Sniffing out snails: The use of dogs in detection of zoonotic parasite intermediate hosts

This interdisciplinary project will assess the potential for dogs to detect snail intermediate hosts of zoonotic trematode parasites, comparing their efficacy with current techniques using human searches and eDNA.

Fasciolosis, caused by infection with the trematodes Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica, is recognised as an emerging zoonotic disease, with an estimated 2.4 million people infected annually and 180 million considered 'at risk'.

Current methods to identify host presence requires intensive sampling of microhabitat, but habitat is not a reliable indicator of host presence.

Scent detection dogs are an efficient tool in conservation, surveying large areas and detecting cryptic species effectively, outperforming human-based methods in 90% of cases, including detection of invasive snails and aquatic bivalves.

This project will be the first to specifically aim to use dogs as a tool to detect gastropod intermediate parasite hosts focussing on Galba truncatula as a model species.