Research overview: interspecific pathogen transmission within carnivore guilds

Felids share landscapes with other carnivores, and pathogens frequently move among species within these guilds, shaping disease dynamics. This overview surveys interspecific transmission among carnivores, from the distemper that swept lions, hyenas and foxes in the Serengeti to shared parasites and vector-borne infections that link cats with canids and other predators. It examines how guild structure, overlapping habitats and shared prey facilitate cross-species transmission, the difficulty of identifying maintenance versus spillover hosts, and the implications for disease management. The synthesis connects community ecology to epidemiology. It aims to help readers understand that felid disease cannot be fully understood in isolation, because wild cats are embedded in carnivore communities through which pathogens circulate, making the health of one species dependent on the disease dynamics of the whole guild.