First clinical Strongyloides stercoralis case in a dog in Turkey*

Abstract

IntroductionCanine strongyloidiasis is a zoonotic infection caused by the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis (1). The parasite is found generally in dogs and cats and also in humans worldwide, especially in tropical regions (2,3).S. stercoralis is an interesting nematode in several ways: only female nematodes are parasitic and it can multiply parthenogenetically in the host, and it has two life cycles, a free-living period and a parasitic period (3,4).Parasite morphology varies between the free-living and parasitic periods of the life cycle. The parasitic female is small and slender, nearly 2 mm in length. The tip of the tail is bluntly shaped and the esophagus is elongated and filariform, nearly filling the anterior half of the body length (4,5).Development of the larva is rapid under ideal conditions; the infective larval stage may be reached in about 2 days. Based on environmental conditions, some of the larvae develop into the parasitic form while others develop into free-living worms. The infective larvae (L 3 ) are transmitted via oral and percutaneous routes and also the transmammary pathway, but there is no placental infection in dogs (4,6,7).Infection usually occurs in shelters, where most puppies are affected, especially since a large number of dogs are hosted in small units, and in humid and hot seasons, sometimes due to poor hygienic conditions (7).

Morphological variation of four species of Strongyloides (Nematoda, Rhabditida) parasitising various mammal species

“…Parasitization by this nematode species can also lead to various disorders in the host organism. Carnivores suffering strongyloidiases were observed to have symptoms of acute watery diarrhea, pain during defecation, intermittent cough, vomiting and exhaustion (Umur et al, 2017). According to Jaleta et al (2017) and Nagayasu et al (2017), S. stercoralis of dogs has two populations.…”

First Case of Strongyloides stercoralis Infection in a Dog in the Republic of Macedonia

“…Blood tests showed only mild anaemia (4.69x10 12 /l). A fresh faecal sample was collected, divided in 1 gram portions and analysed by direct faecal smear, Zinc sulphate flotation and the Baermann method (1,7,8,10). The coprological analyses revealed nematode larvae (14 L1 per gram of faeces) with distinct rhabditiform oesophagus and length 200-300 µm.…”

“…The recovered L1 are distinguishable by the morphology of the oesophagus (made up of corpus, isthmus and muscular bulb) and other features. For successful treatment of the infection, ivermectin, albendazole and fenbendazole are expected to be effective (1,8,9,10).…”

Advances in the Molecular and Cellular Biology of Strongyloides spp.

“…In the USA, a series of small studies in selected populations have shown that between 0 and 6.1% of persons sampled were infected. However, studies of immigrant populations in the USA have revealed prevalence of infection as high as 49.2% [7,8].…”