Gastrointestinal Helminthes of Dogs in Yirgalem Town, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted from November 2011 to March 2012 to estimate the prevalence and major gastrointestinal parasites burden of dogs (n=427) in Yirgalem town. The overall prevalence of parasites was 72.8% and the prevalence of Ancylostoma caninum, Dipylidium caninum and Toxocara canis were 53.4%, 43.1% and 54.3%, respectively. Significant difference was observed between the prevalence of the A. caninum and D. caninum (x2 =9.1, p = 0.003), and between T. canis and D. caninum (x2 =10.7, p= 0.001). The highest relative proportion of solitary infection was recorded for A. caninum (12%) followed by D. caninum (8%) and T. canis (7%). On the other hand, mean egg count of T. canis were the highest followed by A. caninum and D. caninum with the significant mean difference between A. caninum and D. caninum (x2 =67, p = 0.0481), and between T. canis and D. caninum (x2 =79, p = 0.0149). There were significant differences in the mean egg count between sexes (F = 4.14, p = 0.0429) and purpose of keeping the dog (F = 9.22, p=0.001). Male dogs harbor higher number of eggs than female. A significantly greater mean egg count (p = 0.000) was observed in dogs kept as guard and for both joy and guard compared to dogs used only for joy. In conclusion, this study revealed the importance of some gastro-intestinal tract parasites of dog in the study area that need attention for subsequent control measures.