Beta hemolytic streptococcal infection in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) in France: the natural disease and experimental studies

Beta hemolytic streptococcal infections, usually of group G and C, were identified in red foxes in France. In a study of 31 animals, septicemia and jaundice were found to be the main signs of the disease. Gross and microscopic lesions consisted of generalized inflammation of viscera and joints, jaundice, cellulitis and abscesses of spleen, liver, lungs and kidneys. The disease was reproduced in foxes by intramuscular inoculation of less than the minimal quantity of bacteria lethal to mice. When challenged, recovered animals were resistant to infection that proved to be lethal to control animals.