Environmental pollution with human and domestic-animal fecal material is recognized as a potential pathogen pathway for wildlife infections with zooanthropomorphic protozoan parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. In this article, we review current knowledge about the diversity of free-living and captive terrestrial and marine mammalian wildlife species infected with Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The combination of prevalence studies with modern molecular-genotyping techniques is providing valuable insights into the host specificity and possible transmission routes of these two important parasites.

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Coyotes from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, were examined for the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium and cohabiting helminths. Toxascaris was present in over 90% of the 70 animals examined, and Taenia sp. in 6.5-25% of the two groups of animals studied. Giardia (12.5-21.7%) and Cryptosporidium (0-17.4%) were also common and molecular characterisation revealed both zoonotic and host-adapted genotypes of Giardia, whereas the Cryptosporidium proved to be a variant of the canine species C. canis. The seasonal variation observed in the occurrence of Cryptosporidium may be related to stress-induced shedding of the parasite.

Please cite this article as: Appelbee, A.J., Thompson, R.C.A., Measures, L.M., Olson, M.E., Giardia and Cryptosporidium in harp and hooded seals from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada., Veterinary Parasitology (2008), doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. were not detected in faeces of adult hooded seals (0/10) using microscopy, 80% tested 28 positive for Giardia using PCR of intestinal tissue indicative of a true replicating infection. 29Both harp and hooded seals harbored infections with the zoonotic strain, Giardia duodenalis 30 Assemblage A, as determined using a nested PCR technique to amplify a small subunit 31 ribosomal (SSU-rRNA) gene of Giardia. Cryptosporidium was not detected by microscopy, 32 nor using the PCR technique on intestinal tissues from any of the 68 seals examined. 33 34