Prevalence and genetic diversity of Rhodococcus equi in wild boars (Sus scrofa), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Poland

R. equi was present in wild animal tissues and consumption of the game may be a potential source of R. equi infection for humans. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first epidemiological report of R. equi prevalence in tissues of roe deer and red deer. However, risk associated with wild ruminant consumption seems marginal. Investigation of R. equi transmission between animals and humans based exclusively on types of virulence plasmids seems to be insufficient to identify sources of R. equi infection for people.