Prevalence of intestinal parasite infections in stray and farm dogs from Spain

Abstract Dogs play a potential role as reservoirs for zoonotic parasites, being especially problematic uncontrolled dog populations such as stray and farm dogs with access to populated areas. In order to investigate the prevalence of canine intestinal parasites in at-risk dog populations, we tested a total of 233 faecal samples shed by stray and dairy farm dogs from northern Spain. Telemann method was used to detect the presence of eggs and (oo)cysts of common dog intestinal parasites and Cryptosporidium was detected by PCR. One hundred and forty eight out of 233 samples (63.5%) were positive for at least one intestinal parasite, being Ancylostomidae (35.6%; 83/233) and Trichuris (35.2%; 82/233) the parasites most frequently identified. Cryptosporidium DNA was not detected in any of the faecal samples analysed. The overall prevalence was significantly higher in stray dogs than in farm dogs (72.5% vs 58.8%). Specifically, stray dogs had a significantly higher prevalence of Ancylostomatidae, Toxocara, Toxascaris and Taenidae. These dog populations are an important source of environmental contamination with intestinal parasite forms, which could be of significance to animal and human health.

摘要 犬类可作为人畜共患寄生虫的潜在储存宿主，其中不受管控的犬只种群（如可进入人口密集区域的流浪犬与农场犬）所带来的问题尤为突出。为调查高风险犬群的肠道寄生虫感染率，我们对西班牙北部地区流浪犬与乳牛场犬排出的共计233份粪便样本开展了检测。采用特勒曼法（Telemann method）检测常见犬肠道寄生虫的虫卵与（卵）囊，同时通过聚合酶链式反应（PCR）检测隐孢子虫（Cryptosporidium）。233份样本中有148份（63.5%）至少检出一种肠道寄生虫，其中钩口科（Ancylostomidae，35.6%；83/233）与毛首鞭形线虫（Trichuris，35.2%；82/233）为检出率最高的两类寄生虫。所有受检粪便样本均未检出隐孢子虫DNA。流浪犬的总体感染率显著高于农场犬（72.5% vs 58.8%）。具体而言，流浪犬的钩口科、弓首线虫属（Toxocara）、弓蛔线虫属（Toxascaris）及带科（Taenidae）寄生虫的感染率显著更高。此类犬群是环境中肠道寄生虫感染阶段污染物的重要来源，可能对动物与人类健康具有重要意义。