EN
The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and the intensity of E. multilocularis infection in red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes) in the Świętokrzyskie and Lubelskie Provinces (Poland), taking into consideration the distribution of these parasites within the small intestine. One hundred and eleven samples of the small intestine from Świętokrzyskie and 242 from Lubelskie Provinces were examined by sedimentation and counting technique (SCT). Samples from 215 foxes were examined after dividing them into three parts (anterior, middle, posterior) to evaluate the distribution of the tapeworms in the intestine. The mean prevalence of E. multilocularis was 3.6% in Świętokrzyskie and 18.2% in Lubelskie Provinces, and the mean intensity of infection in these regions was 555.5 and 519.4, respectively. The tapeworms were most frequently found in the posterior part of the small intestine (95% of infected foxes), then in the middle part (80% of foxes), and in the anterior part (55% of foxes). The infection was most often dispersed in the full-length of the intestine (55% of infected foxes), simultaneously in the middle and posterior parts (20% of foxes) and in single posterior parts (20% of foxes). No tapeworms occurred only in the anterior part.