Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Zoetis, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
Parasitol Res. 2023 Jan;122(1):237-243. doi: 10.1007/s00436-022-07722-1. Epub 2022 Nov 14.
Estimates of intestinal parasite prevalence in canine populations have largely been based on use of fecal flotation methods only. Dogs in animal shelters are likely at higher risk of intestinal parasite infection because of their previous exposure history. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasites among Texas shelter dogs using centrifugal fecal flotation and saline sedimentation techniques, to identify risk factors for infection, and to compare proportions of positive samples detected via fecal flotation vs. saline sedimentation for the most common parasites. Using a repeated cross-sectional study design, we collected fecal samples from dogs on three visits to each of seven Texas animal shelters between May 2013 and December 2014. Fecal flotation and/or saline sedimentation were used to identify parasites in samples. Fecal samples were collected from 529 dogs. The most frequently detected parasites were Ancylostoma caninum (26.4% via fecal flotation, 20.7% via saline sedimentation) and Trichuris vulpis (12.0% via fecal flotation, 14.1% via saline sedimentation). Risk factors for certain parasites were identified; for example, dogs with abnormal fecal consistency were more likely to be shedding T. vulpis eggs than dogs with normal fecal consistency (OR = 1.8, p = 0.005). The addition of fecal sedimentation not only added to the number of parasite species detected in this study, but it also increased the number of dogs diagnosed with the common intestinal parasites that are primarily detected using fecal flotation methods. Texas shelter dogs carry a high burden of intestinal parasites, including those of zoonotic importance.
对犬类群体中肠道寄生虫流行率的估计主要基于粪便漂浮法。由于先前的暴露史，动物收容所中的犬类更有可能感染肠道寄生虫。我们的目的是使用离心粪便漂浮和盐水沉淀技术，来评估德克萨斯州收容所犬的肠道寄生虫流行率，确定感染的风险因素，并比较粪便漂浮法和盐水沉淀法检测最常见寄生虫的阳性样本比例。采用重复的横断面研究设计，我们于 2013 年 5 月至 2014 年 12 月期间，在德克萨斯州的 7 家动物收容所中，对每只犬进行了 3 次访问以收集粪便样本。粪便漂浮和/或盐水沉淀用于鉴定样本中的寄生虫。共收集了 529 只犬的粪便样本。最常检测到的寄生虫是犬钩虫（粪便漂浮法检出率为 26.4%，盐水沉淀法检出率为 20.7%）和犬蛔虫（粪便漂浮法检出率为 12.0%，盐水沉淀法检出率为 14.1%）。还确定了某些寄生虫的风险因素；例如，粪便稠度异常的犬比粪便稠度正常的犬更有可能排出犬蛔虫卵（OR = 1.8，p = 0.005）。添加粪便沉淀不仅增加了本研究中检测到的寄生虫种类数量，还增加了诊断出常见肠道寄生虫的犬的数量，这些寄生虫主要通过粪便漂浮法检测。德克萨斯州收容所犬携带高度的肠道寄生虫负担，包括那些具有动物源性重要性的寄生虫。
