Recent research:
Across Ecuador, the researcher integrates One Health and livestock-public health perspectives to understand parasite burden, microbial diversity, and subclinical infections in small ruminants and their implications for food security and animal health. The work first maps enteric parasites in Ecuadorian guinea pigs, revealing high overall parasitism and identifying protozoan and helminth groups, with implications for occupational exposure and zoonotic risk in a country where guinea pigs contribute to protein supply. Building on this, the investigations into goat health uncover a rich milk-associated microbiome during clinical mastitis, characterized by high bacterial diversity (550 zOTUs across 12 phyla) dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, including many uncharacterized taxa linked to mastitis. Subclinical intramammary infection in goats is also quantified, showing notable regional and breed variation, with coagulase-negative staphylococci as the primary agents and S. aureus contributing to substantial somatic cell count increases. Collectively, the studies employ metagenomic sequencing (16S rRNA) and classical bacteriological analyses to profile pathogen spectra, community structure, and infection dynamics, highlighting opportunities for targeted interventions, improved farm management, and policy guidance to safeguard food systems in Ecuador. The work emphasizes capacity-building in One Health methods, accurate diagnostics, and the need for functional characterization of novel bacteria to inform prevention and control strategies in smallholder livestock systems.