Potential Pathogens Reported in Species of the Family Viverridae and Their Implications for Human and Animal Health

Wicker, L. V.; Canfield, P. J.; Higgins, D. P.

Viverrids are frequently encountered in the wildlife trade in Africa and Asia (Shepherd, 2008; Nijman, 2009; Shepherd and Shepherd, 2010) where they are consumed for their meat (Bell et al., 2004; Yang et al., 2007; Van Song, 2008) or utilized in traditional medicines (Kumara and Singh, 2007; Ashwell and Walston, 2008; Tsegaye et al., 2008) . While the number of organisms reported for this animal source (refer to 'Country (source)' column, Tables 1-7) is low compared to other animal sources, this is likely due to the paucity of research in this area rather than a reliable indication of the health of viverrids in the trade, or the potential significance of this source as a concern for public health. In fact, although few in number, all organisms reported for viverrids sourced from the wildlife tradethe SARS coronavirus (Table 1) (Tu, 2004) , an ixodid tick (Table 7) (Robbins et al., 1997) , a Giardia sp. protozoan (Table 4) (Abraham, 1962) , the vectorborne parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness Trypanosoma brucei (Table 3 ) (Njiokou et al., 2006) and a trematode fluke of genus Paragonimus (Table 6) (Chen, 1959) are zoonotic, multihost organisms with the potential to cause considerable socio-economic impact Chan et al., 2013) . In fact, a viverrid played a central role in the pandemic of human respiratory disease caused by one of the most significant diseases to emerge from the wildlife trade system to datethe SARS CoV (Table 1) . Masked palm civets in this crowded, multispecies wet market in southern China were implicated as the main source of infection in humans via exposure to viral particles in bodily fluids aerosolized during slaughter and preparation for human consumption (Guan et al., 2003; WHO, 2004; Li, 2008; Chan et al., 2013) . The socioeconomic impact of this outbreak, which resulted in over 8000 human cases and a fatality rate of 10%, was considerable (Dong et al., 2007; Chan et al., 2013) .