Corda Andrea, Tamponi Claudia, Meloni Roberta, Varcasia Antonio, Parpaglia Maria Luisa Pinna, Gomez-Ochoa Pablo, Scala Antonio
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Calle Miguel Servet, 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
Parasitol Res. 2019 Mar;118(3):873-880. doi: 10.1007/s00436-019-06239-4. Epub 2019 Jan 31.
Toxocara canis is one of the most common intestinal parasites in dogs and represents a highly infectious zoonotic parasite worldwide. Adult worms live in the bowel of dogs, and infections in puppies are commonly acquired transplacentally. The biology of the parasite and the commonly used diagnostic method, based on faecal examination, often prevent an early diagnosis of toxocariasis in puppies. Ultrasonographic diagnosis of intestinal ascariasis could be a feasible alternative method to diagnose T. canis infection in puppies during the prepatent period. The present study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of intestinal toxocariasis in new-born puppies during the prepatent period. Fifty-four new-born puppies were prospectively recruited in the study. Each dog underwent intestinal ultrasonography and copro-microscopic examination every 5 days, starting from the 10th day post-birth. Intestinal ultrasonography visualized adult T. canis nematodes in the puppies' small intestine from the 10th day post-birth. On the 15th day after birth, ultrasonography showed 100% specificity and 85.4% sensitivity in diagnosing T. canis infection, despite negative results deriving from the copro-microscopic examination performed at the same time point. Our results showed that ultrasonography can be used as test for early diagnosis of T. canis infection in new-born puppies during the prepatent period. Early ultrasonographic diagnosis of T. canis infection in puppies could help control the disease in dogs and reduce the zoonotic risk for the human population.
犬弓首蛔虫是犬类最常见的肠道寄生虫之一，在全球范围内是一种具有高度传染性的人畜共患寄生虫。成虫寄生于犬的肠道，幼犬感染通常是经胎盘获得。该寄生虫的生物学特性以及基于粪便检查的常用诊断方法，常常阻碍幼犬弓首蛔虫病的早期诊断。肠道蛔虫病的超声诊断可能是在潜伏期诊断幼犬犬弓首蛔虫感染的一种可行替代方法。本研究评估了超声检查对新生幼犬潜伏期肠道弓首蛔虫病的诊断准确性。本研究前瞻性招募了54只新生幼犬。从出生后第10天开始，每只犬每隔5天进行一次肠道超声检查和粪便显微镜检查。从出生后第10天起，肠道超声检查可在幼犬小肠中发现成年犬弓首蛔虫线虫。出生后第15天，尽管同一时间点进行的粪便显微镜检查结果为阴性，但超声检查在诊断犬弓首蛔虫感染时显示出100%的特异性和85.4%的敏感性。我们的结果表明，超声检查可作为新生幼犬潜伏期犬弓首蛔虫感染早期诊断的检测方法。幼犬犬弓首蛔虫感染的早期超声诊断有助于控制犬类疾病，并降低人群的人畜共患风险。
