Evidence of Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) Survival Following Exposure to Rabies Virus

Stacey A Elmore; Christine Fehlner-Gardiner; Émilie Bouchard; Gustaf Samelius; Ray T Alisauskas; Kathryn P Huyvaert; Richard B Chipman; Emily J Jenkins; Amy T Gilbert

doi:10.7589/JWD-D-21-00071

Evidence of Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) Survival Following Exposure to Rabies Virus

J Wildl Dis. 2022 Jan 1;58(1):241-244. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-21-00071.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1474, USA.
² US Department of Agriculture, National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA.
³ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1256 Military Drive, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada.
⁴ Centre of Expertise for Rabies, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 3851 Fallowfield Road, PO Box 11300, Station H, Ottawa, Ontario K2H 8P9, Canada.
⁵ Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4, Canada.
⁶ Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N, Suite 325, Seattle, Washington 98103, USA.
⁷ Northern and Prairie Research Center, Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 115 Perimeter Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X4, Canada.
⁸ Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada.
⁹ US Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, Concord, New Hampshire 03301-8548, USA.

PMID: 34814183
DOI: 10.7589/JWD-D-21-00071

Abstract

The arctic fox variant of the rabies virus (RABV) is enzootic in the circumpolar north. Reports of abortive RABV exposures motivated a retrospective analysis of sera from 41 arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) captured at Karrak Lake in Nunavut, Canada, during 2011-15. Estimated RABV antibody prevalence among foxes was 15% (95% confidence interval, 7-28%).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Arctic Regions
Canada / epidemiology
Foxes
Nunavut / epidemiology
Rabies virus*
Rabies* / epidemiology
Rabies* / veterinary
Retrospective Studies