Reconsidering the risks of Linguatula in Australia: A review of an overlooked introduced parasite

Description

Shokoofeh Shamsi and Diane Barton argue that a tongue shaped parasite of dogs and wildlife, Linguatula serrata, poses a bigger hidden risk in Australia than its zero reported human cases suggest. The parasite, likely introduced with domestic animals during colonization, now cycles through introduced and native hosts. In their 2026 perspective, the authors synthesize its biology, including new hints that transmission may be more direct than the textbook two host cycle. They trace the plausible human routes: eggs from tainted environments or larvae in raw offal.

Humans elsewhere catch it by exactly those routes, and Australia's wildlife livestock human interface sustains the cycle across the continent. Cases go unreported, they contend, because infections present vaguely, diagnostics are poor, and clinicians simply do not think of the parasite. Its foodborne and environmental spread patterns fit neatly into One Health frameworks Australia already uses. The authors call for surveillance and awareness.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13461942