Perception and Knowledge of Portuguese Veterinarians about the Zoonotic Transmission of and : The Need for One Health Intervention.

species can colonize the gastrointestinal tract of both humans and animals, and are associated with gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal diseases. Some studies indicate that animals, health professionals, and people in close contact with animals might be at higher risk for infection with gastric spp. Considering that veterinarians are professionals at risk for infection with zoonotic gastric Helicobacters and are also seen by many as health communicators concerning zoonoses, the aim of this study was to evaluate the Portuguese veterinarians' perception and knowledge of spp. infection and its zoonotic risk/potential. Therefore, a structured questionnaire composed of 34 dichotomic, multiple-choice, rating scale, matrix, drop-down, and open-ended questions was developed and given to Portuguese veterinarians via an online platform from May 2021 to July 2021, and statistical analysis was used to obtain results. There was a total of 149 respondents, most of them (73.8%) being females. Evidently, Portuguese veterinarians have a limited perception regarding spp. infections. Of the respondents that "", 17.6% do not know which animal species can be affected by it. Most of the companion animal veterinarians (76.2%) do not consider spp. infection a differential diagnosis when evaluating animals with gastritis. A significant percentage (37.2%) of the respondents that have "heard of " do not consider it a zoonotic bacterium. There is a need for education and sensitization of veterinarians regarding the potential zoonotic risk of spp. in order to elucidate these professionals to this One Health issue, as the number of reports of non- in livestock, companion, and wild animals is increasing.