Dataset - Nagy et al., 2025 - Eye to eye with Thelazia-infected canids in Central European forests

Dataset for the manuscript titled "Eye to eye with Thelazia-infected canids in Central European forests" written by Eszter Nagy, Rebeka Ráhel Nagy, Máté Miklós, Sándor Szekeres, Bawan Mustafa Abdalrahman, Gábor Földvári, Lajos Rózsa, Éva Fok, Tamás Sréter, Tamás Tari, Melinda Kovács, Ágnes Csivincsik, and Gábor Nagy.

Abstract

The oriental eyeworm (Thelazia callipaeda) has been present in Europe since the late 1980s. Its occurrence in the Carpathian Basin has been known since 2014. Despite the central position of Hungary in the radial expansion of T. callipaeda in Central and Eastern Europe, to date, no comprehensive surveillance has been conducted to determine the reservoir role of wild carnivores within the Carpathian Basin. Our study involved 180 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 62 golden jackals (Canis aureus), 119 European badgers (Meles meles), and 10 stone martens (Martes foina). Among the Mustelidae, we did not find any infected individuals. In the red fox, the prevalence and the mean intensity proved 12.2% (CI95% = 8-18%) and 2.64 (CI95% = 1.73-4.91), respectively; while in the golden jackal, these values were 9.7% (CI95% = 4.3-20%) and 3.0 (CI95% = 1.5-6.53), respectively. The difference in prevalence and mean intensity of infection between the two hosts proved non-significant. Our eco-epidemiological analysis revealed that humid and cool climates, the moisture-indicating beech and oak-hornbeam forests, increased the risk of infection in wild carnivores. These findings highlighted the importance of humidity in the spread of T. callipaeda in the Carpathian Basin.

Keywords

Thelazia callipaeda, red fox, golden jackal, forest communities, summer heat-moisture index