Human density is associated with the increased prevalence of a generalist zoonotic parasite in mammalian wildlife

Abstract

Macroecological approaches can provide valuable insight into the epidemiology of globally distributed, multi-host pathogens. Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan that infects any warm-blooded animal, including humans, in almost every ecosystem worldwide. There is substantial geographical variation in T. gondii prevalence in wildlife populations and the mechanisms driving this variation are poorly understood. We implemented Bayesian phylogenetic mixed models to determine the association between species’ ecology, phylogeny and climatic and anthropogenic factors on T. gondii prevalence. Toxoplasma gondii prevalence data were compiled for free-ranging wild mammal species from 202 published studies, encompassing 45 079 individuals from 54 taxonomic families and 238 species. We found that T. gondii prevalence was positively associated with human population density and warmer temperatures at the sampling location. Terrestrial species had a lower overall prevalence, but there were no consistent patterns between trophic level and prevalence. The relationship between human density and T. gondii prevalence is probably mediated by higher domestic cat abundance and landscape degradation leading to increased environmental oocyst contamination. Landscape restoration and limiting free-roaming in domestic cats could synergistically increase the resiliency of wildlife populations and reduce wildlife and human infection risks from one of the world's most common parasitic infections.