A Systematic Review on the Role of Wildlife as Carriers and Spreaders of <i>Campylobacter</i> spp.
Andrea Margarita Olvera-Ramírez,
Neil Ross McEwan,
Karen Stanley,
Remedios Nava-Diaz,
Gabriela Aguilar-Tipacamú
Affiliations
Andrea Margarita Olvera-Ramírez
Cuerpo Académico Salud Animal y Microbiología Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Juriquilla, Delegación Santa Rosa Jáuregui, Querétaro C.P. 76230, Mexico
Neil Ross McEwan
School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen AB10 7GJ, UK
Karen Stanley
Department of Biosciences and Chemistry, Sheffield Hallam University City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Remedios Nava-Diaz
Posdoctoral CONACyT Program, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Juriquilla, Delegación Santa Rosa Jáuregui, Querétaro C.P. 76230, Mexico
Gabriela Aguilar-Tipacamú
Cuerpo Académico Salud Animal y Microbiología Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Juriquilla, Delegación Santa Rosa Jáuregui, Querétaro C.P. 76230, Mexico
Campylobacter spp. are important zoonotic pathogens and can cause one of the main bacterial diarrheal diseases worldwide. Research in the context of infection arising from transmission from other humans and other vertebrates has been extensive. A large fraction of these investigations has focused on domestic animals; however, there are also a number of publications which either totally, or at least in part, consider the role of wild or feral animals as carriers or spreaders of Campylobacter spp. Here, we carry out a systematic review to explore the role played by wild vertebrates as sources of Campylobacter spp. with a compilation of prevalence data for more than 150 species including reptiles, mammals and birds. We found that numerous vertebrate species can act as carriers of Campylobacter species, but we also found that some host specificity may exist, reducing the risk of spread from wildlife to domestic animals or humans.
