Prevalence of Intestinal Helminth Infections of Stray Dogs of Public Health Significance in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Evaluation of a commercial coproantigen immunoassay for the detection of Toxocara cati and Ancylostoma tubaeforme in cats and Uncinaria stenocephala in dogs

Coproantigen immunoassays (IDEXX Fecal Dx® antigen tests) were evaluated for their ability to identify Toxocara cati and Ancylostoma tubaeforme infections in cats and Uncinaria stenocephala infection in dogs. Five cats were experimentally infected with 500 embryonated eggs of T. cati, eight cats with 500 third-stage larvae (L3) of A. tubaeforme and seven dogs with 500 L3 of U. stenocephala. In addition to the three coproantigen tests, the course of infection was monitored by a combined sedimentation-flotation method with ZnSO₄ as flotation medium (specific gravity: 1.28-1.30) and a modified McMaster method in case of copromicroscopically positive samples. Eggs of T. cati were first observed between 28 and 54 days post infection (dpi) in four of the five infected cats. In these four cats, positive roundworm coproantigen signals were obtained between 16 and 44 dpi. Positive coproantigen signal always preceded egg observations, but the interval varied between 6 and 30 days. Hookworm-specific positive coproantigen signals were detected in seven of the eight A. tubaeforme infected cats between 10 and 52 dpi, while consecutive egg excretion was observed in three cats between day 26 and 54 pi. Of these three, coproantigen signal preceded egg observation by 12 to 24 days. Four cats had positive coproantigen results in the absence of egg excretion, and one cat never achieved a positive result for egg or coproantigen. In six of seven U. stenocephala infected dogs, infection was confirmed by copromicroscopy between 16 and 24 dpi as well as for hookworm coproantigen between 10 and 14 dpi. Coproantigen signal was detected prior to egg observation by 2 to 14 days. No cross-reactions between the roundworm, hookworm und whipworm tests occurred in study animals. The results of this study demonstrate the ability of the coproantigen tests to detect the common roundworm and hookworm infections in cats and U. stenocephala infections in dogs as well as the ability to detect the prepatent stage of infection.

The Prevalence of Canine Dipylidiasis in Baghdad city, Iraq‎ ‎

Dipylidiasis is a zoonotic intestinal cestode disease caused by Dipylidium caninum. ‎The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Dipylidium caninum infections ‎in dogs from Baghdad city. The study involved the impact of sexes, age, during nine months ‎‎(from January to October 2021) on dipylidiasis infection in pet and stray dogs. 108 faecal ‎samples were collected from (54 pets and 54 stray dogs) then examined for the detection of D. ‎caninum egg capsules and eggs using coprological diagnosis (flotation and sedimentation ‎methods) in the laboratory of parasitology / College of Veterinary Medicine, University of ‎Baghdad. The overall infection rate was 14.81% (16/108). The study revealed the infection rate ‎of D. caninum from pets and stray dogs was 9.26% (5/54), and 20.37% (11/54), respectively. ‎Infection rates in stray dogs were high during March, April, and May (12.5% for each month), ‎compared with pet dogs (0%, 6.25%, 6.25%) respectively, while in January, the rate of ‎infection was 0% in both types, significantly (P<0.05) during March. A significant difference ‎was recorded (P<0.01) between the sexes in both dog types, females recorded a higher 25% ‎‎(3/12) infection rate than males 19.05% (8/42) in stray dogs, compared to the females, 5.9% ‎‎(1/17) and males, 10.8% (4/37) in pet dogs, respectively. According to the age, a high infection ‎rate was found in stray dog adults (20.51%), while the infection rate was zero (0%) in pet dog ‎puppies, with a significant difference (p < 0.01) between the age groups in both types. The ‎results revealed that stray and pet dogs may play a larger role in the spread of zoonotic ‎dipylidiasis and that public health needs more concerted efforts to educate dog owners and ‎implement control programs to prevent the infective stage maturation by cutting life cycle of ‎intermediate hosts.

Global prevalence and epidemiology of Strongyloides stercoralis in dogs: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Strongyloides stercoralis, a soil-transmitted helminth, occurs in humans, non-human primates, dogs, cats and wild canids. The zoonotic potential between these hosts is not well understood with data available on prevalence primarily focused on humans. To increase knowledge on prevalence, this review and meta-analysis was performed to estimate the global status of S. stercoralis infections in dogs.

METHODS

Following the PRISMA guidelines, online literature published prior to November 2020 was obtained from multiple databases (Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar). Prevalence was calculated on a global and country level, by country income and climate, and in stray/animal shelter dogs versus owned dogs. Statistical analyses were conducted using R-software (version 3.6.1).

RESULTS

From 9428 articles, 61 met the inclusion criteria. The estimated pooled global prevalence of S. stercoralis in dogs was 6% (95% CI 3-9%). Infection was found to be the most prevalent in low-income countries with pooled prevalence of 22% (95% CI 10-36%). The highest pooled prevalence of S. stercoralis in dogs was related to regions with average temperature of 10-20 °C (6%; 95% CI 3-11%), an annual rainfall of 1001-1500 mm (9%; 95% CI 4-15%) and humidity of 40-75% (8%; 95% CI 4-13%). Prevalence was higher in stray and shelter dogs (11%; 95% CI 1-26%) than in owned dogs (3%; 95% CI 1-7%).

CONCLUSIONS

As with S. stercoralis in humans, higher prevalence in dogs is found in subtropical and tropical regions and lower-income countries, locations which also can have high dog populations. While this study presents the first estimated global prevalence of S. stercoralis in dogs, it is potentially an underestimation with 15 of 61 studies relying on diagnostic methods of lower sensitivity and a paucity of data from most locations. Standardized protocols (e.g. quantity of feces and number of samples for a Baermann) in future studies could improve reliability of results. More prevalence studies and raising veterinary awareness of S. stercoralis are needed for a One Health approach to protect humans and dogs from the impact of the infection.

Canine gastrointestinal parasites as a potential source of zoonotic infections in Nigeria: A nationwide survey

Dog feces may contain zoonotic parasites that contaminate the environment and serve as a potential source of infection to animals and humans. In this study, microscopic and molecular analyses were used to estimate the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites and assess the risk factors for infection in 948 dogs in three climatically distinct zones of Nigeria. Zoonotic helminths including Strongyloides stercoralis, Ancylostoma braziliense, A. caninum and Toxocara canis were detected either as single or multiple infections in 377 (39.8 %) of dogs examined. At multiple logistic regression analyses, association was found between GI parasite infection and deworming practices and dog management. Regarding A. braziliense, A. caninum and T. canis infections, intensity of egg shedding was statistically associated with the age of the dogs and not with their sex or breed. The majority of GI parasite-positive dogs did not receive regular deworming treatment (59 %) and roamed freely (56 %) thereby constituting public health risk. This is the first nationwide survey and analyses of risk factors of GI parasites of dogs using molecular methods as confirmation of their identity. The zoonotic potential of these parasites is exacerbated by the lack of both operational national policies to control the population of free-roaming dogs and to promote responsible dog ownership, and veterinary public health programs for dogs.