High prevalence of intestinal zoonotic parasites in dogs from Belgrade, Serbia - Short communication
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2008
Authors
Nikolić, AleksandraDimitrijević, Sanda
Katić-Radivojević, Sofija
Klun, Ivana

Bobić, Branko
Đurković-Đaković, Olgica

Article (Published version)

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To identify areas of risk for canine-related zoonoses in Serbia, the aim of this Study was to provide baseline knowledge about intestinal parasites in 15 1 dogs (65 household pets, 75 stray and I I military working dogs) from Belgrade. The following parasites, with their respective prevalences, were detected: Giardia duodenalis (14.6%), Ancylostomatidae (24.5%), Toxocara canis (30.5%), Trichuris vulpis (47.0%) and Taenia-type helminths (6.6%). Of all examined dogs, 75.5% (114/151) were found to harbour at least one parasite species. Of these, mixed infections with Up to four species per dog occurred in 44.7% (51/114). Infections with all detected species were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in military working (100%) and stray dogs (93.3%) versus household pets (50.8%). Among all parasites, agents with zoonotic potential including Giardia, Ancylostomatidae and Toxocara were detected in 58.3% (88/151) of all examined dogs with a significant difference (p < 0.05) among the subgroups (100...%, 62.7% and 46.2% for military working dogs, stray dogs and household pets, respectively). The high prevalence of zoonotic parasites registered in the dog population from a highly urban area in south-eastern Europe indicates a potential risk to human health. Thus, veterinarians should play an important role in helping to prevent or minimise zoonotic transmission.
Keywords:
intestinal parasites / zoonoses / dogs / urban area / SerbiaSource:
Acta Veterinaria Hungarica, 2008, 56, 3, 335-340Publisher:
- Akademiai Kiado Zrt, Budapest
Projects:
DOI: 10.1556/AVet.56.2008.3.7
ISSN: 0236-6290
PubMed: 18828485