Intestinal Nematode Parasites of Dogs: Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors

摘要

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal nematode parasites of dogs from November 2009 to April 2010 in Gondar. The study discovered that Zoonotically important parasites are also serious problems of dogs in this area. Coprological examination of direct fecal smear and simple floatation techniques were deployed to screen parasite and determine their species. In this study the prevalence of intestinal nematodes was analyzed in relation to age, sex and types of breeds. Of the total 326 dogs' faecal samples examined, 14.7% (n = 48) were found to harbor one or more parasite species. The prevalence of intestinal nematode parasites was 4.6, 8.3 and 1.8% in less than 1 year, 1-3 years and greater than 3 years of age groups, respectively. The prevalence recorded on sex basis are 7.1% (female) and 7.7% (male), and those of local and cross breeds were 10.7% and 4.0%, respectively. But the difference in prevalence among age, sex and age groups was not found statistically significant (p>0.05). Parasites from the four genera were identified and these include Ancylostoma caninum, Toxascaris leonina, Toxocara canis and Strongyloides stercoralis. Ancylostoma caninum (4.6%) was the most prevalent parasites encountered as compared to other three types of nematode parasites.