Feline-Human Zoonosis Transmission in North Africa: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Throughout human history, domestic animal species have represented a unique zoonotic disease risk for the transmission of pathogens ranging from viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal. In North Africa, cats have a particularly long record and occupy a specialized niche within many communities. This systematic review was conducted to analyze the current and historical literature documenting the breadth and variety of zoonoses in North Africa, specifically relating to the domesticated feline. Multiple electronic databases were searched on January 16, 2019, for published reports on feline zoonoses in North Africa. A total of 76 studies met the inclusion criteria for a full assessment. Articles selected for the review ranged in publication dates from 1939 to 2019 and included a case study, cross-sectional surveys, genomic analyses, and a book chapter. The most commonly studied pathogen was Toxoplasma gondii (n = 17) followed by a variety of helminths (n = 10). Of the countries in the target region, most publications were of studies conducted in Egypt (n = 53) followed by Tunisia (n = 12), Algeria (n = 11), Morocco (n = 5), and Libya (n = 3). The results of this review identify a variety of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic zoonotic diseases associated with cats in North Africa, ranging from historically endemic diseases in both human and animal populations in the region, to emerging infections with recent confirmatory diagnoses. This review describes reported feline zoonoses in North Africa and provides recommendations for their prevention and control. In addition to vaccination campaigns for domesticated felines and postexposure prophylaxis for humans, prompt veterinary and medical care of exposure risks and subsequent infections are essential in limiting the zoonotic disease burden in North African communities of humans and cats.

Temporal modelling of Lymnaea natalensis (Krauss, 1848) in tropical aquatic habitats

“…Reports show that F. hepatica is endemic in Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa and Asia while F. gigantica has a focal distribution in Africa and Asia (Ashrafi et al 2006 ; Kasahara et al 2021 ; Le et al 2008 ; Moghaddam et al 2004 ; Seid & Melese 2018 ; Valero et al 2009 ). Various animals, such as sheep, goats, cattle, buffalos, horses, donkeys, camels and rabbits, have shown very high infection rates in different areas (Farag 1998 ; Karshima, Bata & Bobbo 2016 ; Peterson & Barnes 2020 ). Initially, human infection with fascioliasis was very sporadic; however, in recent times, clinical cases and outbreaks were reported (Haseeb et al 2002 ).…”

Detection of Leishmania spp. in Cats: Analysis of Nasal, Oral and Conjunctival Swabs by PCR and HRM

“…Cases of feline leishmaniasis have been described in South American countries [3][4][5][6][7][8], Europe [9][10][11], Asia [12], and Africa [3].…”

“…However, although reports of leishmaniasis in cats are increasing, the role of this animal in the eco-epidemiology of the disease remains uncertain. The lack of early diagnosis of FeL in endemic areas suggests that cats continue to present potential risks of transmission of leishmaniasis to vectors since studies have shown that infection in cats can remain active for long periods; thus, the risk of infectivity to sandflies is maintained [3].…”

Prevalencia De Parásitos Gastrointestinales en Gatos Domésticos (Felis Silvestris Catus Schreber, 1775) en La Habana, Cuba

“…La tenencia de animales de compañía ha aumentado y con ello la potencial infección con agentes zoonóticos por contacto cercano con mascotas (Acosta et al, 2017;Vitale et al, 2019;Jenkins, 2020). Estos agentes se propagan en la interfaz hombre-animal-medio ambiente, donde personas y animales interactúan entre sí (FAO/OMS/OIE, 2019; Wulcan et al 2019;Peterson & Barnes, 2020).…”

“…Los parásitos ciclozoonóticos asociados a perros y gatos ocasionan múltiples enfermedades al hombre (Vilca de Díaz & Melo-Anccasi, 2013;Nunes et al, 2018;Ferraz et al, 2020;Jenkins, 2020;Ketzis et al, 2020), representando un riesgo potencial para la salud humana (Ruiz et al, 2015;Peterson & Barnes, 2020). La alta frecuencia de parásitos intestinales zoonóticos en perros y gatos hace necesarias medidas correctivas y preventivas desde la salud pública para su control (Ortiz-Álvarez, 2015;Sarmiento-Rubiano et al, 2018;Rivero et al, 2020) & Melo-Anccasi, 2013;Ruiz et al, 2015;Rosado-Aguilar et al, 2016;García-Galán et al, 2017;Geng et al, 2018;Sarmiento-Rubiano et al, 2018;López-Osorio et al, 2020;Rostami et al, 2020), lo que evidencia una parasitofauna común.…”