, suggesting that the a ntigens detected by this method are quite stable. These results sugges t that detection of coproantigen is useful for field surveys of foxes naturally infected with E. multilocularis.