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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Mamm. Sci.

Sec. Life History and Conservation

Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmamm.2025.1673488

This article is part of the Research TopicGlobal Threats to Otter Health: Parasites, Disease, and Anthropogenic StressorsView all 7 articles

A Systematic Review of Parasitic Diseases of Otters

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Michigan Technological University College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Houghton, United States
  • 2Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Stillwater, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Due to their semi-aquatic lifestyles, otters are exposed to pathogens from both terrestrial and aquatic systems. Although parasites are a natural part of any system, they are a source of environmental stress for Lutrinae of which twelve of the fourteen species are currently listed as threatened or endangered. Climate change, fragmentation, habitat loss, and increasing interactions with humans are directly affecting otter populations and increasing the risk of exposure to diseases. Identifying parasitic diseases and the potential threat to otters is the first step in minimizing this stressor. In this paper, we systematically reviewed the literature and summarized parasitic diseases reported for Lutrinae. We analyzed the overall prevalence of the parasites reported and noted major emerging parasites of concern for otter species. Overall, there were 146 genera representing 164 parasite species listed for 10 otter species. No parasite studies were found for Smooth-coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), Hairy-nosed Otters (Lutra sumatrana), and Congo Clawless Otters (Aonyx congicus). Published studies were also limited for 7 additional otter species indicating a need for surveys of parasites in otters.

Keywords: Otters, Parasites, Disease, pathogens, Lutrinae

Received: 25 Jul 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Cotey and Reichard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Stacy R Cotey, srcotey@mtu.edu

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