Endoparasitic infections in dogs from rural areas in the Lobos District, Buenos Aires province, Argentina

Abstract

Dogs are definite hosts for several zoonotic helminthes and protozoan. Rural areas from the Lobos District in the northeast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, are mainly used for livestock activity, increasing in this way the number of dogs on farms as well as the human risk of parasitic infections. The aims of this research were to evaluate the endoparasitic infections in dogs from farms in the Lobos District and analyze their zoonotic importance as well as several risk practices and habits of the rural population. Forty-two dog fecal samples obtained in 21 farms were analyzed through coproparasitological methods and coproantigen tests, which resulted in an overall parasite prevalence of 69.05% and 80.95% of the parasitized farms. The most frequent parasites were Trichuris vulpis and Eucoleus aerophila (26.19%), Echinococcus granulosus (19.05%), Uncinaria stenocephala and coccids (14.29%). The analysis of epidemiological files showed several habits of the rural population considered as risk factors associated with the presence of fecal samples parasitized and the presence of E. granulosus on the farms. It is clear that people involved with the farms studied were exposed to several helminthes that could cause serious diseases like cystic echinococcosis, which can become an important public health issue and affect the economy worldwide.Keywords: Parasites, zoonoses, rural areas, dogs. ResumoOs cães são hospedeiros definitivos de vários helmintos e protozoários zoonóticos. As áreas rurais do distrito de Lobos, no nordeste da província de Buenos Aires, Argentina, destinam-se principalmente à atividade pecuária aumentando desta forma o número de cães em fazendas, bem como o risco humano de infecções parasitárias. Os objetivos desta pesquisa foram avaliar as infecções endoparasitas em cães de fazendas do distrito de Lobos e analisar a sua importância zoonótica, bem como as práticas de risco e hábitos da população rural. Quarenta e duas amostras de fezes de cães obtidos em 21 fazendas foram analisadas pelos métodos coproparasitológicos e testes de coproantígenos, resultando numa prevalência de parasitas de 69,05% e 80,95% das propriedades parasitados. Os parasitas mais frequentes foram Trichuris vulpis e Eucoleus aerophila (26,19%), Echinococcus granulosus (19,05%), Uncinaria stenocephala e coccídeos (14,29%). A análise dos arquivos epidemiológicos mostraram vários hábitos da população rural como fatores de risco associados com a presença de amostras fecais parasitadas e a presença de E. granulosus em propriedades rurais. É evidente que as pessoas das fazendas estudadas foram expostas a vários helmintos que podem causar doenças graves como equinococose cística, que constitui importante problema de saúde pública e econômico a nível mundial.

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in the Intestine of Dogs (Sheep-Keeper, Owned, Pet and Stray) in Duhok Province, Kurdistan Region

“…The prevalence of A. caninum in Sulaimani is the same as in Duhok province, which was 2%. U. stenocephala had not been reported before this time in Kurdistan region and the prevalence was less than recorded in Albania which was 64.9% from a total of 111 dogs examined by Xhaxhiu et al [20]; it was also less than recorded in Argentina by Dopchiz et al [21] at 14.29%.…”

Parasites in stray dogs from Italy: prevalence, risk factors and management concerns

“…Intestinal and lung parasites are among the most common pathogens recorded in dogs worldwide (Little et al 2009;Mirzaei and Fooladi 2012;Al-Sabi et al 2013;Riggio et al 2013). Their health impact is significant both for the clinical disorders in dogs (Claerebout et al 2009;Riggio et al 2013) and for the zoonotic potential of some of them (Sager et al 2006;Claerebout et al 2009;Mirzaei and Fooladi 2012;Dopchiz et al 2013;Mateus et al 2014). Parasites are a common occurrence in all dog categories (i.e.…”

A cross‐sectional study of intestinal parasitoses in dogs and children of the periurban area of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina): Zoonotic importance and implications in public health

“…Several studies were carried out to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs in other countries, with different results (Amissah‐Reynolds et al., ; Zanzani et al., ). In Argentina, heterogeneous values of prevalence in dogs were reported by different authors (36.6%–69.8%) (Dopchiz et al., ; La Sala et al., ; Soriano et al., ). In this study, high prevalence of enteroparasitosis in dogs (82.1%) gave account of great canine faecal contamination and deficient health care of pets, which can affect both animal and human sanitation.…”

“…Several studies have shown heterogeneity in the prevalence of enteroparasitosis in dogs and children in Argentina due to the complex mosaic of climatic and socioeconomic variability of the country (Dopchiz et al., ; La Sala, Leiboff, Burgos, & Costamagna, ; Navone et al., ; Semenas et al., ; Socías, Fernández, Gil, & Krolewiecki, ; Soriano et al., ). However, only a few approached the problem of parasitic zoonosis in relation to human parasitosis and socio‐environmental characteristics of the population.…”