The epidemiology of Toxocara canis and other intestinal parasites of dogs collected from Ile-Ife,Ondo,and Ede,Southwest Nigeria
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Date
2013
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Publisher
zoology,Obafemi Awolowo University
Abstract
This study was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence and intensity of Toxocara canis and other intestinal parasites of dogs in Ile – Ife, Ondo and Ede communities in Southwest Nigeria.
Faecal samples collected from 474 dogs and 209 hair samples collected from different parts of dog’s body were examined between January 2011 and February 2012. The faecal samples were processed for helminth eggs concentration using the modified Kato – Katz technique while the hair samples were also processed using the standardized method for the recovery of helminth eggs. Both the processed faecal and hair samples were examined under a light microscope at a magnification of X100 for the various eggs of intestinal helminths. A well structured questionnaire was administered to collect demographic and socio - economic information on the dog and dog owners. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS for Windows version 16.0 and statistical difference was assigned at P≤0.05.
Four intestinal helminths were observed with their prevalences and these included Toxocara canis(34.6%), Ancylostoma caninum (24.7%), Dipylidium caninum (3.8%) and Toxascaris leonina (3.2%). The overall intensities of infection for T. canis and A. caninum were 4301.2 ± 348.4 and 839.0 ± 122.7 respectively. Toxocara canis was the most prevalent intestinal helminth parasite of dog encountered in the study with prevalences 38.2%, 34.6% and 31.4% in Ondo, Ede and Ile – Ife respectively. The prevalence of A. caninum was highest in Ile – Ife (28.4%), followed by Ondo (23.1%) and least in Ede (20.6%). Also, prevalences of D. caninum infection were 5.2%, 3.5% and 1.9% in Ile – Ife, Ondo and Ede respectively while prevalence of T. leonina was highest in Ile – Ife (4.1%), followed by Ede (3.7%) and least in Ondo (1.7%). In the three locations combined, the prevalence and intensity of T. canis were age dependent with the peak (56.6%; 7588.4 ± 638.9) recorded in dogs aged 0 – 6 months and the least prevalence (6.1%; 601.5 ± 474.3) recorded in dogs aged 19 – 24 months. Single infection with T. canis was the most common with a prevalence of 22.4%. The combination of T. canis and A. caninum were the most frequent mixed infections observed in this study. The risk factors identified to be associated with T. canis infection in dog were the age of the dog and the mode of life. Two hundred and nine hair samples were collected from three parts (neck, back and anal regions) of the dogs’ coat and examined for helminth eggs. Only T. canis eggs were observed and all the eggs observed were unembryonated. The overall prevalence of T. canis eggs observed was 6.7% comprising of 4.3%, 1.9% and 0.5% from the back, anal and neck regions respectively. The prevalence of T. canis eggs in hair samples was slightly higher in female dogs (6.3%) than in male dogs (6.1%), and was significantly higher in dogs above one year old (16.2%) than in dogs aged one year and below (0.7%). Kenneled and exotic dogs also recorded slightly higher prevalences (7.1% and 6.8% respectively) than stray and local dogs (6.0% and 6.1% respectively).
The study concluded that the four intestinal helminth parasites identified in this study were potential public health risks.
Description
xii, 117p
Keywords
Public health, Intestinal helminth, Helminth egg, Epidemiology
Citation
Akeredolu,A.B.(2013). The epidemiology of Toxocara canis and other intestinal parasites of dogs collected from Ile-Ife,Ondo,and Ede,Southwest Nigeria. Obafemi Awolowo University