1 ARTICLE AHEAD OF PRINT Please refer to the forthcoming article as: Passantino G. et al. 2017. First report of Angiostrongylus vasorum in a wild red fox (Vulpes vulpes) from Apulia (Italy). Vet Ital. doi: 10.12834/VetIt.438.2132.3. www.izs.it/vet_italiana/pdf4/VetIt_438_2132_3.pdf. Keywords Angiostrongylus vasorum, Apulia, Fox, Lung. Summary Severe lung strongylosis was detected in a wild red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (1/12) from Apulia (Italy). We performed routine diagnostics on 12 foxes found dead in Apulia. Eleven of them showed lesions consistent with a vehicle collision. However, the remaining fox appeared to have died from other causes. At necropsy we observed, catarrhal enteritis, fatty liver, lung congestion with some areas irm in consistence and brain haemorrhages and malacia. Histopathology revealed lung ibrosis with mononucleate cells iniltration, thrombosis a several larval nematodes spread in the parenchyma, interstitial nephritis, interstitial myocarditis, encephalitis, encephalomalacia, and a brain granuloma. The larvae recovered from the lung parenchyma were identiied as the irst stage larvae of Angiostrongylus vasorum. This is the irst documented report of angiostrongylosis in a fox in Southern Italy. Veterinaria Italiana 2017, xx (x), xxx‑xxx. doi: 10.12834/VetIt.438.2132.3 Accepted: 05.10.2015 | Available on line: 05.04.2017 1 University of Bari, Department of Veterinary Medicine, 70010 Valenzano (BA), Italy. 2 University of Messina, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy. 3 Department of Animal Health, ASL BAT, Via Paradiso 33/H, 70026 Modugno (BA), Italy. * Corresponding author at: University of Messina, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy. Tel.: +39 090 3503707, e‑mail: lanterig@yahoo.it. Giuseppe Passantino 1 , Fabio Marino 2 , Gabriella Gaglio 2 , Rosa Patruno 3 , Giovanni Lanteri 2* and Nicola Zizzo 1 First report of Angiostrongylus vasorum in a wild red fox (Vulpes vulpes) from Apulia (Italy) Parole chiave Angiostrongylus vasorum, Polmone, Puglia, Volpe. Riassunto In una volpe selvatica, su un totale di 12 volpi trovate morte in Puglia, sono state eseguite indagini diagnostiche di routine. Tali indagini hanno evidenziato enterite catarrale, steatosi epatica, congestione polmonare con aree di aumentata consistenza, emorragie cerebrali e malacia. L'esame istopatologico rilevava ibrosi polmonare con iniltrati mononucleati, trombosi e forme larvali di nematodi difusi nel parenchima, nefrite interstiziale, miocardite interstiziale, encefalite, encefalomalacia e un granuloma cerebrale. Le larve recuperate dal parenchima polmonare sono state identiicate come il primo stadio larvale di Angiostrongylus vasorum. Angiostrongylus vasorum in una volpe (Vulpes vulpes) in Puglia (Italia) SHORT COMMUNICATION 2013). The basic life cycle of A. vasorum is well described (Bolt et al. 1994), albeit doubts persist over some epidemiological details (Morgan et al. 2008). The life cycle is indirect, with dogs becoming infected by eating snails, and sometimes also frogs. Adult worms live in the pulmonary arteries and in the right ventricle of the heart. Eggs released by female worms are transported to the pulmonary Lung parasitic diseases generally are not so common in canids, although several cases have recently been reported in Italy as well as in the other European countries, reaching percentages > 40%. Among these diseases, angiostrongylosis is due to a metastrongyloid nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum (French heartworm), afecting domestic and wild carnivores (Morgan et al. 2008, Eleni et al.