Coproprevalence of Canine Gastrointestinal Parasitic Infections with Emphasis on Echinococcus granulosus in Stray Dogs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.22.2.15Keywords:
Dogs, Echinococcus granulosus, Gastrointestinal parasitic infections, Zoonosis.Abstract
Present study was undertaken to explore the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in the stray dogs of Ludhiana district of Punjab state, India. A total of 240 faecal samples were collected from stray dogs residing in or near urban areas, near animal post-mortem hall/ slaughter houses and from canine birth control center. Conventional parasitological examination of faecal samples revealed 106(44.16%) samples positive for parasitic eggs/ova. Single parasitic infections (30.83%) were found to be more common than multiple parasitic infections (13.75%). Among different type of enteric parasites, coproprevalence of hookworms was found to be highest (12%) followed by coccidian/ Isosopra oocysts (7.9%), mixed infection of hookworm + Toxocara (6.0%), Toxocara (5.8%), mixed infection of hookworm+ Trichuris + Coccidia (4.1%), Trichuris (2.9%), hookworm + Coccidia (2.9%), taenid eggs (1.6%) and least prevalence of Dipylidium caninum (0.8%) was recorded in the present study. The prevalence of Taeniid eggs were higher in stray dogs near post-mortem hall (6.6%) followed by dogs in urban areas (1.7 %) and least in dogs from birth control center (0.8%). Coproantigen ELISA was performed on 92 faecal samples, which revealed prevalence of 19.5% of E. granulossus in stray dogs. Moreover, the prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus was significantly (p=0.0138) higher in dogs near post-mortem halls and slaughter houses compared to other locations. The high prevalence of zoonotic GI parasites among stray dogs indicates a potential threat to human health. Echinococcus eggs can remain viable in the environment for several months to over a year, hence, it is essential to implement effective measures to prevent the cystic echinococcosis in both animals and humans. There is an urgent need to implement regular anthelmintic treatment programs (possibly integrated with rabies vaccination campaigns) to control the spread of zoonotic helminthic parasitic infections from stray dogs to the people.Downloads
References
Abas A, Ishfaq MM, Hidayatullah T, Wasim MD, Abid HB, Bilal AP. A study on the prevalence of echinococcosis in stray dogs of Kashmir Valley. J Vet Anim Sci. 2022;53(3):503-508.
Barosi R, Umhang G. Presence of Echinococcus eggs in the environment and food: a review of current data and future prospects. Parasitology. 2024;151(13):1416-1431.
Centre for Food Security and Public Health. Echinococcosis. Ames (IA): CFSPH; 2011. p.1-14. Available from: http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu
Das R, Gupta V, Verma N, Mirdha BR. Seropositivity pattern of human cystic echinococcosis at a tertiary care hospital of India. J Lab Physicians. 2023;15(1):169-172.
De S, Gupta MP, Singla LD, Sood NK. Copro-prevalence of hookworm infection and associated risk factors in pet dogs in Ludhiana. J Anim Res. 2017;7(2):409-413.
Dubie T, Sire S, Fentahun G, Bizuayehu F. Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of dogs and associated factors in Hawassa city of Sidama Region, Ethiopia. J Parasitol Res. 2023;23:7.
Eckert J, Gottstein B, Heath D, Liu F. Prevention of echinococcosis in humans and safety precautions. In: Eckert J, Gemmell MA, Meslin FX, Pawłowski ZS, editors. WHO/OIE manual on echinococcosis in humans and animals: a public health problem of global concern. Paris: WHO; 2001. p.96-105.
State of Pet Homelessness Index. End Pet Homelessness Index results – India. 2020. Available from: https://stateofpethomelessness.com/the-index/
Hadi AM, Faraj AA. Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths and protozoa among stray dogs in Baghdad. Iraqi J Vet Med. 2016;40(1):1-4.
Hemachander SS, Prasad CR, Jessica M. Morbidity pattern of hydatid disease (cystic echinococcosis) and lack of its knowledge in patients attending Mamata General Hospital, Khammam, Andhra Pradesh. Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2008;51(1):143-145.
Jenkins DJ, Fraser A, Bradshaw H, Craig PS. Detection of Echinococcus granulosus coproantigens in Australian canids with natural or experimental infection. J Parasitol. 2000;86(1):140-145.
Hodorogea MO, Cazacu BF, Mădălina-Maria M, Andrei-Alexandru M, Mircea-Ioan P, Gabriela-Loredana P. Cystic echinococcosis in the early 2020s: a review. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2024;9(2):36.
Minhas A. India – population of pet dogs 2014–2023. Statistics; 2022.
Parikh F. Echinococcosis: cut to cure but what about control? J Assoc Physicians India. 2012;60:9-10.
Singh BB, Sharma JK, Ghatak S, Sharma R, Bal MS, Tuli A, et al. Molecular epidemiology of echinococcosis from food-producing animals in North India. Vet Parasitol. 2012;186:503-506.
Soulsby EJL. Helminths, arthropods and protozoa of domesticated animals. London: ELBS and Bailliere Tindall; 1982.
Svobodova V, Lenska B. Echinococcosis in dogs in the Czech Republic. Acta Vet Brno. 2002;71:347-350.
Thompson RCA, McManus DP. Aetiology: parasites and life-cycles. In: Eckert J, Gemmell MA, Meslin FX, Pawlowski ZS, editors. WHO/OIE manual on echinococcosis in humans and animals: a public health problem of global concern. Paris: WHO; 2001.
Traub RJ, Robertson ID, Irwin P, Mencke N, Thompson RCA. Application of a species-specific PCR-RFLP to identify Ancylostoma eggs directly from canine faeces. Vet Parasitol. 2004;123:245-255.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Biotechnology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
