Pathogen exchange between species, and particularly the spread of pathogens from people to wildlife (reverse zoonoses), presents risks for wildlife health.
The pinnacle of reverse zoonoses is the dissemination and subsequent establishment of antibiotic resistant bacteria in wildlife.
The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to wildlife presents several issues and risks including: new disease threats to wildlife; novel reservoirs of zoonotic disease; increased transmission pathways between wildlife, domestic animals and humans and; challenges for the treatment of wildlife.
Despite the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to wildlife and the consequences this may pose to ecosystem health, on a global scale, wildlife have received far less attention than humans and domestic animals regarding our understanding of the ecology of antibiotic resistance (Radhouani et al. 2014). Where antibiotic resistance has been detected in wildlife, there is an increasing correlation with proximity to humans, indicating that humans are driving the transfer of resistant organisms to wildlife (Skurnik et al. 2006), similarly for Australian native mammals (Delport et al. 2015; McDougall et al. 2019).1.
More on the topic Pathogen exchange between species, and particularly the spread of pathogens from people to wildlife (reverse zoonoses), presents risks for wildlife health.:
-
Veterinarian -