The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infections of dog in Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria was studied retrospectively and prospectively. In the retrospective study, records of all diagnosed helminth infections of dogs brought to the University of Nigeria Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Nsukka from January, 2006 to September 2013 were collated and analyzed. The prospective study was carried out between October 2013 and July 2014 by examination of 263 faecal samples collected per rectum from dogs presented to a purposively selected Veterinary Clinics in Enugu metropolis and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The results of the 8 year retrospective prevalence study gave an overall prevalence of 56.1% and Ancylostoma species as the most prevalent helminth in the study area (33.2%). Mixed infections with more than one helminth parasite species were recorded in 8.6% of the cases. Annual breakdown of the prevalence data showed that the highest prevalence was recorded in 2009. Breed and age of the dogs were found to significantly influence the prevalence. In the prospective study, an overall prevalence of 51.7% was obtained. Ancylostoma spp. was also found most often in the study area, with a prevalence rate of 33.6%. Mixed infections with more than one helminth parasite species were found in 16.3% of the cases. A strong association was obtained between prevalence and breed of the dogs and also between prevalence and season. Due to the zoonotic nature of most of the encountered parasites and the close association between children and dogs, routine deworming, proper management of dogs and adequate personal hygiene is therefore recommended.

Background Animal trypanosomosis is endemic in Nigeria, while the human disease caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is rarely reported nowadays after efforts to bring it under control in the 20th century. The University of Nigeria Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UNVTH) is a reference centre located within the Nsukka area and serves Enugu and neighboring states, Benue, Kogi, Anambra and Delta. Among dogs presented to the UNVTH with canine trypanosomosis, T. brucei is frequently reported as the causative agent. However, this is by morphological identification under the microscope, which does not allow distinction of human-infective ( T . b . gambiense ) and non-human-infective ( T. b. brucei ) subspecies. Here, we used subspecies-specific PCR tests to distinguish T . b . gambiense and T. b. brucei . Methods Blood samples were collected on FTA cards from 19 dogs presenting with clinical signs of trypanosomosis at the UNVTH from January 2017 to December 2018. All dogs had a patent parasitaemia. DNA was extracted from the FTA cards using Chelex 100 resin and used as template for PCR. Results All infections were initially identified as belonging to subgenus Trypanozoon using a generic PCR test based on the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the ribosomal RNA locus and a PCR test specific for the 177 bp satellite DNA of subgenus Trypanozoon . None of the samples were positive using a specific PCR test for T. evansi Type A kinetoplast DNA minicircles. Further PCR tests specific for T . b . gambiense based on the TgsGP and AnTat 11.17 genes revealed that two of the dogs harboured T . b . gambiense . In addition to trypanosomes of subgenus Trypanozoon , T. congolense savannah was identified in one dog using a species-specific PCR test for this taxon. Conclusions Nineteen dogs presenting with canine African trypanosomosis at UNVTH were infected with trypanosomes of the T. brucei group and in two cases the trypanosomes were further identified to subspecies T. b. gambiense using specific PCR tests. Thus T. b. gambiense is one of the parasites responsible for canine African trypanosomosis in the Nsukka area of Nigeria and represents a serious danger to human health.

The results indicate that the ethanol leaf extract of C. odorata is safe and possesses anti-diarrhoeal activity with electrolyte reabsorption proposed as the possible mechanism of action.