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Review
. 2009 Feb;6(2):678-93.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph6020678. Epub 2009 Feb 13.

Parasite zoonoses and wildlife: emerging issues

R C Andrew Thompson  1 , Susan J Kutz, Andrew Smith
Affiliations
Review

Parasite zoonoses and wildlife: emerging issues

R C Andrew Thompson et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009 Feb.

Abstract

The role of wildlife as important sources, reservoirs and amplifiers of emerging human and domestic livestock pathogens, in addition to well recognized zoonoses of public health significance, has gained considerable attention in recent years. However, there has been little attention given to the transmission and impacts of pathogens of human origin, particularly protozoan, helminth and arthropod parasites, on wildlife. Substantial advances in molecular technologies are greatly improving our ability to follow parasite flow among host species and populations and revealing valuable insights about the interactions between cycles of transmission. Here we present several case studies of parasite emergence, or risk of emergence, in wildlife, as a result of contact with humans or anthropogenic activities. For some of these parasites, there is growing evidence of the serious consequences of infection on wildlife survival, whereas for others, there is a paucity of information about their impact.

Keywords: Echinococcus; Giardia; Leishmania; Sarcoptes; Toxoplasma; Trypanosoma; Wildlife; biosecurity; emergence; parasitic infections; zoonoses.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Pathogen flow among wild and domestic host-pathogen systems. Solid arrows depict spill-over from the natural host to a novel or accidental host, dashed arrows indicate spill-back into the original host population. The relative frequency of the spill-over and spill-back events can vary, but both are expected to increase as a result of human activity [Figure drawn by Russ Hobbs].
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Life cycle of the flagellate protozoan parasite Giardia [Re-drawn by Gareth Parsons from an original figure by Russ Hobbs].
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Life cycle of the tapeworm parasite Echinococcus [Re-drawn by Gareth Parsons from an original figure by Russ Hobbs].
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Hydatid cysts in the lungs of a moose (left) and kangaroo (right; photo courtesy of Russ Hobbs).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Life cycle of the coccidian protozoan parasite Toxoplasma [Re-drawn by Gareth Parsons from an original figure by Russ Hobbs].
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Life cycle of the arthropod borne flagellae protozoan parasite Leishmania [Redrawn by Gareth Parsons from an original figure by Russ Hobbs].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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