Carnivora

4.1.2. Carnivora

4.1.2.1. Canidae – Grey wolf ( Canis lupus ). So far, the only subtype of Blastocystis detected in wolves is ST 3 in an individual from a French zoo ( Cian et al., 2017). Until now, no one has described Blastocystis in wolves in stool samples derived from wild animals. Thus, this study is the first in the world to confirm the Blastocystis infection in this group of Canidae (ST5). Wolves can migrate long distances, being an important reservoir of this pathogen in the environment. In recent years, wolves have been colonizing new areas in Europe ( Szewczyk et al., 2019), which may contribute to the spread of Blastocystis across Europe. In the literature, parasitological studies of wolves have been reported ( Great Britain, China, Basque Country), but no Blastocystis infection was found ( Betts et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2017, 2018). In the case of samples from zoos it is important to keep in mind the ability to easily transfer various pathogens between different animals. But in nature it cannot be excluded that wolves become infected with Blastocystis from other animals, for example with ST5 after eating bison or wild boar.

Several studies have shown the presence of Blastocystis in Canidae . One case of Blastocystis infection with ST7 has been reported in dog in Poland ( Kaczmarek et al., 2020). However Cian et al., based on their research on Blastocystis infection in various groups of animals, suggest that dogs are not natural hosts for this unicellular protozoan ( Cian et al., 2017), as do Wang et al. (2013).