Assessing Blood Bacterial Infection Impact on Endangered Darwin's Foxes

Recently, investigators detected a previously unrecorded high prevalence of hemoplasma infections in critically endangered Darwin's foxes living on the island of Chiloé in southern Chile. Hemoplasmas are a group of bacteria that infect red blood cells, resulting in disease characterized by red blood cell destruction. Researchers will examine whether hemoplasmas are present in dogs living near fox habitats, and if pathogen spillover is impacting the health of Darwin's foxes. This new information will be used to design appropriate control measures to prevent hemoplasma transmission from dogs to Darwin's foxes as an ongoing health effort to conserve this species.