The presence of domestic/free-ranging dogs in Brazilian protected areas and native vegetation fragments is an important problem, mainly because these animals pose a threat to wild species that live in such areas. In addition, dogs constantly circulate between wildlife environments and urban regions, acting as “bridges” in spillover events. Dogs are traditionally recognized as vectors of zoonoses, which are correct, but their roles as facilitating agents for the “jump” of pathogens from wild animals to humans (and vice versa) are sparsely debated. In this context, this work briefly describes the different roles of dogs in the dynamics and ecology of infectious diseases, using the Brazilian scenario as a study model.

在巴西保护区中存在家养/自由放养的狗以及原生植被碎片是一个重要问题，主要是因为这些动物对生活在此类地区的野生物种构成了威胁。此外，狗在野生动植物环境和城市地区之间不断循环，在溢出事件中充当“桥梁”。传统上，狗被认为是人畜共患病的载体，这是正确的，但人们对它们作为促进病原体从野生动物向人类“跳跃”（反之亦然）的促进剂的作用进行了稀少的讨论。在这种情况下，这项工作以巴西情景为研究模型，简要描述了狗在传染病动力学和生态中的不同作用。