Introduction

Red foxes are one of the most abundant wild carnivores of Iran which have the ability to adopt a variety of habitats and human proximity. Despite this, very few investigations on their helminth and none on their external parasites infections have been carried out in Iran.

Methods

In September 2013, two red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) that had died from car accident in Zabol city, Iran were transported to veterinary clinic. Then during necropsy, they examined for helminth and ectoparasite infections. The nematodes were cleared in lactophenol and the cestodes were stained using acetocarmine for identification of the species.

Results

Ectoparasites which were detected included: fleas (Ctenocephalides canis, Pulex irritans) and ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus). Helminthes which were detected included: cestodes (Dipylidium caninum) and nematodes (Toxocara canis, Physaloptera spp., Trichuris spp., Toxascaris leonina). No trematode nor Acanthocephala was detected. The numbers of detected cestodes and nematodes were 7 and 15, respectively.

Conclusions

This is the first report of parasitic infections in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Zabol city, Iran.