Zoonotic risk surveillance in urban wildlife
The aim of this project is the non-invasive surveillance of zoonoses and the prediction of zoonotic risk through the integration of host population genetics and analysis of the oral virome in coati in an urban national park in Rio de Janeiro.
| Full project title: | Non-invasive Zoonotic Surveillance of coatis (Nasua nasua) in an Urban National Park in Rio de Janeiro: Integrating Host Population Genetics and Oral Virome Analysis to Predict Zoonotic Risk in Urban-Isolated Wildlife |
| Duration: | 01/2026 - 12/2029 |
| Third-party funded: | yes |
| Involved department(s): | Dept Wildlife Diseases |
| Leibniz-IZW project leader(s): | Guilherme Neumann (Dept Wildlife Diseases) |
| Leibniz-IZW project team: | Alex Greenwood, Gabór Czirják (all: Dept Wildlife Diseases) |
| Consortium partner(s): | Universidade de São Paulo, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Instituto Nacional de Mata Atlântica |
| Current funding organisation: | CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) |
| Research foci: | Understanding the environmental context |
| Understanding wildlife health and disturbed homeostasis |
Urbanization and expansion of human activities into natural areas alter habitats and are among the main factors influencing the diversity patterns of infectious agents that threaten human and animal health. Tijuca National Park is one of the world's largest urban forests, with approximately 4,200 hectares, located directly inside the city of Rio de Janeiro, and inserted in a dynamic of constant human influence and contact. Therefore, developing tools to monitor the occurrence of potentially zoonotic pathogens in wildlife is essential for developing effective strategies to prevent and mitigate a given zoonosis in a sustainable manner, which contributes to maintaining public and animal health and conserving biodiversity, in line with the One Health approach.
This ongoing study will focus on characterizing the oral microbiome and virome of coatis (Nasua nasua), a synanthropic carnivore commonly found in the Park, using samples collected with S.W.A.B. (Spontaneous Wildlife Autonomous Biosampler), a novel, non-invasive saliva collector device. Concurrently, we will investigate the relationship between these pathogen dynamics, the animals’ functional immunity and the host’s genetic diversity. To ensure a sustainable and animal welfare-conscious approach, we will first validate the S.W.A.B. method against traditional invasive swabbing. Ultimately, the project seeks to integrate metagenomic data on viral and microbial dynamics with host genetic and immunological profiles to provide valuable insights into host susceptibility and support predictive models of zoonotic risk at this critical urban-wildlife interface.
This project is financed by the Brazilian funding agency CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), coordinated by Dr. Marina Galvão Bueno from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), in collaboration with Dr. Guilherme Neumann (from IZW), Prof. Dr. Maristela Martins de Camargo from the Universidade de São Paulo, and Dr. Mariana Malzoni Furtado Gaspari from the Instituto Nacional de Mata Atlântica.