Abstract
Being a tropical country, India provides an ideal environment for the development of parasites as well as for vector populations resulting in a high degree of parasitism in animals and humans. But only a few detailed studies and sporadic case reports are available on the prevalence of parasites in captive wild animals, and the knowledge of parasites and parasitic diseases in wild animals is still in its infancy. The family felidae comprises the subfamily felinae and pantherinae, and within those are all large and small cats. Most of the available reports on parasites in felids describe helminthic infections, which caused morbidities and occasional mortalities in the infected animals. The parasites most frequently found include the nematodes Toxocara , Toxascaris, Baylisascaris, Strongyloides, Gnathostoma, Dirofilaria and Galonchus , the trematode Paragonimus and the cestodes Echinococcus and Taenia . Almost all the studies identified the parasitic stages by classical parasitological techniques and only a few new studies confirmed the species using molecular techniques. Amongst the protozoan parasitic infections reported in felids: babesiosis, trypanosomiasis and coccidiosis are most commonly found. Most of the parasite species found in felids are transmissible to humans (zoonosis) and therefore have public health significance. Routine monitoring of the presence of parasites in captive wild felids is imperative for the formulation and implementation of measures to prevent and control parasitic infections and the transmission of these parasites to humans. This review summarizes the available reports and highlights deficient areas, which require further systematic investigation.
Highlights
There are around 250 species of wild carnivores distributed throughout the globe, out of which eight families comprising 60 species are found in India (Acharjyo 2002)
There is a woeful paucity of detailed studies of parasitic diseases of wild animals in India and mostly only case reports are available
Cases of various wild felids infected with T. leonina, including Jungle Cat Felis chaus, Royal Bengal Tigers Panthera tigris tigris, Asiatic Lions Panthera leo persica and Leopards Panthera pardus were documented from different parts of India
Summary
There are around 250 species of wild carnivores distributed throughout the globe, out of which eight families comprising 60 species are found in India (Acharjyo 2002). Carnivores are kept in zoological gardens or wildlife parks for the purpose of education, exhibition and gene conservation (Khatun et al 2014). The health of these animals requires special attention as conditions in captivity facilitate development of viral, bacterial and parasitic infections. These are of major concern as they pose a serious threat to the animals and persons who come in contact with the animals, like zoo keepers and veterinarians.
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