Free-living wild animals can host a wide variety of endoparasites. When subjected to conditions of captivity, these animals can go through stressful situations and develop parasites. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify parasitic infection in wild mammals, birds, and reptiles kept at the “Universidade de Caxias do Sul” Zoo, in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The population studied was based on 76 animals, divided into 50% (38/76) birds, 35.53% (27/76) mammals, and 14.47% (11/76) reptiles distributed in 33 different enclosures. Fecal samples were collected from the enclosures and analyzed in triplicate, using the centrifugal-flotation method with a zinc sulfate solution. Samples from the enclosures 31, 32, 33, (where snakes are located), and 15 (animal death), were not analyzed in triplicate, so the total number of analyses was 91 samples. The results showed that 41.76% (38/91) of the samples were positive for at least one class of endoparasites, such as Nematoda, Cestoda, or Coccidia. The positive samples showed the presence of at least one or more parasites from orders Strongylida (34.21%), Enoplida and Strongylida (23.68%), Enoplida only (23.68%), Cyclophyllidea and Oxyurida (5.26%), Ascaridida only (5.26%), Enoplida, Strongylida, and Ascaridida (5.26%), and Enoplida and Eucoccidiorida (2.63%). Considering the positive samples, 55.26% were collected from birds, 39.47% from mammals, and 5.27% from reptiles. Capillaria sp. eggs were the main structure found in birds, and eggs from the order Strongylida were the most found in samples from mammals. This study showed the order Strongylida as the most frequent parasite found in 63.16% of the total samples, established either in isolated or mixed infestations. Also, mammals and birds were those with a greater quantity of positive samples for endoparasites. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of carrying out research assessing the gastrointestinal parasitic fauna in wild animals, so one can determine the conditions under which these parasites become pathogenic to wild animals raised in captivity.
O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar as principais parasitoses gastrointestinais de cães provenientes do abrigo de cães municipal da cidade de Caxias do Sul (RS). Para isso foram avaliadas, no período de outubro a novembro de 2019, 102 amostras fecais que representavam 13,08% da população de cães que viviam no local. As amostras foram classificadas de acordo com a idade dos animais presentes no ambiente em que elas foram coletadas (filhotes, adultos, idosos) e piso do recinto (concreto, brita, terra). As análises foram realizadas através da técnica qualitativa de centrífugo-flutuação de Faust. O estudo demonstrou que 72,55% (74/102) das amostras foram positivas para nematodas e/ou cestodas e/ou protozoários, sendo que 64,86% (48/74) destas foram coletadas em local com piso de concreto e eram provenientes de baias com animais idosos (40,54%). Nas amostras positivas observou-se que os animais possuíam infecção por um (54,05%), dois (37,84%) ou três (8,11%) parasitas. Em amostras com monoinfecção, a maior ocorrência foi de Ancylostoma sp. (27,03%), Trichuris sp. (18,9%), seguidos por Giardia sp. (5,4%) e Toxocara sp. (1,35%) ou Dipylidium sp. (1,35%). Os resultados apresentados enfatizam a importância da correta higienização do canil municipal, evitando a contaminação ambiental, e assim prevenindo a possível transmissão entre os animais e de zoonoses parasitárias aos colaboradores ou aos novos tutores em caso de adoção.
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