Toward the formation of a Companion Animal Parasite Council for the Tropics (CAPCT)

Abstract

This letter advises the imminent formation of the Companion Animal Parasites Council for the Tropics (CAPCT). The CAPCT consists of region-specific (e.g., Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, Africa) experts comprising academics, veterinarians, parasitologists, physicians and allied industry partners that will work together to inform, guide and develop best-practice recommendations for the optimal diagnosis, treatment and control of companion animal parasites in the tropics, with the aim of protecting the health of pets and that of the public.

A Host-Specific Blocking Primer Combined with Optimal DNA Extraction Improves the Detection Capability of a Metabarcoding Protocol for Canine Vector-Borne Bacteria

“…Furthermore, both amendments increased the diversity of different bacterial sequences elucidated, augmenting our protocol's possibility of identifying rare or novel bacterial pathogens. To conclude, together these are key improvements to our metabarcoding method allowing it to mine and more fully characterise the range of bacterial pathogens in regions of the world where there is a plethora of different CVBDs alongside a dearth of applicable research [2,5,56].…”

“…Despite recent developments in veterinary care and medicine, canine vector-borne diseases (CVBD) continue to inflict a large burden with regard to morbidity and mortality on dogs across the globe [1][2][3]. This is especially true in low-socioeconomic countries, that may have little available resources to invest into disease prevention programs [1][2][3]. In particular, countries spanning the tropics must affront an expansive range of CVBDs that comprise a leading cause of fatality in dogs [3][4][5][6].…”

“…Thorough characterisation and monitoring of CVBD is crucial to protect the health of dogs and humans, especially in regions of Asia where there has been little explorative research done into established, emerging and novel CVBDs [2,5]. To address these knowledge gaps, state-of-the-art methodologies could be employed such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) based 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) metabarcoding that can supersede conventional PCR (cPCR) techniques with regard to their ability to detect and discover rare and/or novel organisms [18,19].…”

Detection of Intestinal Parasites in Stray Dogs from a Farming and Cattle Region of Northwestern Mexico

“…In a similar study conducted in Argentina seeking to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in the feces of stray dogs found an overall prevalence of 89.0%, intestinal parasites in the samples analyzed, being A. caninum , T. canis and D. caninum the most prevalent parasites detected with multiple parasite infections detected in 80% of the animals tested, indicating that the feces from stray dogs are an important source of several zoonotic parasitic infections of that Latin American region [ 15 ]. It is evident that climatic conditions of temperature and soil type of the southeast region of Mexico and countries in the rest of Latin America are more suitable to support a diverse range of parasitic infections of zoonotic importance, reflected in higher prevalence rates of parasitic infections [ 16 ]. We believe that D. caninum and Taenia spp.…”

Prevalence and incidence of vector-borne pathogens in unprotected dogs in two Brazilian regions

“…Due to its unique climate and landscape types [6], the tropics are unique also in terms of diversity and abundance of arthropod vectors and their associated pathogens. For instance, an extraordinary diversity of ticks, mosquitoes, and phlebotomine sand flies may feed on dogs in the tropics, with many of these species restricted to this climate zone [7].…”