Human exposure to zoonotic parasites via contaminated soil is a much studied area. Less research has been performed on exposure via contact with animals and surfaces such as picnic tables with which infected animals might be in contact. On St. Kitts, wild African green monkeys (AGM; Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus), which are known to have zoonotic parasites, roam freely in areas with outdoor dining facilities and are used in the tourist industry. In this study, the hands and feet of eight AGM and picnic tables where AGM were known to walk on were examined for parasitic organisms. Six of the AGM had parasitic organisms on their hands and/or feet. Trichuris spp. eggs, hookworm larvae and eggs and pinworm eggs were recovered from the tables. The results of this pilot study highlight other potential means of transfer of zoonotic parasites and suggest that surfaces without obvious fecal material can be contaminated with zoonotic parasites.
Surveillance of pathogen richness in wildlife is needed to identify host species with high zoonotic spillover risk. Many predictors of pathogen richness in wildlife hosts have been proposed, but these predictors have mostly been examined separately and not at the pantropical level. Here we analyzed 15 proposed predictors of pathogen richness using a model ensemble composed of bagged random forests, boosted regression trees, and zero-inflated negative binomial mixed-effects models to identify predictors of pathogen richness in wild tropical mammal species. After controlling for research effort, species geographic range area was identified to be the most important predictor by the model ensemble while the most important anthropogenic factor was hunting pressure. Both fast-lived and slow-lived species had greater pathogen richness, showing a non-linear relationship between the species fast-slow continuum of life history traits and pathogen richness, whereby pathogen richness increases near the extremities. The top species with the highest pathogen richness predicted by our model ensemble are Vulpes vulpes, Mus musculus, Canis lupus, Mustela erminea, and Lutra lutra. Our results can help support evidence-informed pathogen surveillance and disease reservoir management to prevent the emergence of future zoonotic diseases.
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