The frequency of intestinal parasites in puppies from Mexican kennels

Enedina Jiménez-Cardoso, Leticia Eligio-García, Adrián Cortés-Campos, Apolinar Cano Estrada, Margarita Pinto-Sagahón, Cynthia Noguera-Estrada

.

DOI: 10.4236/health.2010.211196                

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the intestinal parasite prevalence in puppies from six different kennels; four kennels were in Guadalajara and Zapopan cities (Jalisco State) and two kennels were in Mexico City. From October 2006 to November 2007, we collected 441 fecal samples from 147 puppies, both male and female, ranging from 1 to 36 months of age. Three samples from every puppy were analyzed by using the Faust technique. The prevalence found were as follows: Giardia intestinalis (genotype A and B) 6.8%; Cystoisospora 21.08%; Uncinaria 7.48%; Toxocara canis 12.29% and multiparasitism (Giardia, Toxocara and Uncinaria) 4.76%. The highest prevalence for both Giardia and Cystoisospora were found in 2-3- month-old puppies; the highest prevalence for Toxocara canis was found in 3-4-month-old puppies. In the kennels of Mexico City we found mainly Giardia intestinalis, Cystoisospora to be most prevalent in Zapopan and Toxocara canis in Guadalajara. The high prevalence of intestinal parasites found in this study demonstrates an increased risk for infection in humans, as these animals are usually a common pet in many homes. This zoonotic phenomenon represents an important health problem for any community.

Keywords

Parasites; Giardia; Cystoisospora; Dogs

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Palmer, C.S., Thompson, R.C., Traub, R.J., Rees, R. and Robertson, I.D. (2008) National study of the gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and cats in Australia. Veterinary Parasitology, 151(2-4), 181-190.
[2]	Martínez-Carrasco, C., Berriatua, E., Garijo, M., Mar- tínez, J., Alonso, F.D. and de Ybá?ez, R.R. (2007) Epidemiological study of non-systemic parasitism in dogs in southeast Mediterranean Spain assessed by coprological and post-mortem examination. Zoonoses Public Health, 54(5), 195-203.
[3]	Papazahariadou, M., Founta, A., Papadopoulos, E., Ch- liounakis, S., Antoniadou-Sotiriadou, K. and Theodorides, Y. (2007) Gastrointestinal parasites of shepherd and hunt- ing dogs in the Serres Prefecture, Northern Greece. Veterinary Parasitology, 148(2), 170-173.
[4]	Gal, A., Harrus, S., Arcoh, I., Lavy, E., Aizenberg, I., Mekuzas-Yisaschar, Y. and Baneth, G. (2007) Coinfection with multiple tick-borne and intestinal parasites in a 6- week-old dog. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 48(6), 619-622.
[5]	Claerebout, E., Casaert, S., Dalemans, A.C., De Wilde, N., Levecke, B., Vercruysse, J. and Geurden, T. (2009) Giardia and other intestinal parasites in different dog populations in Northern Belgium. Veterinary Parasitology, 161(1-2), 41-46.
[6]	Hamnes, I.S., Gjerde, B.K. and Robertson, L.J. (2007) A longitudinal study on the occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in dogs during their first year of life. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 49, 22.
[7]	Hird, D.W., Ruble, R.P., Reagor, S.G., Cronkhite, P.K. and Johnson, M.W. (1992) Morbidity and mortality in pups from pet stores and private sources: 968 cases (1987-1988). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 201, 471-474.
[8]	Pullola, T., Vierimaa, J., Saari, S., Virtala, A.M., Nikander, S. and Sukura, A. (2006) Canine intestinal hel- minths in Finland: Prevalence, risk factors and endoparasite control practices. Veterinary Parasitology, 140(3), 321- 326.
[9]	Faust, E.C., D’Antoni, J.S., Odom, V., Miller, M.J., Peres, C., Sawitz, W., Thomen, L.F., Tobie, L.E. and Walker, J.H. (1938) A critical study of clinical laboratory techniques for the diagnosis of protozoan cysts and helminth eggs in feces. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 18(2), 169-183.
[10]	Lalle, M., Jiménez-Cardosa, E., Caccio, S.M. and Pozio, E. (2005) Genotyping of Giardia duodenalis from humans and dogs from Mexico using a beta-giardin nested polymerase chain reaction assay. International Journal for Parasitology, 91(1), 203-205.
[11]	Caccio, S.M., De Giacomo, M. and Pozio, E. (2002) Sequence analysis of the beta-giardin gene and development of a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay to genotype Giardia duodenalis cysts from human faecal samples. International Journal for Parasitology, 32(8), 1023-1030.
[12]	Itoh, N., Muraoka, N., Saeki, H., Aoki, M. and Itagaki, T. (2005) Prevalence of Giardia intestinalis infection in dogs of breeding kennels in Japan. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 67(7), 717-718.
[13]	Buehl, I.E., Prosl, H., Mundt, H.C., Tichy, A.G. and Joa- chim, A. (2006) Canine isosporosis - Epidemiology of field and experimental infections. Journal of Veterinary Medicine. B, Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health, 53(10), 482-487.
[14]	Meireles, P., Montiani-Ferreira, F. and Thomaz-Soccol, V. (2008) Survey of giardiosis in household and shelter dogs from metropolitan areas of Curitiba, Paraná state, Southern Brazil. Veterinary Parasitology, 152(3), 242-248.
[15]	Solarczyk, P. and Majewska, A.C. (2010) A survey of the prevalence and genotypes of Giardia duodenalis infecting household and sheltered dogs. Parasitology Research, 106(5), 1015-1019.
[16]	Mitchell, S.M., Zajac, A.M., Charles, S., Duncan, R.B. and Lindsay, D.S. (2007) Cystoisospora canis Nemeséri, 1959 (syn. Isospora canis), infections in dogs: Clinical signs, pathogenesis, and reproducible clinical disease in beagle dogs fed oocysts. International Journal for Parasitology, 93(2), 345-352.
[17]	Roddie, G., Stafford, P., Holland, C. and Wolfe, A. (2008) Contamination of dog hair with eggs of Toxocara canis. Veterinary Parasitology, 152(1-2), 85-93.
[18]	Nikoli?, A., Dimitrijevi?, S., Kati?-Radivojevi?, S., Klun, I., Bobr?, B. and Djurkovi?-Djakovi?, O. (2008) High prevalence of intestinal zoonotic parasites in dogs from Belgrade, Serbia - short communication. Acta Veterinaria Hungarica, 56(3), 335-340.
[19]	Holland, C., O’Connor, P., Taylor, M.R., Hughes, G., Girdwood, R.W. and Smith, H. (1991) Families, parks, gardens and toxocariasis. Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases, 23(2), 225-231.
[20]	Thompson, R.C. (2004). The zoonotic significance and molecular epidemiology of Giardia and giardiasis. Veterinary Parasitology, 126(1-2), 15-35.
[21]	Itoh, N., Kanai, K., Hori, Y., Hoshi, F. and Higuchis, S. (2009) Prevalence of Giardia Intestinalis and other zoonotic intestinal parasites in private household dogs of the Hachinohe area in Aomori prefecture Japan in 1997, 2002, 2007. Journal of Veterinary Science, 68(2), 161- 163.
[22]	Sowemimo, O.A. (2007) Prevalence and intensity of To- xocara canis (Werner, 1782) in dogs and its potential public health significance in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Journal of Helminthology, 81(4), 433-438.
[23]	Overgaauw, P.A., van Zutphen, L., Hoek, D., Yaya, F.O., Roelfsema, J., Pinelli, E., van Knapen, F. and Kortbeek, L.M. (2009) Zoonotic parasites in fecal samples and fur from dogs and cats in The Netherlands. Veterinary Parasitology, 163(1-2), 115-122.
[24]	Lee, A.C., Schantz, P.M., Kazacos, K.R., Montgomery, S.P. and Bowman, D.D. (2010) Epidemiologic and zoo- notic aspects of ascarid infections in dogs and cats. Trends in Parasitology, 26(4), 155-161.