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Several studies have demonstrated that the soil of public parks presents an important source of infection which has a significant impact on public health. Children are the main group affected by accidentally ingestion of contaminated soil. This study was performed in order to identify the presence of zoonotic parasites in dog and cat faecal and soil samples from public parks of Madrid, Spain. Six hundred twenty-five and seventy-nine soil and faecal samples (presumably from dogs and cats) respectively were collected from 67 parks. Intestinal parasites were identified in 27 parks (40.3%), which were contamined with Giardia sp. (19.4%), microsporidia (19.4%), Toxocara spp. (16.4%), Cryptosporidium sp. (6%), Entamoeba histolytica (3%) and Ancylostomidae (3%). Combinations of two or more intestinal parasites were found in 11 parks, and it was common to find Giardia and microsporidia together in samples. Intestinal parasites were detected in 18% (112/625) of soil samples. The most frequent parasite species found in the examined soil samples were Toxocara spp. (16.4%), followed by Giardia sp. (4.5%) and Strongyloides sp. larvae (3%). The zoonotic parasites found in the 79 faecal samples were Giardia sp. (17.7%), Cryptosporidium sp. (9%), E. histolytica (2.5%), Trichuris vulpis (1.3%), Toxascaris leonina (1.3%) and microsporidia spores (28%). Microsporidia characterization by amplification of DNA confirmed 10 samples as positive, eight for E. bieneusi and two for E. hellem by PCR. The role of those parasites in the environment are discussed.

Two seroepidemiological surveys on canine leishmaniosis in stray dogs were performed annually in the Madrid region for 10 years (November 1996-April 2006). The presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies was detected by immunofluorescence antibodies test (cut off 1:100). The overall seroprevalence found in the 1,803 dogs studied was 7.8% (141 positive dogs). Seropositivity was not associated with either breed or sex. Statistical analysis revealed greater seroprevalence in groups of older dogs, indicating that the probability of exposure to the bite of sand flies infected with Leishmania infantum increased with age. The most important result was a high proportion of seropositivity for leishmaniosis (79.5%) among dogs without clinical signs of canine leishmaniosis. These data are very important because stray dogs can play an important role in the epidemiology of this zoonotic disease. Furthermore, the stray population could be useful sentinels to follow the progress of the disease in endemic areas.

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Using routine coprological methods, 1161 faecal samples from animal shelters located in Madrid (Spain) were analysed, showing a 28% prevalence for different intestinal parasites: Giardia duodenalis (7%), Cystoisopora spp. (3.8%), Toxocara canis (7.8%), Toxascaris leonina (6.3%), Ancylostomidae (4%), Trichuris vulpis (3.3%), Taenidae (2.9%) and Dipylidium caninum (0.9%). The therapeutic efficacies of mebendazole at a dose of 22 mg/kg once daily for 3 days, fenbendazole at a dose of 50 mg/kg once daily for 3 days and a drug combination of febantel-pyrantel-praziquantel at a dose of 15-5-5 mg/kg once were valuated and compared by collecting faecal samples on days 9 and 16 post-treatment from naturally infected dogs in field-trial conditions. From the infected dogs (321 dogs), 150 animals were selected for the study. Distribution randomly divided the animals into three study groups of ten dogs per parasite and per treatment group: group A, mebendazole; group B, fenbendazole and group C, febantel-pyrantel-praziquantel. The therapeutic efficacy against ascarids and ancylostomids (days 9-16) was very high (75-100%) for the three groups: for T. canis, 100% in group A, 80-100% in group B, 97-100% in group C; for T. leonina, 98-100% in group A, 100% in group B, 92-94% in group C and for ancylostomids, 100% in group A, 99-100% in group B, 90-100% in group C. On the other hand, the highest efficacy against Taenidae infections was in group B (90-100%), followed by groups C (73-91%) and A (70-90%).

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Microsporidia comprises a diverse group of obligate intracellular parasites that infect a broad range of invertebrates and vertebrates. Among Microsporidia, Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most frequently detected species in humans and animals worldwide bringing into question the possible role of animal reservoirs in the epidemiology of this pathogen. Although E. bieneusi is an emerging zoonotic pathogen able to infect many domestic and wild mammals that could act as reservoir of infection for humans and other animals, only few studies have documented its occurrence in wild carnivores. To determine the occurrence of E. bieneusi in wild carnivores, we examined 190 wild carnivores collected from different locations in Spain. Twenty-five fecal samples (13.2%) from three host species (European badger, beech marten, and red fox) were E. bieneusi-positive by PCR. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the ITS region revealed a high degree of genetic diversity with a total of eight distinct genotypes including four known (PtEbIX, S5, S9, and WildBoar3) and four novel (EbCar1-EbCar4) genotypes identified. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the four novel genotypes (EbCar1-EbCar4), S5, S9, and WildBoar3 clustered within the previously designated zoonotic Group 1. Our results demonstrate that human-pathogenic genotypes are present in wild carnivores, corroborating their potential role as a source of human infection and environmental contamination.

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