The Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Native Dogs in Palestine
,
Abstract
Background: Dogs play an important role in transmission of parasites and zoonotic diseases, especially in developing countries. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of internal parasites in stray and pet dogs in Palestine.
Methods: Fecal samples were collected during the period between Jan to May 2019. A total of 150 fecal samples were collected and tested for parasites using sedimentation and flotation techniques. The targeted dogs were both pet dogs and stray dogs and were grouped according to gender and age.
Results: Although there was no significant difference in infestation between males and females, the prevalence rate of infestation in males was 63.1% compared to females 72.4%. Dogs of ages under one year had similar rate of infestation compared to older dogs with a rate of 67.3% and 67.4% respectively. Infestations were significantly higher (P<0.05) in stray dogs 81.4% compared to pet dogs 48.4%. The highest infestation rate was with Toxocara canis 46.0% followed by Dipylidium caninum 23.0%, Echinococcus spp. 14.0% ,Isosopora canis 9.0%, Ancylostoma caninum 8.0%, Giarda spp. 5.0%, Strongyloides spp. 4.0%, Trichuris vulpis 3.0%, and Cryptosporidium spp. 3.0%.
Conclusion: Local dogs in Palestine, especially stray dogs, are infested with different types of intestinal parasites that may cause many common and non-common diseases to humans. To prevent the spread of these parasites, future public health should be proposed and applied by authorities to achieve a healthy status of the residents in the country. Health awareness spread among people about the seriousness of the diseases transmitted by dogs must also be activated.
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2. Al-Bajalan M. Prevalence of intestinal hel-minths in stray dogs of Kalar city/Sulaimani province. Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 2010; 34(1):151-157.
3. Perera P, Rajapakse R, Rajakaruna R. Gas-trointestinal parasites of dogs in Hantana area in the Kandy District. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. 2013; 41 (2):81-91.
4. Alvarado-Esquivel C, Romero-Salas D, Aguilar-Domínguez M, et al. Epidemiolog-ical assessment of intestinal parasitic infec-tions in dogs at animal shelter in Veracruz, Mexico. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. 2015; 5(1):34-39.
5. Mustapha F, Balami S, Malgwi S, et al. Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Hunting Dogs in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science. 2016; 9:39-42.
6. Puebla LEJ, Nunez FA, Rivero LR, et al. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Dogs from Municipality La Lisa, Havana, Cuba. Journal of Veterinary Science & Technolo-gy. 2015; 6:5.
7. Hadi A, Ali A. Prevalence of gastrointesti-nal Helminthes and protozoa among stray dogs in Baghdad. Iraqi J of Vet Med. 2016; 40(1):1-4.
8. Mohamed T, Al barwary L. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in the Intestine of Dogs (Sheep-Keeper, Owned, Pet and Stray) in Duhok Province, Kurdistan Re-gion. Journal of Veterinary Science & Technology. 2016; 7(6):1-4.
9. Luis Enrique JP, Moreno LR, Nunez FA, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infec-tions in dogs from Havana, Cuba: risk of zoonotic infections to humans. Anim Husb Dairy Vet Sci. 2018; 2(3):1-5.
10. Soulsby EJL. Helminths, arthropods and protozoa of domesticated animals. 7th ed. London: Baillière Tindall, 1982. P. 119-127.
11. Demelash K, Abebaw M, Negash A, et al. A Review on Diagnostic Techniques in Veterinary Helminthlogy. Nat Sci. 2016; 14(7): 109-118.
12. Bartosik J, Dziwirek K, Łojek J, et al. Prev-alence of intestinal parasite infection in dogs from selected rural areas of central and southern Poland. Scientific Annals of Polish Society of Animal Production. 2017; 13(1):61-69.
13. Othman R. Prevalence of Toxocara canis in Dogs, North West Bank of Palestine. Ko-rean J Parasitol. (2012); 49(2):181-2.
14. Sowemimo OA. The prevalence and in-tensity of gastrointestinal Parasites of dogs in Illefe, Nigeria J Helminth. 2009; 83(1):27-31.
15. Sommer MF, Zdravković N, Vasić A, et al. Gastrointestinal parasites in shelter dogs from Belgrade, Serbia. Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2017; 7:54-57.
16. Al-Jassim KBN, Mahmmod YS, Salem ZM, et al. Epidemiological investigation of gastrointestinal parasites in dog popula-tions in Basra province, Southern Iraq. J Parasit Dis. 2017; 41(4):1006-1013.
17. Abo-Shehada, M, Ziyadeh Y. Prevalence of endoparasites in dog faecal deposits in Jordan. J Helminthol. 1991; 65(4):313-4.
18. Little SE, Johnson EM, Lewis D, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet dogs in the United States. Vet Parasitol. 2009; 166(1-2):144-52.
19. Szwabe K, Blaszkowska J. Stray dogs and cats as potential sources of soil contamina-tion with zoonotic parasites. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2017; 24(1):39-43.
20. Curi N, Paschoal A, Massara R L, et al. Risk factors for gastrointestinal parasite in-fections of dogs living around protected areas of the Atlantic Forest: implications for human and wildlife health. Braz J Biol. 2017; 77(2): 388-395.
21. Fisher M. Toxocara cati: an underestimated zoonotic agent. Trends Parasitol. 2003; 19(4):167-70.
22. Radwan NA, Khalil AI, El Mahi RA. Mor-phology and occurrence of species of Tox-ocara in wild mammal populations from Egypt. Comparative Parasitology. 2009; 76:273-282.
23. Habluetzel A, Traldi G, Ruggieri S, et al. An estimation of Toxocara canis prevalence in dogs, environmental egg contamination and risk of human infection in the Marche region of Italy. Vet Parasitol. 2003; 113(3-4):243-52.
24. Dai RS, Li ZY, Li F, et al. Severe infection of adult dogs with helminths in Hunan Province, China poses significant public health concerns. Vet Parasitol. 2009; 160(3-4):348-50.
25. Soriano SV, Pierangeli NB, Roccia I, et al. A wide diversity of zoonotic intestinal par-asites infects urban and rural dogs in Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Vet Parasi-tol. 2010; 167(1):81-5.
26. Schär F, Inpankaew T, Traub RJ, et al. The prevalence and diversity of intestinal para-sitic infections in humans and domestic animals in a rural Cambodian village. Para-sitol Int. 2014; 63(4):597-603.
27. Fan CK, Holland CV, Loxton K, et al. Cerebral Toxocariasis: Silent Progression to Neurodegenerative Disorders? Clin Mi-crobiol Rev. 2015; 28(3):663-86.
28. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Parasites-Toxocariasis. Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria. 2019; https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxocariasis/index.html
29. Despommier D. Toxocariasis: clinical as-pects, epidemiology, medical ecology, and molecular aspects. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003; 16(2):265-272.
30. Amapu TY, Latu MY, Dapiya HS, et al. Occurrence of Gastrointestinal Parasitic Associated with Exotic Dogs in Commer-cial Breeding Mills in Jos Metropolis-Nigeria. Academic Journal of Life Sciences. 2019; 5(3), 15-22.
31. Sánchez Thevenet P, Alvarez HM, Torre-cillas C, et al. Dispersion of Echinococcus granulosus eggs from infected dogs under natural conditions in Patagonia, Argentina. J Helminthol. 2019; 94:e29.
32. Wernery U. Zoonoses in the Arabian Pen-insula. Saudi Med J. 2014; 35(12):1455-1462.
33. Abuseir S. Major Causes and associated economic losses of carcass and organ condemnation in cattle and sheep in the northern part of Palestine. Journal of World Poultry Research. 2019; 9(4):317-323.
34. Budke C, Deplazes P, Torgerson P. Global socioeconomic impact of cystic echino-coccosis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006; 12: 296-303.
35. Llokmani A, Rapti D. The prevalence of Some Intestinal Parasites in Stray Dogs from Tetova, Fyr Macedonia. Europ Sci J. 2017; 13:21-25.
36. Palmer CS, Andrew Thompson RC, Traub RJ, et al. National study of the gastrointes-tinal Parasites of dogs and cats in Austral-ia. Vet Parasitol. 2008; 151(2-4):181-90.
37. Federica G, Antonio S, Luisa D, et al. Par-asitic infections in dogs involved in ani-mal-assisted interventions. Italian Journal of Animal Science. 2018; 17(1):269-272.
2. Al-Bajalan M. Prevalence of intestinal hel-minths in stray dogs of Kalar city/Sulaimani province. Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 2010; 34(1):151-157.
3. Perera P, Rajapakse R, Rajakaruna R. Gas-trointestinal parasites of dogs in Hantana area in the Kandy District. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. 2013; 41 (2):81-91.
4. Alvarado-Esquivel C, Romero-Salas D, Aguilar-Domínguez M, et al. Epidemiolog-ical assessment of intestinal parasitic infec-tions in dogs at animal shelter in Veracruz, Mexico. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. 2015; 5(1):34-39.
5. Mustapha F, Balami S, Malgwi S, et al. Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites of Hunting Dogs in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science. 2016; 9:39-42.
6. Puebla LEJ, Nunez FA, Rivero LR, et al. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Dogs from Municipality La Lisa, Havana, Cuba. Journal of Veterinary Science & Technolo-gy. 2015; 6:5.
7. Hadi A, Ali A. Prevalence of gastrointesti-nal Helminthes and protozoa among stray dogs in Baghdad. Iraqi J of Vet Med. 2016; 40(1):1-4.
8. Mohamed T, Al barwary L. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in the Intestine of Dogs (Sheep-Keeper, Owned, Pet and Stray) in Duhok Province, Kurdistan Re-gion. Journal of Veterinary Science & Technology. 2016; 7(6):1-4.
9. Luis Enrique JP, Moreno LR, Nunez FA, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infec-tions in dogs from Havana, Cuba: risk of zoonotic infections to humans. Anim Husb Dairy Vet Sci. 2018; 2(3):1-5.
10. Soulsby EJL. Helminths, arthropods and protozoa of domesticated animals. 7th ed. London: Baillière Tindall, 1982. P. 119-127.
11. Demelash K, Abebaw M, Negash A, et al. A Review on Diagnostic Techniques in Veterinary Helminthlogy. Nat Sci. 2016; 14(7): 109-118.
12. Bartosik J, Dziwirek K, Łojek J, et al. Prev-alence of intestinal parasite infection in dogs from selected rural areas of central and southern Poland. Scientific Annals of Polish Society of Animal Production. 2017; 13(1):61-69.
13. Othman R. Prevalence of Toxocara canis in Dogs, North West Bank of Palestine. Ko-rean J Parasitol. (2012); 49(2):181-2.
14. Sowemimo OA. The prevalence and in-tensity of gastrointestinal Parasites of dogs in Illefe, Nigeria J Helminth. 2009; 83(1):27-31.
15. Sommer MF, Zdravković N, Vasić A, et al. Gastrointestinal parasites in shelter dogs from Belgrade, Serbia. Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2017; 7:54-57.
16. Al-Jassim KBN, Mahmmod YS, Salem ZM, et al. Epidemiological investigation of gastrointestinal parasites in dog popula-tions in Basra province, Southern Iraq. J Parasit Dis. 2017; 41(4):1006-1013.
17. Abo-Shehada, M, Ziyadeh Y. Prevalence of endoparasites in dog faecal deposits in Jordan. J Helminthol. 1991; 65(4):313-4.
18. Little SE, Johnson EM, Lewis D, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet dogs in the United States. Vet Parasitol. 2009; 166(1-2):144-52.
19. Szwabe K, Blaszkowska J. Stray dogs and cats as potential sources of soil contamina-tion with zoonotic parasites. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2017; 24(1):39-43.
20. Curi N, Paschoal A, Massara R L, et al. Risk factors for gastrointestinal parasite in-fections of dogs living around protected areas of the Atlantic Forest: implications for human and wildlife health. Braz J Biol. 2017; 77(2): 388-395.
21. Fisher M. Toxocara cati: an underestimated zoonotic agent. Trends Parasitol. 2003; 19(4):167-70.
22. Radwan NA, Khalil AI, El Mahi RA. Mor-phology and occurrence of species of Tox-ocara in wild mammal populations from Egypt. Comparative Parasitology. 2009; 76:273-282.
23. Habluetzel A, Traldi G, Ruggieri S, et al. An estimation of Toxocara canis prevalence in dogs, environmental egg contamination and risk of human infection in the Marche region of Italy. Vet Parasitol. 2003; 113(3-4):243-52.
24. Dai RS, Li ZY, Li F, et al. Severe infection of adult dogs with helminths in Hunan Province, China poses significant public health concerns. Vet Parasitol. 2009; 160(3-4):348-50.
25. Soriano SV, Pierangeli NB, Roccia I, et al. A wide diversity of zoonotic intestinal par-asites infects urban and rural dogs in Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Vet Parasi-tol. 2010; 167(1):81-5.
26. Schär F, Inpankaew T, Traub RJ, et al. The prevalence and diversity of intestinal para-sitic infections in humans and domestic animals in a rural Cambodian village. Para-sitol Int. 2014; 63(4):597-603.
27. Fan CK, Holland CV, Loxton K, et al. Cerebral Toxocariasis: Silent Progression to Neurodegenerative Disorders? Clin Mi-crobiol Rev. 2015; 28(3):663-86.
28. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Parasites-Toxocariasis. Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria. 2019; https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxocariasis/index.html
29. Despommier D. Toxocariasis: clinical as-pects, epidemiology, medical ecology, and molecular aspects. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003; 16(2):265-272.
30. Amapu TY, Latu MY, Dapiya HS, et al. Occurrence of Gastrointestinal Parasitic Associated with Exotic Dogs in Commer-cial Breeding Mills in Jos Metropolis-Nigeria. Academic Journal of Life Sciences. 2019; 5(3), 15-22.
31. Sánchez Thevenet P, Alvarez HM, Torre-cillas C, et al. Dispersion of Echinococcus granulosus eggs from infected dogs under natural conditions in Patagonia, Argentina. J Helminthol. 2019; 94:e29.
32. Wernery U. Zoonoses in the Arabian Pen-insula. Saudi Med J. 2014; 35(12):1455-1462.
33. Abuseir S. Major Causes and associated economic losses of carcass and organ condemnation in cattle and sheep in the northern part of Palestine. Journal of World Poultry Research. 2019; 9(4):317-323.
34. Budke C, Deplazes P, Torgerson P. Global socioeconomic impact of cystic echino-coccosis. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006; 12: 296-303.
35. Llokmani A, Rapti D. The prevalence of Some Intestinal Parasites in Stray Dogs from Tetova, Fyr Macedonia. Europ Sci J. 2017; 13:21-25.
36. Palmer CS, Andrew Thompson RC, Traub RJ, et al. National study of the gastrointes-tinal Parasites of dogs and cats in Austral-ia. Vet Parasitol. 2008; 151(2-4):181-90.
37. Federica G, Antonio S, Luisa D, et al. Par-asitic infections in dogs involved in ani-mal-assisted interventions. Italian Journal of Animal Science. 2018; 17(1):269-272.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 16 No 3 (2021) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v16i3.7097 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Gastrointestinal parasites; Stray dogs; Pet dogs; Zoonoses Palestine | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Othman R, Abuseir S. The Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Native Dogs in Palestine. Iran J Parasitol. 2021;16(3):435-442.
