What is the importance of zoonotic trichomonads for human health?

ORCID

Kirkwood M. Land: 0000-0001-5951-9630

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Trends in Parasitology

Department

Biological Sciences

ISSN

Print: 1471-4922, Electronic: 1471-5007

Volume

30

Issue

7

DOI

10.1016/j.pt.2014.05.005

First Page

333

Last Page

341

Publication Date

7-1-2014

Abstract

Trichomonads are common parasites of many vertebrate and invertebrate species, with four species classically recognized as human parasites: Dientamoeba fragilis, Pentatrichomonas hominis, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Trichomonas tenax. The latter two species are considered human-specific; by contrast, D. fragilis and P. hominis have been isolated from domestic and farm mammals, demonstrating a wide host range and potential zoonotic origin. Several new studies have highlighted the zoonotic dimension of trichomonads. First, species typically known to infect birds and domestic mammals have been identified in human clinical samples. Second, several phylogenetic analyses have identified animal-derived trichomonads as close sister taxa of the two human-specific species. It is our opinion, therefore, that these observations prompt further investigation into the importance of zoonotic trichomonads for human health.

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