Waterborne and foodborne zoonotic protozoa, an unknown threat as a biological agent in bioterrorism

Some zoonotic protozoa can be easily transmitted through food and water and cause serious illnesses in humans and animals. Because these pathogenic agents have some characteristics of an effective biological agent such as latent period, low infectious doses, high resistance to disinfectants, they can play a role as an unknown biological agent in bioterrorism. Considering the increasing threats of bioterrorism, biological agents and their use by some colonial countries, it is necessary to identify and recognize these unknown agents and ways to prevent them. Based on a systematic study some keywords such as” bioterrorism”, “biologic”, and “protozoa zoonosis”, parasite” and names of some waterborne and foodborne parasites were searched in reliable information databases and then the related topics were studied carefully. The results of this study show that in addition to bacteria, viruses and their toxins, zoonotic protozoa such as Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Toxoplasma gondii which can be transmitted through food and water, can act as biologically hazardous agents in bioterrorism. Because these zoonotic protozoa are resistant to some disinfectants, for example, chlorine and low temperatures, so the only way to deal with these biological agents at times of crisis is to boil the water for 10-15 min at 60 ° C as well as to cook completely those food materials with the probability of contamination.