A wide diversity of zoonotic intestinal parasites in domestic and stray dogs in rural areas of Kermanshah province, Iran

Dogs can act as reservoirs, carriers, and transmitters of several zoonotic intestinal parasites that can cause serious health problems for humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs in Kermanshah Province, west of Iran. Faecal samples were collected from domestic and stray dogs from 30 rural areas of Kermanshah province from August 2014 to April 2015 and were analyzed by formalin-ether sedimentation, sucrose otation technique and the modied Ziehl-Neelsen method. Out of 301 dogs examined, 230 (76.4%) were infected with at least one parasite. The incidence on the different types of intestinal parasitic species recovered from domestic and stray dogs are as follows: Toxocara leonina (20.8% and 27.6%), T. canis (7.5% and 9.4%), Taenia spp. (9.2% and 9.4%), hookworm spp. (18.3% and 33.7%), Capillaria spp. (0.8 and 1.7%), Dicrocoelium dendriticum (0.8% and 3.3%), Fasciola spp. (0.8% and 2.2%), Acanthocephal spp. (3.3% and 5.5%), Trichuris vulpis (0.8% and 1.7%), Dipylidium caninum (4.2% and 3.3%), Physaloptera spp. (6.7% and 6.6%), Cryptosporidium spp.(21.7% and 25.4%), Eimeria spp. (35.0% and 34.3%), Giardia spp. (6.7% and 12.7%), Cystoisospora spp. (7.5% and 5.5%), Blastocystis spp. (18.3% and 20.4%) and Sarcocystis spp. (6.7% and 7.2%), respectively. Signicant difference in infection rates was observed between domestic and stray dogs (P>0.05). Hookworm and Eimeria spp. were the most common intestinal helminth and protozoa detected with 83 (27.6%) out of 301 and 104 (34.6%), out of 301, respectively. There was no significant difference in prevalence and distribution of intestinal parasites between male and female dogs (P>0.05). The wide range of zoonotic parasites indicated that people residing in rural areas in Kermanshah province are at risk of exposure to these pathogens. In this respect, appropriate implementation of control programs by public health authorities and veterinarians should be taken into account.