Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and community awareness about zoonotic diseases in Chagni town, northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

This cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth species found in stray dogs and to assess the awareness of the community about dog parasitic zoonoses in Chagni town, northwest Ethiopia. Standard fecal and postmortem examination and questionnaire survey methods were used to collect data. A total of 202 fecal samples were collected and examined using the Kato-Katz methodology to indicate intestinal helminthes in dogs of the study area. Postmortem examination was done on 9 stray dogs to detect the presence of adult worms. Necropsy of the 9 stray dogs revealed that all of them (100%) were positive for at least one intestinal helminth parasite. The following cestodes were identified: Echinococcus granulosus, Taenia pisiformis, T. hydatigena, T. ovis, Dipylidium caninum and Mesocestoides. Other intestinal worms in dogs were Toxocaracanis, Tirchurisvulpis and Ancylostoma caninum. Most helminths were recovered from the large intestine. Of the interviewed community members, 68.3% reported that tapeworms locally called “kosso” were zoonotic agents, followed by roundworms, locally called “wosefat”. Majority of the respondents reported they feed their own dogs raw condemned offal’s and human. The findings showed that there is significant infestation of intestinal helminthes among the dogs of the study area coupled with the high levels of illiteracy among community members about canine parasites and transmission. This shows that immediate action needs to be taken to decrease infection rates in dogs and to raise education levels of the community about zoonotic diseases.

Keywords: Chagni; Dog; Helminthes; Intestinal parasites; Prevalence; Zoonoses