Gastrointestinal parasites of six large mammals in the Wasgomuwa National Park, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasites may impose detrimental consequences on wildlife populations due to their capacity to cause mortality and reduce fitness. Additionally, wild animals play an important role in the transmission of zoonoses. Despite this importance, information on GI parasites of tropical wild mammals is critically lacking. The present study aimed to document GI parasites of six wild-dwelling large mammal taxa in Sri Lanka: Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ), Sloth bear ( Melursus ursinus ), civet ( Paradoxurus sp.), Leopard ( Panthera pardus ), Grey langur ( Semnopithecus priam ) and buffalo ( Bubalus sp). Fresh faecal samples (n = 56) collected from the Wasgomuwa National Park, Sri Lanka were subjected to coprological examination using faecal smears, and the brine floatation technique followed by microscopic identification; quantitative data were accrued using the formol-ether method. The survey revealed a high prevalence of GI parasites, where 86% (48/56) of faecal samples screened positive for parasitic infections. Faecal samples of the civet, buffalo and Leopard recorded 100% prevalence, while the lowest (40%) was recorded for the Grey langur. Eight types of GI parasites were documented: protozoan cysts, platyhelminth ova (three types of digenean and a single cyclophillidean type), nematode ova (strongyle, strongyloid, ascarid, and trichuroid types) and rhabditiform larvae. The buffaloes and civets had a comparatively high number and diversity of GI parasites (buffalo: 7 types, H’ = 1.02; civet: 6 types, H’ = 1.52), whilst only a single type (digenean) was detected in the Grey langur. Likewise, parasite loads were also highly variable; highest in the bear (486 per g faeces) and lowest in the monkey (10 per g faeces). The outcome of this survey is important on two accounts; i) to fill the knowledge gap on GI parasites of tropical wild mammals, and ii) the revelation of many first-time parasite-host records for some of the threatened wild-dwelling large mammals in Sri Lanka.

A study on the gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) of wild animals found within the surrounding forests of Zuku and Rumfan Gwamna villages in Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria

“…The high prevalence of GIP of 95.38 % (227 out of 238) found from the animals in the two forests is consistence with [10] who reported a total prevalence of 92 % zoonotic Gastrointestinal Parasites in Baboons (Papio anubis) in the Shai Hill Reserve in Ghana. In their survey [11] revealed a high prevalence of GIP, where 86% (48/56) of faecal samples screened positive for parasitic infections. However, this results varies with [12] who reported a prevalence of 57.9 % (11 of 19) in ocelots.…”

“…The most frequent mammal species were llamas (Lama glama), and dromedaries (Camelus bactrianus) with infection rate of 70.1 % (54/77) and 60.8 % (14/23), respectively. According to[11], civet, buffalo and Leopard recorded 100% prevalence.…”

Gastrointestinal Parasites of Domestic Mammalian Hosts in Southeastern Iran

“…Investigating the disease burden of GIP in domestic animals is, therefore, an important aspect for animal welfare and management [7]. Furthermore, since domestic mammals can act as suitable reservoirs for zoonotic parasites, they may serve as disregarded sources of human parasitic infections [8].…”

Role of Wildlife in Parasitic Zoonosis

“…Emerging zoonoses like leishmaniasis, Bordetella bronchiseptica infections, arthropod-transmitted rickettsioses, brucellosis and bartonellosis and reemerging zoonoses like onchocercosis, leptospirosis, sporotrichosis, influenza, rabies, salmonellosis, and echinococcosis have been announced universally (Gado et al 2023). The study of parasites in wild animals is crucial because they may have significant zoonotic indications (Liatis et al 2017;Hewavithana et al 2022). Animal excretions and secretions, fecal samples, contaminated food and water, and direct contact with the animal are all possible ways that zoonotic agents can circulate (Jannat et al 2020).…”

“…Indirectly, through detrimental effects on host fitness, parasitic infection can harm wild animal populations irreparably, further threatening species that are already threatened with extinction. High parasitic infection would decrease fitness and renders animals more susceptible to predators and random environmental events (Hewavithana et al 2022). The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate studies on the function of wild animals as reservoirs and dispersers of etiological agents of human infectious diseases in order to assemble information on the primary wild animals and etiological agents engaged in zoonotic outbreaks (Cupertino et al 2023).…”