Wild boars increasingly seen in Spain’s towns – and even shopping centres – carry ‘diarrhoea parasite that can transmit to humans’

WILD boars have appeared more and more in some of Spain’s urban areas in recent years- looking for food due to the drought destroying some of the vegetation they rely on.

Collisions with vehicles have increased and farms have seen crops destroyed.

But perhaps the most overriding concern is that the boars carry a parasite which could be transmitted to humans.

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Known as the Blastocystis parasite, findings published in Veterinary Research says it poses new public health challenges.

The study was carried out by an international team of researchers between 2014 and 2021, with Spanish scientists involved.

Wild boars in Spain and Portugal can pass on the Blastocystis parasite to animals and people via their faeces.

Results showed that 15.3% of the wild boars tested were infected.

459 faecal samples were studied with 360 from different areas of Spain and 99 from Portugal.

The prevalence was much higher in Portugal with 34.3% of boars infected.

Researchers also found seven different subtypes of Blastocystis in a reflection of genetic diversity.

All of the infected animals shared a specific subtype, ST5, which seems to have adapted to the wild boar’s organism and is also commonly found in domestic pigs.

The study authors have called on more extensive and systematic surveillance programmes of wild boar populations as well as the livestock that live with them.

They want regular sampling and detailed genetic analyses to detect any potential issues at an early stage.

Detection and monitoring of the Blastocystis parasite should be part of a comprehensive health strategy, the report states.

That should included the basics of a One Health approach, where human, animal and environmental health are inter-connected.