Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Gateway to Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

Marcos A Bezerra-Santos; Jairo A Mendoza-Roldan; R C Andrew Thompson; Filipe Dantas-Torres; Domenico Otranto

doi:10.1016/j.pt.2020.12.005

Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Gateway to Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

Trends Parasitol. 2021 Mar;37(3):181-184. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.12.005. Epub 2021 Jan 13.

Authors

Marcos A Bezerra-Santos¹, Jairo A Mendoza-Roldan¹, R C Andrew Thompson², Filipe Dantas-Torres³, Domenico Otranto⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy.
² Division of Veterinary Biology, School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia.
³ Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Recife, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy; Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: domenico.otranto@uniba.it.

PMID: 33454218
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.12.005

Abstract

The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a criminal practice bringing several ecological and public health consequences, such as the spreading of zoonotic pathogens and/or the introduction of exotic species of animals into new geographical areas. Here, we discuss potential risks of IWT on the spreading and emergence of zoonotic pathogens.

Keywords: bacteria; illegal trade; parasites; viruses; wildlife; zoonoses.

MeSH terms

Animals
Animals, Exotic*
Animals, Wild*
Commerce / ethics
Commerce / legislation & jurisprudence
Communicable Diseases / transmission*
Communicable Diseases, Emerging / transmission*
Humans
Zoonoses / transmission*