Giardia spp. cysts were detected in the faeces of 23.6% of 76 possums ( Trichosurus vulpecula ), 42.1% of 19 ship rats ( Rattus rattus ), 30.5% of 46 house mice ( Mus musculus ), 33.3% of 6 hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ), 33.3% of 3 ferrets ( Mustela furo ), 20% of 5 rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ), 35% of 20 blackbirds ( Turdus merula ), 50% of 14 thrushes ( Turdus philomelos ), 15.4% of 104 sparrows ( Passer domesticus ), 60% of 10 chaffinches ( Fringilla coelebs ), and 14.3% of 14 hedge sparrows ( Prunella modularis ) trapped on two farms in the Dannevirke area, southeastern North Island, New Zealand. Cryptosporidium cysts were detected in 12.8% of 39 possums, 37.5% of 8 ship rats, 11.8% of 17 house mice, 8.2% of 61 house sparrows, 21.4% of 14 thrushes and 1 of 2 starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) from the same area. Although one of the two farms had a history of human Giardia infection, no significant differences were found between the prevalence of Giardia in wild animals on the farms. There was a significantly lower prevalence of Cryptosporidium than Giardia in the wild animals tested. The role of wild animals in maintaining and spreading Giardia and Cryptosporidium in New Zealand is discussed.
The prevalence of infection of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in wild animals on farmland, southeastern North Island, New Zealand
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