Knowledge, practice and perception of human-marsupial interactions in health promotion

Abstract

Introduction: Approximately 60% of emerging pathogens originate from wild animals, with mammals being the main hosts. Among Didelphis, which are restricted to the Americas, the species Didelphis aurita and Didelphis albiventris are particularly widely distributed throughout Brazil, where they act as hosts for several pathogens transmissible to humans. The reduction of their natural habitat has resulted in the adaptation of these species to human environments. Animals hunting, due to food necessity or cultural habit, may increase pathogen exposure with a potential to zoonotic disease transmission.
 Methodology: From November to December 2016, we administered semi-structured questionnaires in a rural community in northeastern Brazil to assess knowledge, practices and perceptions regarding human-didelphis interactions and possible exposure to zoonoses.
 Results: There were 213 respondents. Based on photographs of D. albiventris and D. aurita, 91.2% and 78% respondents, respectively, identified the animal by the popular name “sariguê”, 61% (130/213) believed the animal could convey any disease, 4.7% stated they did not, and 34% did not know. Opossum meat consumption was reported by 20.2% (43/213), of which 58.1% admitted disease transmission possibility. Only 15.9% of respondents had a secondary or higher education level. The distribution of these frequencies is discussed according to the respondents educational level.
 Conclusions: The results reveal the need to carry out health educational activities, including better community knowledge regarding the possible exposure to pathogens due to marsupial consumption.

Host selection pattern and flavivirus screening of mosquitoes in a disturbed Colombian rainforest

“…Among the detected vertebrates, chickens, common opossums and humans showed the highest values of betweenness centrality, denoting their potential role as bridge species between sub-communities. For instance the common opossum is a synanthropic species with home range on the urban-sylvatic interface, and host for a wide range of vector-borne pathogens 45 , 46 . The role of humans must also be considered for pathogen transmission from urban to sylvatic cycles, as has been shown in South America for imported pathogens such as YFV and dengue virus 1 .…”

Perception and attitudes of local communities towards vertebrate fauna in the Andes of Colombia: Effects of gender and the urban/rural setting

“…This level of dislike has historical roots that go back to the Quimbaya indigenous people who gave the species the common name of "Chucha" referring to an ugly and smelly animal (Parra-Colorado et al 2014). In Brazil, the interaction between species of the Didelphis genus and humans can occur through hunting for meat consumption or to obtain therapeutic products (de Oliveira Carneiro et al 2019), such as in Mexico, where indigenous people from the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán valley use this species for medicinal purposes (Solís and Casas 2019). In Colombia, there are reports of their use of various species as food, and medicinal uses of the marsupial and liver as a stimulant for childbirth (Cuesta-Ríos et al 2007;De La Ossa-Lacayo and De La Ossa-Lacayo 2015;De La Ossa-Lacayo and De La Ossa 2012;Osbahr and Morales 2012).…”

Didelphis spp. opossums and their parasites in the Americas: A One Health perspective

“…In this perspective, the occurrence of T. spiralis in Didelphis spp. has a great epidemiological importance and should be considered for investigation, as these animals' meat, usually from non-legalized game hunting, are consumed by humans in many regions of South America (Júnior et al 2010;Barros and Azevedo 2014;de Oliveira Carneiro et al 2019). Opossums have also been reported harboring A. cantonensis (Kim et al 2002;Dalton et al 2017), a zoonotic nematode recognized as a primary cause of eosinophilic meningitis in humans (Wang et al 2008;Barratt et al 2016).…”

“…Several pathogens present in wildlife are still unknown to science, and in many countries the illegal consumption of these animals exposes humans to infectious agents harbored by wildlife (Chomel et al 2007 ; Júnior et al 2010 ; Bezerra-Santos et al 2021a , b ). For example, opossums have been consumed by local communities as food or even as traditional medicine (e.g., opossum fat) in some regions of the Americas, which in many situations lead to local illegal trade of these animals (Júnior et al 2010 ; Barros and Azevedo 2014 ; de Oliveira Carneiro et al 2019 ). Such habits impose substantial health risks for people consuming or handling opossums’ meat/carcasses, due to lack of monitoring of the health status of these animals, poor hygienic conditions when manipulating their meat (e.g., cross contamination due to the contact of the animals’ feces, blood, saliva, urine with other food items such as raw vegetables) and inadequate cooking.…”