Hobbs Emma C, McNamara Bridgette, Hayman Sarah, Blasdell Kim, Athan Eugene, O'Brien Daniel P, Muleme Michael
Melbourne Veterinary School, University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease and Immunology Research (CIIDIR), School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2025 Sep;72(6):485-500. doi: 10.1111/zph.13230. Epub 2025 Jun 13.
Zoonotic diseases inflict substantial burdens on human and animal populations worldwide, and many of these infections are bacterial. An Australian study investigating environmental risk factors for Buruli ulcer in humans detected the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans , in the faeces of wild foxes, a novel finding that suggests foxes may be implicated in the transmission of this zoonotic bacterium. The aim of this scoping review was to systematically search and examine the global data for reports implicating foxes in the transmission of zoonotic bacteria to humans. A pre-tested search strategy was implemented in five bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, CAB Abstracts, Cochrane Trials, Google Scholar). Eligible studies presented primary research data about zoonotic bacterial diseases that were confirmed or presumed to have been transmitted via foxes (excluding exclusively blood- or vector-borne bacteria), with no restrictions on geographical setting or publication year. The final dataset included ten primary research articles, with varying study designs, settings, populations and testing methods. The described bacterial zoonoses were anthrax, cutaneous diphtheria, leptospirosis, faecal coliforms including E. coli , tularaemia, yersiniosis, and Buruli ulcer (the study that was the impetus for this scoping review). Fox-human bacterial transmission was confirmed in one human case and considered likely to have occurred in certain high-risk groups in another. The likelihood of fox-human transmission having occurred in the remaining studies was possible (n = 5) or unlikely (n = 3). Identified and hypothesised drivers of fox-human transmission included accidental and occupational factors. Published reports of fox-human transmission of zoonotic bacteria are few, and generally indicative of relatively low risk. However, foxes can transmit zoonotic pathogens including bacteria to humans in a variety of settings, and human-fox encounters are likely to increase with ongoing anthropogenic activities. Further research and public education campaigns would help increase knowledge and awareness of fox-associated zoonoses.
人畜共患病给全球人类和动物群体带来了沉重负担，其中许多感染是由细菌引起的。一项澳大利亚的研究调查了人类感染布鲁里溃疡的环境风险因素，在野生狐狸的粪便中检测到了病原体溃疡分枝杆菌，这一新颖的发现表明狐狸可能与人畜共患细菌的传播有关。本综述的目的是系统检索和审查全球范围内有关狐狸将人畜共患细菌传播给人类的报告数据。在五个文献数据库（PubMed、Embase、CAB Abstracts、Cochrane Trials、谷歌学术）中实施了预先测试的检索策略。符合条件的研究提供了关于人畜共患细菌疾病的原始研究数据，这些疾病经确认或推测是通过狐狸传播的（不包括仅通过血液或媒介传播的细菌），对地理环境或出版年份没有限制。最终数据集包括十篇原始研究文章，研究设计、环境、人群和检测方法各不相同。所描述的人畜共患细菌病有炭疽、皮肤白喉、钩端螺旋体病、包括大肠杆菌在内的粪大肠菌群、兔热病、耶尔森菌病以及布鲁里溃疡（本综述的起因研究）。在一个人类病例中证实了狐狸向人类的细菌传播，在另一个病例中认为在某些高危人群中可能发生了传播。在其余研究中，狐狸向人类传播的可能性为可能（n = 5）或不太可能（n = 3）。已确定和假设的狐狸向人类传播的驱动因素包括意外和职业因素。关于狐狸向人类传播人畜共患细菌的已发表报告很少，且总体表明风险相对较低。然而，狐狸可在各种环境中将包括细菌在内的人畜共患病原体传播给人类，而且随着人类活动的持续，人与狐狸的接触可能会增加。进一步的研究和公众教育活动将有助于增加对狐狸相关人畜共患病的认识和了解。
