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Prevalence of Zoonotic Pathogens from Feral Pigs in Major Public Drinking Water Catchments in Western Australia

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Abstract

Australia has the largest number of wild pigs in the world. Their pronounced impacts on agriculture and biodiversity make the estimated 23 million feral pigs one of Australia’s most important vertebrate pest species. The foraging and wallowing behavior of pigs can markedly increase the turbidity of water supplies, but more importantly, they can transmit and excrete a number of infectious waterborne organisms pathogenic to humans. Their persistence in drinking water catchments also makes them potentially significant reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens. In this study, important protozoan parasite pathogens, such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Balantidium, and Entamoeba, were detected from the feces of feral pigs caught in metropolitan drinking water catchment areas. All are potentially important waterborne human pathogens that pose a major threat to drinking water quality. Fortunately, the overall prevalence in feral pigs appears to be relatively low, with ≤13% of pigs detected with parasites. In this study, we combined the findings from the parasitological analysis with the use of 14 highly informative DNA markers to define a series of highly structured populations that indicated very little movement of feral pigs between the populations. The implication of this pattern is that any public health risk may spread very slowly between populations, but may be much higher within watercourses. This study represents an innovative and important new approach to drinking water source protection in Australia.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank J. Doust, P. Chalmers, M. Reeves, L. Twigg, A. Woolnough, I. Freeman, R. Staines, N. Oke, I. Wilson, J. Liddelow, K. Bain, G. Freebury, D. Wainwright, S. Jenkins, and and V. Piscioneri for assisting in sample collection and analysis. Reviewers made valuable improvements to the manuscript. We are also very grateful for the U.S. Department of Agriculture support from the U.S. Pig Genome Coordination Project (Prof. M. Rothschild). This research was generously supported by the W.A. Water Corporation, W.A. Department of Conservation and Land Management, and Murdoch University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia

    Jordan Hampton, Aileen D. Elliot & R.C. Andrew Thompson

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia

    Peter B.S. Spencer

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  1. Jordan Hampton
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  2. Peter B.S. Spencer
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  3. Aileen D. Elliot
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  4. R.C. Andrew Thompson
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Correspondence to R.C. Andrew Thompson.

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Hampton, J., Spencer, P.B., Elliot, A.D. et al. Prevalence of Zoonotic Pathogens from Feral Pigs in Major Public Drinking Water Catchments in Western Australia. EcoHealth 3, 103–108 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-006-0018-8

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