Parasitic zoonotic nematodes of the genus Trichinella circulate in wildlife and domestic hosts worldwide through the ingestion of infected meat. Due to their role as scavengers and predators in terrestrial and marine arctic ecosystems, Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are ideal sentinels for the detection of Trichinella spp. In this study, we determined the prevalence, larval intensity, and species of Trichinella from 91 trapped Arctic foxes collected around the northern Canadian communities of Sachs Harbour (Ikaahuk) on Banks Island (n = 23), and Ulukhaktok and Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktutiak) on Victoria Island (n = 68). Using pepsin-HCl digestion, larvae of Trichinella spp. were recovered from the left forelimb muscle (flexor carpi ulnaris) in 19 of the 91 foxes (21% prevalence, 95% CI: 14–30%). For the first time in Arctic foxes in Canada, Trichinella species were identified using multiplex PCR that was followed up with PCR-RFLP to distinguish between T. nativa and T. chanchalensis. All infected foxes harbored T. nativa, and one fox was co-infected with Trichinella T6; the latter is a new host record. Age of the fox was significantly associated with Trichinella spp. infection and the odds of being infected were three times higher in foxes ≥2 years of age (p = 0.026), indicating cumulative exposure with age. While Arctic foxes are seldom harvested for human consumption, they serve as sentinel hosts of Trichinella spp., confirming the presence of the parasite in wildlife in the region.

旋毛虫属的寄生性人畜共患线虫通过摄入被感染的肉类在全世界的野生动植物和家中传播。由于它们在陆地和海洋北极生态系统中起着清除剂和捕食者的作用，因此，北极狐（Vulpes lagopus）是检测旋毛虫的理想前哨。在这项研究中，我们确定的流行，幼虫强度，种旋毛虫从91被困北极狐周围班克斯岛（N = 23），和Ulukhaktok和剑桥湾萨克斯港（Ikaahuk）的加拿大北部社区收集（Ikaluktutiak）在维多利亚岛（n = 68）。用胃蛋白酶-HCl消化，旋毛虫的幼虫spp。在91只狐狸中，有19只狐狸从左前肢肌肉（尺屈腕）中恢复（患病率21％，95％CI：14-30％）。在加拿大的北极狐中，首次使用多重PCR鉴定了旋毛虫物种，随后通过PCR-RFLP区分了纳豆和香椿。所有被感染的狐狸都藏有纳豆，并且一只狐狸被旋毛虫T6共同感染。后者是新的主机记录。狐狸的年龄与旋毛虫显着相关spp。≥2岁的狐狸的感染率和被感染的几率要高出三倍（p = 0.026），表明随着年龄的增长暴露量不断增加。虽然很少收集北极狐供人类食用，但它们是旋毛虫属的定点寄主，证实了该地区野生生物中存在这种寄生虫。