Zoonotic helminth parasites of dog in Bishoftu Town, central Ethiopia: prevalence, dog owners’ knowledge and control practice

Many dog helminth parasites are endemic in many countries of the world posing public health threat. However, they were neglected and less studied in the developing countries such as Ethiopia. This cross-sectional study carried out from November 2016 to April 2017 in Bishoftu town aims at estimating the prevalence of major gastrointestinal tract (GIT) zoonotic helminth parasites of dogs and assessing dog owner’s knowledge and control practice against zoonotic dog parasites. Accordingly, the whole area of Bishoftu town was divided into 60 blocks, of which 10 were randomly selected for the study. A structured questionnaire was prepared in English, pretested and administered face to face to 140 dog-owning respondents using two local languages: Amharic and Affan Oromo. Fecal samples collected from 238 dogs after administration of ivermectin and praziquantel at recommended doses to increase sensitivity of detection and to get favorable cooperation of owners. For case detection flotation technique is used for parasite egg identification and parasite morphology for parasites observed in the feces. Pearson’s Chi-square (χ2), p-values and 95% confidence intervals calculated to measure association. Four zoonotic helminthic parasites detected with combined infection prevalence of 59.24% (95% CI: 52.84-65.35). The prevalence of each was 33.61% (95% CI: 27.86 – 39.90) Ancylostoma (A.) caninum, 29.41% (95% CI: 23.93 – 35.56) Toxocara (T.) canis, 19.75% (95% CI: 15.14 – 25.34) Dipylidium (D.) caninum, and 2.10% (95% CI: 0.87 – 4.98) Echinococcus (E.) granulosus. The prevalence of A. caninum and T. canis was significantly higher than the prevalence of D. caninum and E. granulosus. Mixed infection with two parasites recorded in 13.87% whereas concurrent infection with three parasites registered in 5.88% of the dogs. Statistically significant association (p<0.05) was observed between overall infection prevalence and the sex of dogs, where infection prevalence of A. caninum (p<0.001) and T. canis (p<0.001) were significantly higher in male than in female dogs. The questionnaire survey revealed that only 40% of the respondents were aware of the transmission of zoonotic helminthes to humans while none know the route of transmission. Of all the respondents, 58.57% reported regular deworming of their dogs, at least twice per annum, whereas 47.86% of respondents clean and dispose dogs’ excrement with household garbage and 88.57% of dog owners remove dogs’ excrement without using glove, facemasks, boots and/or coverall/gown for personal protection In relative terms high prevalence of zoonotic helminth parasites infestation was observed in owned dog population with poor awareness about route of transmission. Thus, it is advisable to create awareness of dog owners in waste management and use of Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPE). Keywords: Ancylostoma; Bishoftu; Dipylidium; Echinococcus; Ethiopia; Toxocara