This study aimed to investigate the frequency of geohelminthic contamination of public parks and squares in Curitiba, state of Paraná, Brazil, between August and December 2010. A total of 345 samples were collected from 69 sandboxes in different areas and were tested using the Faust, Lutz and Baermann parasitological techniques. Potential risk factors associated with soil contamination were also analyzed. A total of 36% of the samples (124/345) were positive for helminths and 65.2% of the areas (45/69) were classified as contaminated in one or more samples. The most commonly identified parasite eggs were Ancylostoma sp. (14.5%; 50/345); followed by Toxocara sp. (9.6%; 33/345) and the Strongyloidea superfamily (excluding hookworms) (2.3%; 8/345). The analysis on the epidemiological risk factors indicated that the presence of dogs and feces in the sandboxes increased the chances of contamination of the site. Use of fences had a protective positive impact that reduced soil contamination. Health education programs should be applied within the community to minimize the risk of human contact with dogs' feces. Use of fencing in these areas is highly recommended to prevent or reduce the users' contact with animal excrement.

Resumo: O controle das endoparasitoses gastrintestinais em pequenos ruminantes tem sido tradicionalmente realizado por meio do uso indiscriminado dos anti-helmínticos, porém essa prática tem resultado em grande pressão de seleção de parasitas resistentes. Métodos seletivos (ex: FAMACHA/FMC e contagem de ovos nas fezes/OPG) e que apresentem boa sensibilidade para identificar os animais que necessitam receber o tratamento químico são importantes alternativas aos métodos tradicionais. O objetivo desse trabalho foi determinar a sensibilidade e a especificidade do método FMC, usado para detectar anemia causada por Haemonchus contortus em ovinos da raça Suffolk, em duas categorias de alta suscetibilidade; cordeiros lactentes e ovelhas durante a fase de lactação. A conjuntiva ocular de 42 cordeiros lactentes e 35 ovelhas em lactação foi avaliada usando o método FMC, em intervalos de 14 dias, durante cinco meses. O hematócrito (Ht) foi utilizado como padrão-ouro para avaliação clínica de anemia dos animais. Para o cálculo de sensibilidade e especificidade, diferentes critérios foram utilizados: animais classificados como 4 e 5 ou 3, 4 e 5 e anêmicos pelo Ht (teste positivo); animais classificados como 1, 2 e 3 ou 1 e 2 e não anêmicos pelo Ht (teste negativo). Três valores de corte para Ht (≤22%, ≤19% ou ≤15%) foram utilizados para confirmar a anemia. Entre os gêneros observados nas coproculturas, H. contortus (61,5%) e Ostertagiasp (21,3%) foram os mais prevalentes. Em ambas as categorias, a inclusão do FMC 3 como teste positivo, elevou a sensibilidade mas reduziu a especificidade do método. Quando o FMC 3 foi considerado anêmico, o percentual de falsos negativos foi próximo a zero, no entanto, houve aumento no número de tratamentos aplicados em animais não anêmicos (falso positivo). Durante as avaliações, a maior parte dos cordeiros (73%) e das ovelhas (53%) permaneceu nas categorias de FMC 1 e 2. Apenas 5% dos cordeiros e 8% das ovelhas foram classificados com os dois maiores graus de anemia (FMC 4 e 5). Os resultados indicam que o FMC pode ser utilizado para identificar os cordeiros lactentes e ovelhas em fase de lactação com sinais clínicos de anemia decorrentes da infecção por H. contortus. Para ambas as categorias, foi necessário incluir o FMC 3 como positivo para aumentar a sensibilidade do método; reduzindo o risco de morte de animais anêmicos não diagnosticados (falsos negativos).

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Horses can harbor a large amount of parasites that may cause serious clinical signs even death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory activity of the fungus Duddingtonia flagrans against infective larvae (L3) of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses in fecal culture. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treated groups (G1, G2 and G3) and one control (CG), using eight animals/group. The treated animals received G1: 1.5 × 10(5); G2: 3 × 10(5) and G3: 6 × 10(5) chlamydospores of D. flagrans/kg body weight during 21 days. The fungi preparation was given at every other three-day interval. Faecal samples were collected during 30 days, on the same interval, to perform the fecal egg counts (EPG) and fecal culture for each horse. All groups demonstrated similar results for the EPG (P > 0.05) counts. D. flagrans significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the number of infective larvae after 72 h-interval between treatments. The G2 and G3 promoted higher results (P < 0.05) of L3 reduction compared to the CG. The biological control with the predacious fungi D. flagrans is still a promising free-living parasite regulator alternative to be use in livestock.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and diversity of gastrointestinal parasites in fecal samples from wild birds and mammals from the State of Paraná. In total, 220 stool samples were sent to Parasitic Diseases Laboratory of the Federal University of Paraná during 13 months (Jan/2013-Jan/2014). A total of 52.7% (116/220) of the animals were positive for cysts, oocysts, eggs and/or trophozoites. In birds, the positivity rate was 37.9% (25/66) and mammals was 59.1% (91/154). Strongyloidea superfamily eggs were observed in 37.3% (82/220) of the samples, Eimeria spp. in 10% (22/220), and Trichuris spp. in 4.5% (10/220). The most frequent mammal species were llamas (Lama glama), and dromedaries (Camelus bactrianus) with infection rate of 70.1% (54/77) and 60.8% (14/23), respectively. In other hand, cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) and ring necks (Psittacula krameri), were the most researched birds, with infection rate of 20% (40/50) and 100% (6/6), respectively. A high prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was observed in most of wildlife animals. Further investigations should be conducted focusing on parasite control strategies and the conservation measurements for harmonizing the human-animal interaction on the long-term, reducing associated health risks.

This study aimed to report the presence of parasites resistant to the most used anthelmintic drugs in sheep in Colombia. Four farms (denominated farm 1, 2, 3 and 4) were selected where the animals were not treated with anthelmintics for two months before the trial. Animals with faecal egg count (FEC) above 150 and of different ages were allocated into six groups, each consisting of at least 5 animals. The drugs and dosages used were: ivermectin 1% (0.2 mg/kg), albendazole 25% (5 mg/kg), fenbendazole 10% (5 mg/kg), levamisole 10% (5 mg/kg), and moxidectin 1% (0.2 mg/kg). Anthelmintic effi cacy was determined by the FEC reduction test (FECRT) with a second sampling 14 days post-treatment. The effi cacy of albendazole and fenbendazole at farm 1 was above 95%, which was different from the others farms. The FECRT indicated the presence of multidrug resistance in the other farms where no tested drugs showed activity higher than 79% (albendazole: 0 to 55%, fenbendazole: 51.4 to 76.6%, ivermectin: 67.3 to 93.1%, levamisole: 0 to 78.1%, and moxidectin: 49.2 to 64.1%). Haemonchus contortus was the predominant (96%) species, followed by a small presence of Trichostrongylus sp. (3%) and Cooperia sp. (1%). Therefore, we report for the fi rst time the existence of multiple anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep in Colombia.

O objetivo do estudo foi determinar a prevalência das doenças encontradas em bovinos, caprinos e ovinos examinados pelo Laboratório de Patologia Veterinária da Universidade Federal do Paraná (LABDP-UFPR), Curitiba. Foram pesquisados os protocolos de necropsia dos animais, no período de fevereiro de 1967 a dezembro de 2012. Foram examinados 1075 cadáveres de ruminantes domésticos no LABPV-UFPR, sendo que 59,9% (644/1075) eram bovinos, 23,6% (254/1075) de ovinos e 16,5% (177/1075) de caprinos. A tuberculose foi a principal causa de morte em bovinos 8,23% (53/644), seguido de raiva 7,30% (47/644), tristeza parasitária bovina 6,68% (43/644) e intoxicação por Pteridium aquilinum 6,06% (39/644). A hemoncose foi a principal causa de morte em ovinos 20,87% (53/254), seguido de enterotoxemia 11,02% (28/254), intoxicação por Ipomoea asarifolia 7,48% (19/254) e tétano 7,48% (19/254). A hemoncose foi o maior responsável pela mortalidade de caprinos 17,51% (31/177), seguido de artrite- encefalite caprina (CAE) 7,91% (14/177), tétano 6,21% (11/177) e fasciolose 4,52% (8/177). Os dados presentes neste trabalho permitem que veterinários tenham acesso as principais enfermidades que acometem os ruminantes domésticos na Região Sudeste do Paraná.