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Wild canids had higher intestinal parasite prevalence than pet dogs in Pennsylvania

Wild coyote standing clearly in profile and looking toward the camera
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

Wild canids in Pennsylvania, USA — including coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) — had a higher overall prevalence of intestinal parasites than domestic dogs in a study published in 2026 in Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports. The researchers used a multiplex qPCR panel capable of detecting 20 gastrointestinal parasites in a single fecal sample.

The analysis compared 26,981 samples from companion dogs, 59 from hunting dogs and 262 from wild canids collected in Pennsylvania during 2023 and 2024. The wild-canid group consisted of coyotes, red foxes and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus).

The comparison matters because these groups encounter different environmental reservoirs and may therefore acquire different parasite communities. Some of the parasites detected by the panel are zoonotic, so mapping their distribution also helps researchers assess transmission risk where wildlife, domestic dogs and people overlap.

Overall parasite prevalence differed significantly among the three groups and was highest in the wild canids.

Hunting dogs also differed from pets: hookworms, whipworms and Eimeria, a genus of single-celled intestinal parasites, were more prevalent in the hunting-dog samples.

The researchers highlight the usefulness of molecular screening because many gastrointestinal parasites are difficult to identify reliably from eggs or other stages using microscopy alone. A broad qPCR panel can detect multiple parasites simultaneously and distinguish organisms that may look similar under a microscope.

Sources and image credit

  1. Jones, H., Yabsley, M. J., Kuhn, N., Jimenez Castro, P. D., Evason, M., Leutenegger, C., Lozoya, C., Loo, S., Savard, C., Van Why, K., Buderman, F. E., Niedringhaus, K. D., Miller, E. A., Maxwell, L., Di Salvo, A., Garrett, K. B., Cleveland, C. A., & Brown, J. D. (2026). Comparative analysis of intestinal parasites in companion and hunting domestic dogs and wild canids from Pennsylvania, USA from 2023 to 2024. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports, 73, 101513.

Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region / Wikimedia Commons — coyote at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California, USA, photographed 27 October 2010; representative species image, not a study animal from Pennsylvania · Public Domain — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Source

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Disease, parasites & microbiology

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Coyote Canis latrans Explore species Red Fox Vulpes vulpes Explore species

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