Ecology of domestic dogs (
            <i>Canis familiaris</i>
            ) as a host for Guinea worm (
            <i>Dracunculus medinensis</i>
            ) infection in Ethiopia

Wilson‐Aggarwal, Jared K.; Goodwin, Cecily E. D.; Swan, George J. F.; Fielding, Helen R.; Tadesse, Zerihun; Getahun, Desalegn; Odiel, Anyaro; Adam, Alamo; Marshall, Harry H.; Bryant, J. B.; Zingeser, J.; McDonald, Robbie A.

doi:10.1111/tbed.13711

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(43 reference statements)

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“…The association between HR95 size and the number of adults and children in the household might suggest differences in interactions affecting dog roaming behavior. Previous studies showed that dog movements are affected by the activities of their owners (Hudson et al, 2017;Maher et al, 2019;Wilson-Aggarwal, Goodwin, Moundai, et al, 2021). For example, in urban Malawi, children commonly take care of the dogs and are often accompanied by them when they walk or play away from the household.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ranging patterns and factors associated with movement in free‐roaming domestic dogs in urban Malawi

Puente‐Arévalo¹,

Motta

Dürr

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease that causes around 59,000 deaths per year globally. In Africa, rabies virus is mostly maintained in populations of free‐roaming domestic dogs (FRDD) that are predominantly owned. Characterizing the roaming behavior of FRDD can provide relevant information to understand disease spread and inform prevention and control interventions. To estimate the home range (HR) of FRDD and identify predictors of HR size, we studied 168 dogs in seven different areas of Blantyre city, Malawi, tracking them with GPS collars for 1–4 days. The median core HR (HR50) of FRDD in Blantyre city was 0.2 ha (range: 0.08–3.95), while the median extended HR (HR95) was 2.14 ha (range: 0.52–23.19). Multivariable linear regression models were built to identify predictors of HR size. Males presented larger HR95 than females. Dogs living in houses with a higher number of adults had smaller HR95, while those living in houses with higher number of children had larger HR95. Animals that received products of animal origin in their diets had larger HR95, and only in the case of females, animals living in low‐income areas had larger HR50 and HR95. In contrast, whether male dogs were castrated or not was not found to be associated with HR size. The results of this study may help inform rabies control and prevention interventions in Blantyre city, such as designing risk‐based surveillance activities or rabies vaccination campaigns targeting certain FRDD subpopulations. Our findings can also be used in rabies awareness campaigns, particularly to illustrate the close relationship between children and their dogs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ranging patterns and factors associated with movement in free‐roaming domestic dogs in urban Malawi

Puente‐Arévalo¹,

Motta

Dürr

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Further efforts to understand the interactions between definitive hosts and potential paratenic or transport hosts may elucidate transmission routes of these parasite species to relevant definitive hosts. It is important that these relationships continue to be investigated, especially since primary transmission routes may vary by region ( Wilson‐Aggarwal et al, 2021 ). This research contributes to the understanding of Dracunculus transmission by highlighting that fish and aquatic frogs are voracious consumers of copepods and that these feeding habits may have an impact on Dracunculus transmission.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copepod consumption by amphibians and fish with implications for transmission of Dracunculus species

Box

Cleveland

Garrett

et al. 2021

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Parasitic nematodes in the genus Dracunculus have a complex life cycle that requires more than one host species in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. The most well-studied species, Dracunculus medinensis , is the causative agent of human Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis). There are several other Dracunculus species that infect non-human animals, primarily wildlife (reptiles and mammals). The classic route of D. medinensis transmission to humans is through the ingestion of water containing the intermediate host, a cyclopoid copepod, infected with third-stage larvae (L3s). However, many animal hosts (e.g., terrestrial snakes, dogs) of other Dracunculus sp. appear unlikely to ingest a large number of copepods while drinking. Therefore, alternative routes of infection (e.g., paratenic or transport hosts) may facilitate Dracunculus transmission to these species. To better understand the role of paratenic and transport hosts in Dracunculus transmission to animal definitive hosts, we compared copepod ingestion rates for aquatic species (fish, frogs [tadpoles and adults], and newts) which may serve as paratenic or transport hosts. We hypothesized that fish would consume more copepods than amphibians. Our findings confirm that African clawed frogs ( Xenopus laevis ) and fish consume copepods, but that fish ingest, on average, significantly higher numbers (68% [34/50]) than adult African clawed frogs (36% [18/50]) during a 24-h time period. Our results suggest that amphibians and fish may play a role in the transmission of Dracunculus to definitive hosts. Still, additional research is required to determine whether, in the wild, fish or frogs are serving as paratenic or transport hosts. If so, they may facilitate Dracunculus transmission. However, if these animals simply act as dead-end hosts or as means of copepod population control, they may decrease Dracunculus transmission.

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“…Dietary investigations used stable isotope analysis 30 of dog whiskers and samples of putative dog food sources. 17,21 For each dog, one whisker was plucked in each visit. Previous work on dog diets in Chad was used as a starting reference for the food dogs might eat, 17 and owners were asked what they fed their dogs and what they observed them eating.…”

Section: Dog Dietsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…17 Our comparable study of dogs in Ethiopia found no evidence of novel pathways. 21 Seasonal variation in rainfall in Chad is associated with pronounced changes in hydrology, river extent, and surface-water availability. Central sub-tropical and southern tropical regions of Chad experience a ''wet'' season from May/June to October/November, followed by a ''cool-dry'' season from December to around February, which gradually warms toward a ''hot-dry'' season up to April/May, when water levels are lowest and before the rains come again.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal fishery facilitates a novel transmission pathway in an emerging animal reservoir of Guinea worm

et al. 2022

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Ecology of domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris ) as a host for Guinea worm ( Dracunculus medinensis ) infection in Ethiopia

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 16 publications

References 23 publications

Ranging patterns and factors associated with movement in free‐roaming domestic dogs in urban Malawi

Ranging patterns and factors associated with movement in free‐roaming domestic dogs in urban Malawi

Copepod consumption by amphibians and fish with implications for transmission of Dracunculus species

Seasonal fishery facilitates a novel transmission pathway in an emerging animal reservoir of Guinea worm

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