Of the nearly 400 parasitic worm species that have been recorded in humans, almost 50% have been found in a diversity of wildlife including domestic animals, according to new research led by Griffith University.
Published in scientific journal Global Change Biology, the research found as much as 49% of parasites such as tapeworms, roundworms and flukes not only exist in humans but more than 500 wildlife species including primates, rodents, deer, cattle, kangaroos, and wild carnivores.
Of those parasites – more formally known as helminths – 45% are also found in domestic animals such as dogs, cats, cows, pigs, and black and brown rats.
The international research team, hailing from Australia, Spain and France, included Griffith Environmental Futures Research Institute scientists Dr Konstans Wells and Professor Hamish McCallum.
Using a global database of humans, domestic animals and wildlife species infected with such parasites, the team used a model-based analysis to predict which attributes had
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