Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Dogs from Two Centers of Animal Welfare from Medellín and eastern Antioquia (Colombia), 2014

Verónica Sierra-Cifuentes; Julián David Jiménez-Aguilar; Alejandro Alzate Echeverri; Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias; Leonardo Alberto Ríos-Osorio

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Dogs from Two Centers of Animal Welfare from Medellín and eastern Antioquia (Colombia), 2014

2015

Verónica Sierra-Cifuentes | Julián David Jiménez-Aguilar | Alejandro Alzate Echeverri | Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias | Leonardo Alberto Ríos-Osorio

In Colombia, there are very few studies about intestinal parasitosis in dogs, and street dogs constitute a high-risk group for the acquisition of parasitic zoonotic diseases. Through a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in 2014, the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis and its associated factors were determined in 68 dogs of both sexes from two animal welfare centers in Medellin and eastern Antioquia (Colombia). The parasitological diagnosis was made by direct examination with saline solution at 0.8% and iodine, and the Sheather flotation method. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was 72.1% (49), helminths 58.8% (40), protozoa 33.8% (23) and parasitism in 45.6% (31). 11 parasitic agents, of which the most prevalent were Uncinaria stenocephala with 39.7% (27), were identified; Ancylostoma caninum, with 20.6% (14); Trichuris vulpis, with 16.2% (11) and Toxocara spp., with 11.8% (8). These were statistically higher in eastern Antioquia (p value chi2 < 0,05). Taenia spp. presented a prevalence of 4.4% (3) and it was higher in Medellin. There was no association between the prevalence of each taxon to sex or age (p value > 0.05). A high prevalence of intestinal parasitism in dogs from Medellin and eastern Antioquia was evidenced, as well as a great diversity in the prevalence of the subgroups studied. This information highlights the need to promote research in order to determine the magnitude and associated factors in specific populations as the foundation for targeting actions on veterinary health and public health, given the zoonotic potential of some parasitosis of dogs.

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