Prevalence of Parasites Detected in Domestic Dogs from Konya Province: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Parasitic infections caused by helminth, protozoa, and ectoparasites pose a threat to animal and human health due to clinical changes and transmission of potentially zoonotic agents. This study's objective was to assess parasitic diseases in dogs admitted to the Selcuk University Veterinary Faculty Animal Hospital (SUVFAH) between 2015 and 2021. Fecal, blood, and skin samples sent to the laboratory of the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine were examined. The majority of samples (n = 846) were collected from domestic dogs, and only 49 were from shelter dogs. During the study period, 33.74% (302/895) of the dogs tested positive for at least one parasite, including single (29.83%), double (4.63%), triple (0.14%) and quadruple (0.14%) internal parasite infections. This study revealed that the prevalences of protozoan and rickettsial parasites, including Isospora spp., Giardia duodenalis, Sarcocystis spp., Entamoeba histolytica, and Ehrlichia canis in dogs from Konya province, were 7.01%, 26.79%, 1.26%, 0.7%, and 5.26%, respectively. On the other hand, the prevalences of helminthic parasites Toxascaris spp., Trichuris spp., Anyclostoma spp., Uncinaria spp., Dipylidium caninum, Taenia spp. and Mesocestoides spp. were 0.14%, 0.42%, 0.42%, 0.42%, 0.42%, 0.42% and 0.14%, respectively. As ectoparasitic infestations, 11.66% Demodex canis infestation and 0.61% myiasis cases were encountered. Although most of the dogs in the study were owned, the rate of internal and external parasite infection/infestation was high. In this case, pet owners have a great responsibility to prevent parasitic infections in pets, which are the source of many parasitic agents with zoonotic properties.