Laura Rego, Sabrina Castro-Scholten, Carmen Cano, Débora Jiménez-Martín, Pamela C Köster, Javier Caballero-Gómez, Begoña Bailo, Alejandro Dashti, Carolina Hernández-Castro, David Cano-Terriza, Fátima Vioque, Jenny G Maloney, Mónica Santín, Ignacio García-Bocanegra, David Carmena, David González-Barrio
Wild lagomorphs including rabbits and hares can act as natural carriers or reservoirs of bacterial and parasitic zoonotic diseases. However, little is known on the epidemiology and potential public health significance of intestinal eukaryotes in wild leporids. We examined faecal samples from European wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus, n = 438) and Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis, n = 111) collected in the Autonomous Region of Andalusia in southern Spain during 2012-2021. We searched for the presence of DNA from the main intestinal protist and microsporidial pathogens of veterinary and public health concerns using molecular methods (PCR followed by Sanger and next-generation sequencing)...
December 19, 2022: Zoonoses and Public Health