Established wildlife populations within peri-urban and urban environments provide an opportunity for the spread of zoonotic pathogens to and from human-associated environments. Wild dogs, including dingoes (Canis lupus dingo), feral domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and their cross breeds (hybrids) are common across the Australian mainland, and hybrid populations are particularly frequent within peri-urban environments. Previous studies have shown that wild dogs carry zoonotic pathogens of public health significance, however, data relating to peri-urban wild dogs has been limited to a few studies with a small geographical range and / or small sample size.To address the potential public health implications of peri-urban wild dogs, information regarding pathogen diversity, prevalence, risk factors and geographical distribution are required.To investigate the diversity and prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in peri-urban wild dogs, a cross sectional survey was undertaken. Utilising council management programs and private trappers, 201 wild dogs were collected for necropsy. Analysis of faecal and blood samples indicated that helminth parasites were common, detected within 79.6 5.4 % of wild dogs tested, however bacterial pathogens were much less prevalent. Echinococcus granulosus was the most prevalent parasite detected by necropsy, (prevalence 50.7 6.9 %). Hookworms were found to comprise the second most common pathogen of zoonotic significance with an overall prevalence of 28.8% ( 7.1%).Molecular characterisation identified the majority as Ancylostoma caninum. Several pathogens of zoonotic interest were not detected during the study, namely Brucella suis and Neospora caninum.This study provided essential baseline data on the prevalence of pathogens carried by peri-urban wild dog populations in north-eastern Australia, which is required to inform the management of wild dogs in peri-urban areas.Characteristics of the most prevalent parasitic pathogens and their lifecycles suggested possible associations between the diet composition of wild dogs and their infection status. Whole stomachs were collected during necropsy and analysed for dietary composition and biomass. The majority of food items detected were mammalian prey species, most commonly: swamp wallaby (20.6 6.08%); canine species (prey) (10.6 4.62%); eastern grey kangaroo (10.0 4.51 %); and deer species (10.0 4.51%). Wild dogs that consumed swamp wallaby (OR 1.79, p<0.05) or unidentified species of macropods (OR 4.18, p<0.01) were found to be significantly more likely to be infected with E. granulosus than dogs who had consumed non-macropod species. Wild dogs that had consumed various bird (OR 7.80, p<0.01) or bandicoot species (OR 3.09, p<0.01) were found to be significantly more likely to be infected with hookworm compared to dogs that had consumed ii macropods. These findings suggest that diet composition is an important contributing factor to the infection status of wild dogs.To explore the geographical distribution of pathogens a...