Invasive non-native species can become reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens and cause their spread during colonization, increasing the risk of zoonoses transmission to both wild hosts and humans. American mink (Neovison vison) are considered an important invasive mammal species responsible for carrying endoparasites. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of feral American mink as a possible transmission vector of Echinococcus spp. and Toxocara spp. in wildlife. We analysed the frequency of American mink exposure to both parasites, the spatial distribution in Poland, and the variability over time on the basis of specific antibody presence using ELISA and Western blot. Alimentary tract analyses revealed that American mink do not serve as definitive hosts for these parasites. Altogether, 1100 American mink were examined. The average seropositivity for American mink was 14.2% for echinococcosis and 21.7% for toxocarosis; dual-seropositivity was detected in only 6.0%. Seroprevalence of both parasites differed between study sites and significantly increased over time in Toxocara spp. Thus, our study revealed that free-living American mink are exposed to parasites and likely to be involved in the maintenance of both Echinococcus spp. and Toxocara spp. in the wild as paratenic hosts.

中文翻译：

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棘球E菌的血清阳性率。和Toxocara spp。在非美国本土入侵的水貂中。

外来入侵物种可能成为人畜共患病原体的储存库，并在定居期间引起其传播，从而增加了人畜共患病传播给野生宿主和人类的风险。美国水貂（Neovison vison）被认为是负责携带体内寄生虫的重要侵入性哺乳动物。我们研究的目的是评估美洲野貂作为棘球E病菌可能的传播媒介的作用。和Toxocaraspp。在野生动物中。我们基于特定抗体的存在，使用ELISA和Western印迹分析了美国水貂暴露于两种寄生虫的频率，波兰的空间分布以及随时间的变化性。消化道分析表明，美国貂皮不能作为这些寄生虫的权威宿主。总共检查了1100只美国貂。美国貂的平均血清阳性率对于棘球co虫病为14.2％，对弓形虫病为21.7％。仅6.0％检出双血清反应阳性。两种寄生虫的血清阳性率在研究地点之间不同，并且在Toxocara spp中随时间显着增加。因此，我们的研究表明，自由生存的美国貂皮暴露于寄生虫中，并且可能参与了两种棘球E球菌的维持spp。和Toxocara spp。在野外作为寄生虫寄主。