Figure 1.

A selection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium prevalence studies undertaken on free-living mammalian wildlife during the past 20 years. The number of surveys conducted in each country is listed in brackets beside the country name. Of the 68 studies represented, only ten of the Giardia studies and 18 of the Cryptosporidium surveys were undertaken at the molecular level. Future studies of wildlife that incorporate molecular analysis are paramount for refining the host range, transmission dynamics and zoonotic potential of known and novel Giardia and Cryptosporidium species and genotypes. Therefore, future studies must be undertaken in defined locations in which host assemblages and their interactions are well understood so that the results of genotyping studies can be put into an ecological context. Details for each study – including species, rates of infection, sample size and corresponding Refs – can be found in the Supplementary Material.