High overlap of zoonotic helminths between wild mammalian predators and rural dogs - an emerging One Health concern?

The concept of One Health emphasizes the interdependence of human, animal and environmental health and is of growing significance, in part owing to the problems related to emerging infectious diseases of wildlife origin. Wild mammalian predators are a potential risk factor for transmission of zoonotic pathogens to domesticated animals and humans. This is especially relevant in rural areas, where transmission of zoonotic pathogens can occur particularly efficiently when free-ranging dogs are present. The main aim of this study was to determine helminth infections among wild mammalian predators and evaluate the overlap between helminth faunas of wild mammals and dogs. Scat samples of predators were collected in coastal areas of Western Estonia and genetic methodology applied for the correct identification of predator species from their scat. Parasitic helminths of mammalian predators in the scat samples were analysed and compared with dog data from a previous study. High helminth prevalence (~90%) was found in dominant predator species in the area, namely the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackal (Canis aureus). Moreover, the helminth fauna of both wild species, including potentially zoonotic helminths, overlapped largely with that of rural dogs in the same area. The results, together with the ones from earlier parasitological studies among humans in Estonia, emphasize the potential risk of pathogen transmission from wild mammalian predators to dogs and from dogs to humans, making parasitic diseases of wildlife a One Health concern.

Thirteen Years of Counting Raptor Migration in Batumi: Observations and Their Importance for Raptor Conservation in Russia

Since 2008 Batumi Raptor Count (BRC) project has been monitoring autumn migration of birds of prey in the eastern African-Palearctic flyway in southwest Georgia on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Every autumn this flyway is used by a significant proportion of the global population of such raptor species as Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus), Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus), Pallid Harrier (C. macrourus) and Marsh Harrier (C. aeruginosus). At least 1% of the global population of 10 raptor species migrates through the Batumi flyway. Batumi Raptor Count is of vital importance for the development of ecotourism in the region, creating an economic, political, and social foundation for raptor conservation and contributing to a reduction of widespread illegal hunting. The project also works to introduce ecology and conservation into local schools and higher education programs. This manuscript’s aim is to summarise the 13 years of the BRC. It contains a detailed description of a typical migration season in one of the most important bottlenecks for raptor migration globally. The current manuscript is loosely based on the publication in British Birds summarising the history of the BRC (Hoekstra et al., 2020). The main difference, apart from publishing it in Russian, is in taking into account the data obtained in 2021 and emphasising the importance of the autumn migration monitoring in Batumi for the conservation and research of the Russian raptor populations.