One Health in action: The transmission of human-associated pathogens to urban adapted wildlife
The Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases (MCID) in collaboration with the Institute of Parasitology (IPA) are pleased to invite you to an upcoming seminar with Prof. Dr. Michelle Power (School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia):
Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at 14:00 PM, Anatomy Lecture Hall, Länggassstr. 120, 3012 Bern
Hosts: Prof. Dr. Britta Lündström-Stadelmann, Institute of Parasitology and Prof. Dr. Carmen Faso, Institute of Cell Biology & Institute for Infectious Diseases & MCID.
One Health considers that the interconnectedness of people, domesticated animals, and wildlife in a shared environment also connects the pathogens each carry. The global significance of One Health is captured by the Quadripartite agreement between WHO, WOAH, FAO and UNEP which aims to improve the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment by addressing issues at shared interfaces. In 2024 One Health was incorporated into the Global Biodiversity Framework 2024- 2030, and the IUCN has One Health motions under consideration. Environmental dissemination of human-associated microbes, including AMR, represents anthropogenic microbial pollution and a major One Health issue.
Many wildlife species in Australia have adapted to urban environment. For example fruit bats are well established in major cities with colony sizes of 50,000 bats not uncommon. We have identified numerous antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacterial species that are highly virulent for humans in these bats, and >50 antibiotic resistance genes including those to critical antibiotics. The spread of AMR to wildlife in Australia extends to multiple taxa, including threatened species such as the koala where antibiotics remain an important conservation tool for treating koala chlamydiosis. Other microbial pollutants impacting urban wildlife include waterborne gastrointestinal protozoan parasites such as Cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium parvum causes 50% of human cryptosporidiosis cases, and while previously rare in marsupials, we have found C. parvum in urban possums, with carriage correlating to reduced cognitive behaviours. The human specific Cryptosporidium hominis has been found in fruit bats in wildlife rehabilitation settings indicating changes in host specificity the risk of wildlife reservoirs.
This presentation will showcase research from Prof. Dr. Power's group and collaborators on the spread of human-associated pathogens to urban wildlife and the significance for conservation and health of wild species in cities. The risks of establishment of new wildlife reservoirs of AMR bacteria and protozoan parasites for human health will also be covered.
