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This study investigated, for the first time, the seroprevalence and genetic variability of\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    in red foxes (\n                    <jats:italic>Vulpes vulpes<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) from Victoria, Australia. Animals from both regional Victoria and the metropolitan Melbourne area were sourced from trappers and shooters involved in pest control. Sera were screened for anti-\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    IgG antibodies using a modified agglutination test, and tissue samples were tested using a qPCR assay targeting the 529\u00a0bp repeated element. qPCR positive samples were genotyped using a five-marker (L358, 5\u2019SAG2, 3\u2019SAG2, c22-8, GRA6) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism protocol. Anti-\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    antibodies were detected in 38.9% (30\/77) of foxes, and parasite DNA was identified in 23.4% (18\/77) of animals. Genotyping revealed a predominance of\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    clonal Type II whereas two isolates showed new alleles attributable to Type II-like genotypes. These findings suggest that Australian red foxes are frequently exposed to\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    and may play an important role as epidemiological sentinels to assess the circulation of\n                    <jats:italic>T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                    in the Australian environment, with implications for both wildlife conservation and public health.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-025-08606-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,16]],"date-time":"2025-12-16T23:05:52Z","timestamp":1765926352000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Serological and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in naturally infected red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Victoria, Australia"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"124","author":[{"given":"Leonardo","family":"Brustenga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"K. 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