Pereira Heliene Mota, Beltrão Mayara Guimarães, Borges Anna Karolina Martins, Silva Weslley Ruan Guimarães da, Oliveira Danilo Vicente Batista, Alves Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife 52171-900, Brazil.
Laboratório de Biologia da Conservação, Departamento de Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Rio Claro 13506-900, Brazil.
Pathogens. 2025 Jun 27;14(7):640. doi: 10.3390/pathogens14070640.
Most infectious diseases affecting humans are zoonotic in origin, with mammals serving as the main reservoirs. Frequent interactions between humans and animals, especially in the context of their use for food, medicine, and other purposes, pose significant public health risks, as recently demonstrated by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In traditional medicine, many species-some of which are also used as food-are valued for their therapeutic versatility, that is, the diversity of medicinal uses attributed to each species. This study investigates the role of zoonotic potential in the selection of mammals used in traditional medicine at a global scale. We compiled data on 411 wild mammal species across 17 orders, identifying 5.146 associated pathogens, of which 2.778 (53.9%) also infect humans. Most diseases transmitted by these species are caused by viruses (33.4%), bacteria (23.3%), and helminths (22.3%). These mammals are used to treat at least 500 diseases or symptoms, and 4.3% of the species show high therapeutic versatility (RI > 1). Our results indicate that species selection is shaped by both biological and cultural factors, with zoonotic potential being the most influential: species with a higher risk of disease transmission tend to be less used. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating zoonotic risk into research and policies regarding the medicinal use of wildlife.
大多数影响人类的传染病起源于动物，哺乳动物是主要宿主。人类与动物之间频繁的互动，尤其是在将动物用于食物、医药和其他用途的情况下，会带来重大的公共卫生风险，最近的新冠疫情就证明了这一点。在传统医学中，许多物种（其中一些也被用作食物）因其治疗用途的多样性而受到重视，也就是说，每个物种具有多种药用价值。本研究在全球范围内调查了人畜共患病潜力在传统医学所用哺乳动物选择中的作用。我们收集了17个目411种野生哺乳动物的数据，识别出5146种相关病原体，其中2778种（53.9%）也感染人类。这些物种传播的大多数疾病是由病毒（33.4%）、细菌（23.3%）和蠕虫（22.3%）引起的。这些哺乳动物可用于治疗至少500种疾病或症状，4.3%的物种具有高治疗多样性（RI>1）。我们的结果表明，物种选择受到生物学和文化因素的共同影响，其中人畜共患病潜力影响最大：疾病传播风险较高的物种使用较少。这些发现凸显了将人畜共患病风险纳入野生动物药用研究和政策的重要性。
