On Pseudorabies in Carnivores in Denmark

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Abstract
From January 1968 through February 1970 Pseudorabies was demonstrated in 12 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from different parts of Denmark. Eleven of them were free-living, while one had been kept in captivity. In nine foxes signs of intense local pruritus were found. Two of the remaining three foxes, which did not show such signs, had been killed in an acute phase of disease, while the last one had been found dead. The finding of remains of pigs in the digestive tract in some of the foxes, and the demonstration of Pseudorabies in piglets on a nearby farm in several cases, indicated that the foxes had caught the infection by eating dead piglets. The fox that had been kept in captivity had been fed with dead piglets which had shown signs of pseudorabies. The medulla oblongata and pons of these foxes were found to be the most suitable material for demonstration of psudorabies virus.