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Review
. 2023 Nov 23:4:100155.
doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2023.100155. eCollection 2023.

How significant are bats as potential carriers of zoonotic Cryptosporidium and Giardia?

Amanda D Barbosa  1   2 , Siobhon Egan  1 , Yaoyu Feng  3 , Lihua Xiao  3 , Una Ryan  1
Affiliations
Review

How significant are bats as potential carriers of zoonotic Cryptosporidium and Giardia?

Amanda D Barbosa et al. Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. .

Abstract

Bats are known to harbour various pathogens and are increasingly recognised as potential reservoirs for zoonotic diseases. This paper reviews the genetic diversity and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in bats. The risk of zoonotic transmission of Cryptosporidium from bats to humans appears low, with bat-specific Cryptosporidium genotypes accounting for 91.5% of Cryptosporidium-positive samples genotyped from bats worldwide, and C. parvum and C. hominis accounting for 3.4% each of typed positives, respectively. To date, there have only been sporadic detections of Giardia in bats, with no genetic characterisation of the parasite to species or assemblage level. Therefore, the role bats play as reservoirs of zoonotic Giardia spp. is unknown. To mitigate potential risks of zoonotic transmission and their public health implications, comprehensive research on Cryptosporidium and Giardia in bats is imperative. Future studies should encompass additional locations across the globe and a broader spectrum of bat species, with a focus on those adapted to urban environments.

Keywords: Bats; Cryptosporidium; Giardia; Public health; Reservoir; Zoonosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Given their role as Guest Editor, Amanda Barbosa had no involvement in the peer review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to Dr Frank Katzer (Co-Editor) and Professor Aneta Kostadinova (Editor-in-Chief).

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Maximum likelihood analysis of 18S rDNA sequences from bats (red) and main human-pathogenic Cryptosporidium spp. (blue) based on partial sequences (451 bp). Created in Geneious version 2023.1 (by Biomatters), available from https://www.geneious.com.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cryptosporidium species and genotypes in bats globally as a percentage of all positive isolates typed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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