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Parasiten am Arbeitsplatz
Mögliche Risiken für Zoomitarbeiter und -besucher?

Aim: The present pilot study examined for the first time an overview of special human pathogen parasites in zoo animals of an Austrian zoo. The attention was focussed on the diagnosis of stool parasites. Most of the parasites are transmitted through dirt and smear infection. Further causes of infection are faeces, contaminated food and water. Zoo employees and visitors are permanently very close to these infectious organisms. For their safety it is necessary to know the development cycle of each present parasite and to inform employees and visitors without alarming them.

Methods: 300 stool specimens of the zoo animals were examined and prepared for the light microscope with the sodium-acetateformaldehyde method (SAF).

Results: Thirteen different species of parasites were found in the stool specimens of 51 different species of zoo animals. The most important human pathogen parasites were Balantidum sp., Toxocara sp. and Capillaria sp.

Conclusion: This study shows that there is still not enough knowledge about the existence of current human parasites at the workplace of the zoological garden. Further research should focus on microbiological studies on human beings in order to gain knowledge of whether and how zoo employees and visitors are infected by parasites.