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Journal of Parasitic Diseases: Official Organ of the Indian Society for Parasitology logoLink to Journal of Parasitic Diseases: Official Organ of the Indian Society for Parasitology
. 2013 Nov 21;39(3):491–494. doi: 10.1007/s12639-013-0383-5

Prevalence of endoparasitic infections of non descript dogs in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Vikrant Sudan 1,✉, Amit Kumar Jaiswal 1, Daya Shanker 1, Dharamendra Kanojiya 1, Amreesh Sachan 1
PMCID: PMC4554565  PMID: 26345058

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate, through cross-sectional survey, the distribution, types and prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites affecting stray dogs in and around Mathura, India. Freshly voided faecal samples of 108 identified, stray, non descript dogs of either sex and different age groups were collected and examined for coprological examination by direct faecal smear method; simple flotation and sedimentation techniques to detect parasitic oocysts and/or eggs. A total of 96 samples (88.9 %) were found positive for helminthic eggs (nematodes and cestodes) while 16 (14.2 %) were found to be positive for protozoan infections with a overall parasitic prevalence of 98 (90.7 %). Single parasite infections (72.2 %) were more common than two or more infections (27.8 %). The data on the distribution of the various worm species in the positive dogs indicate that Ancylostoma caninum eggs were by far the most common (55.6 %). The other detected worm egg species and their respective frequencies were: Toxocara canis (51.9 %), Dypilidium caninim (50.0 %), Taenids (33.3 %), Toxocara leonina (25.9 %), Diphylobothrium latum (5.6 %), Spirocerca lupi (3.7 %) and Physaloptera canis (3.7 %). Eimeria canis oocysts were detected in eight samples (7.4 %) besides, total coccidian oocysts in 16 samples (14.8 %). The prevalence of helminth eggs was higher in puppies compared to adults. The prevalence of different species of helminths also varied in different age groups. The high prevalence of gastro-intestinal helminth parasites of zoonotic potential registered in the dogs indicates a potential risk to human health. The public health significance of the encountered parasitic infections is described and the prevalence is compared with the surrounding areas.

Keywords: Canines, Endoparasitic infections, Mathura, Prevalence, Public health significance, Zoonoses

Introduction

In spite of playing diversified and beneficiary roles in human society, dogs are the potent source of some of the zoonotic parasites (Robertson et al. 2000; Podberscek 2006). Parasitic diseases, particularly gastro-intestinal helminths and protozoans, have been incriminated as the major impediment to dog health worldwide (Smith 1991). In order to access the prevalence of naturally occurring parasitism in dogs residing in areas in and around the Campus of Veterinary University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India, a study was conducted regarding the copro examination of nondescript dogs, with no possible deworming history.

Materials and methods

Sampling procedure and data collection

A cross-sectional design in which data was collected at a single point and time (Thrusfield 2005) was used in the instant study. The population of study constituted stray dogs residing around human localities in and around the Veterinary Campus, Mathura. Data was collected on the dogs’ demographic characteristics (age, gender, etc.). The age of the presented dogs was determined based on body condition scores. Dogs were subjectively evaluated on two-scale level as ‘unhealthy’ or ‘healthy’. Dogs were grouped into three age categories. Dogs under 6 months of age were classed as puppies, those in range of 7–1 year were classed as juvenile and those beyond 1 year were classed as adult.

Sampling and parasitological techniques

Freshly voided faecal samples were collected after defaecation from the respective dog, put into faecal plastic bags, labelled and kept cool before transportation to the laboratory of Department of Parasitology, DUVASU, Mathura for coprological examination, where they were immediately examined or stored at refrigerated temperature (4 °C) for a maximum of 1 day before processing. The sedimentation and floatation technique as described by Soulsby (1982) were used to detect the presence of helminth eggs (cestodes and nematodes) and coccidia oocysts in the samples. A total of 108 identified, free living, stray, non descript dogs of either sex and different age groups were used in the present study.

Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics were generated and presented as tables. For the epidemiological studies, the prevalence (p) of dogs harbouring each parasite was calculated as p = d/n, where d is the number of dogs diagnosed as having a given parasite at that point in time and n is the number of dogs at risk (examined) at that point in time (Thrusfield 2005).

Results

Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic eggs and oocysts

Out of the total of 108 faecal samples examined, 48 (44.4 %) were found positive for helminthic eggs (nematodes and cestodes) while 16 (14.2 %) were found to be positive for protozoan infections. The proportion of the dogs harbouring hookworm eggs (Ancylostoma caninum) was the highest (55.6 %) followed by Toxocara canis (51.9 %), Dypilidium caninim (50.0 %), Taenids (33.3 %), Toxocara leonina (25.9 %), Diphylobothrium latum (5.6 %), Spirocerca lupi (3.7 %) and Physaloptera canis (3.7 %). Protozoan oocysts (Eimeria canis and other sporozoans) were detected in total of 16 samples (14.2 %). Single parasite infections (n = 78; 72.2 %) were more common than two or more infections (n = 30; 27.8 %). Detailed prevalence of GIT parasites is shown in Table 1.

Table 1.

Overall prevalence of various parasitic infections along with age group affected and severity of infection

S. no. Parasite species Number of infected casesa Age wise prevalenceb Severity of infection
Puppies (below 6 months) Juveniles (between 7 months and 1 year) Adults (above 1 year) Mild (+) Moderate (++) Heavy (+++)
1 Ancylostoma caninum 60 (55.6 %) 36 (60.0 %) 16 (26.7 %) 8 (13.3 %) 16 (26.7 %) 24 (40.0 %) 20 (33.3 %)
2 Toxocara canis 56 (51.9 %) 38 (50.0 %) 10 (17.9 %) 8 (14.1 %) 12 (21.4 %) 28 (50.0 %) 16 (28.6 %)
3 Dipylidium caninum 54 (50.0 %) 14 (26.0 %) 20 (37.0 %) 20 (37.0 %) 18 (33.3 %) 20 (37.1 %) 16 (29.6 %)
4 Taenids 36 (33.3 %) 4 (11.1 %) 8 (22.2 %) 24 (66.7 %) 8 (22.2 %) 28 (77.8 %) –
5 Toxocara leonina 28 (25.9 %) 20 (71.6 %) 4 (14.2 %) 4 (14.2 %) 8 (28.6 %) 12 (42.8 %) 8 (28.6 %)
6 Other coccidians 16 (14.8 %) 2 (12.5 %) 6 (37.5 %) 8 (50.0 %) 2 (12.5 %) 12 (75.0 %) 2 (12.5 %)
7 Eimeria canis 8 (7.4 %) – 4 (50.0 %) 4 (50.0 %) 2 (25.0 %) 6 (75.0 %) –
8 Diphylobothrium latum 6 (5.6 %) – – 6 (100.0 %) 4 (77.7 %) 2 (33.3 %) –
9 Spirocerca lupi 4 (3.7 %) – – 4 (100.0 %) 4 (100.0 %) – –
10 Physaloptera canis 4 (3.7 %) – 2 (50.0 %) 2 (50.0 %) 4 (100.0 %) – –
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aValues in parenthesis indicate the overall prevalence of the particular parasites in the study

bValues in parenthesis indicate the prevalence of the severity of the particular parasite in the study

Factors associated with prevalence of GIT parasite eggs infection

Host age was found to be a significant factor with respect to the prevalence of T. canis and A. caninum is concerned, as the infections being detected more frequently in puppies (<6 months of age) than juvenile and adult dogs (Table 1). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of gastro intestinal parasites between male (53 %) and female (47 %) dogs. Health status was not significantly associated with prevalence of parasite infection as apparently healthy (51 %) and unhealthy (49 %) dogs were almost equally infected indicating sub clinical infections in most of the cases.

Discussion

The present study showed that canine gastrointestinal parasitism was an important health disease. Helminthosis is often described as one of the main problems in dogs across the globe (Traub et al. 2005). However, the present study was different from the other mentioned works, as it dealt with natural parasitism in dogs and only those dogs were selected that had no possible history of deworming. Moreover, stray dogs were selected as they took their food from outside on their own and were not pets. This was done so as to assess the true nature of parasitic infections in nature and to give a valid and accurate data regarding prevalence of parasitism in canines in the study area. The relatively high level of parasitism recorded in this study is definitely related to the lack of earlier deworming history of dogs as they were free range eating habit of dogs in the study area. Mixed parasitism involving two or more helminth genera was also common in the present study.

The main significant finding of this survey is the persistent infections of dogs by helminths like A. caninum and T. canis, as in addition to its deleterious effects on dog’s health they are responsible for a wide variety of public health hazards. The higher prevalence of A. caninum (55.6 %) and T. canis (51.9 %) could be due to the nature of the environment, poor levels of hygiene and overcrowding especially in communities that are socio-economically disadvantaged together with the lack of veterinary attention in residing areas (Traub et al. 2005). Puppies are usually born with or acquire ascarid infection early in life through trans-mammary and trans-placental transmission (Soulsby 1982). Humans, when come in contact with the infective stages of canine hookworms, develops cutaneous larva migrans (CLMs). Reports on the occurrence of CLM in India are sporadic and are mainly restricted to case reports as presented by dermatology clinics and hospitals. Such individuals are known to have a history of prolonged exposure to wet surfaces in those public places where stray dogs are known to roam freely (Chetty et al. 1981; Pavithran 1990; Sugathan 2002; Thappa and Karthikeyan 2002). CLM is frequently encountered in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities that are unable to afford proper footwear and often sleep in environments heavily contaminated by faeces of stray dogs (Heukelbach et al. 2002). Infections with A. caninum can also result in eosinophilic enteritis (Prociv and Croese 1996; Landmann and Prociv 2003). Study to literature revealed A. caninum to be highly prevalent with prevalence rate of 89 and 72 % in Madhya Pradesh and tea-growing communities in Assam (Traub et al. 2004), respectively. Similarly, unidentified hookworm infections were found to be 50.5 % in Miraj (Joshi and Sabne 1977), 73 % in Bangalore (Malaki 1966), 71 % in Uttar Pradesh (Sahai 1969) and 91–99 % in Calcutta (Mapplestone and Bhaduri 1940). Pawlowski (2001) reported three clinical signs to be associated with Toxocariosis in humans viz., visceral larva migrans, ocular larva migrans and covert toxocariasis. The literature on the seroprevalence or the incidence of toxocariasis in humans in India is very much scanty. As per one study, seroprevalence of 6.4 % was found in a rural area in Haryana and in similar two separate studies conducted in Chandigarh and New Delhi, 7 out of 30 and 14 out of 68 suspected ocular cases of toxocariasis were seropositive for T. canis (Mirdha and Khokar 2002). Of late, the prevalence of T. canis in tea-growing communities in Assam was found to be 11 % (Traub et al. 2002). Parasite surveys on canines revealed T. canis to be the most common parasite of stray dogs in Miraj and Calcutta with prevalence rates of 55.8 and 82 %, respectively (Mapplestone and Bhaduri 1940; Joshi and Sabne 1977). By contrast, the prevalence of T. canis in adult stray dogs in Madhya Pradesh was 2.7 %. In a yet another study, 46 % of public parks and 32 % of school grounds in Andhra Pradesh were found to be contaminated with Toxocara ova (Kumar and Hafeez 1998).

There are numerous reports of human cystic hydatid disease throughout India with wide prevalence rates of between 3.5 % in villages in Amritsar to 33 % in the town of Kurnool areas (Reddy et al. 1968; Singh and Dhar 1988). Varying percentages of hydatid cysts have been recovered from sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes and camels throughout the country (Reddy and Suvarnakumari 1971; Singh and Dhar 1988). Despite the parasite’s significant economic and public health impact on the subcontinent, production losses in livestock and human morbidity and mortality as a result of cystic echinococcosis has yet to be assessed on a national scale (Chowdhury 2001).

Besides these, the other infections reported here in are not of zoonotic significance but never the less they are significant in terms of dogs health is concerned. E. canis reported herein is a sporadic parasite described worldwide. The authors did not get enough literature on the prevalence of other parasites of stray dogs from neighbouring geographical locations in the Indian context for the sake of criticism and/or discussion.

Most of the dogs examined appeared to be in fairly good health condition, but yielded different types of helminth eggs during examinations. This could be attributed to the subclinical nature of the parasitic conditions. Although sex did not emerge as a significant factor in this study, females dogs were more infected with helminth parasites than their male counterparts. This may be due to the physiological peculiarities of the female dogs, which usually constitute stress factors thus reducing their immunity to infections. Age emerged out to be a main factor in epidemiology of parasitic diseases in canines in the present study. A very high prevalence rate of A. caninum, T. canis and T. leonina was found in puppies.

In conclusion, the results obtained in this investigation suggests gastrointestinal helminths infections are prevalent and locally widespread. Puppies were at a higher risk of helminth infection, which is likely to negate the efficient dog growth rate and performance. Dogs are associated with more than 60 zoonotic diseases among which parasite in particular, helminthosis can pose serious public health concerns worldwide. Thus, concerted efforts should therefore be made to embrace modern dog disease control programs and specifically the need for routine deworming of their dogs along with the stray dogs.

Acknowledgments

The authors express their deep sense of gratitude to the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor and Dean, DUVASU, Mathura for the facilities provided.

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