Prevalence of parasitism diagnosed by fecal examination in Louisiana dogs.

The prevalence of canine intestinal parasitism was evaluated by fecal examination of 4,058 dogs admitted to the Louisiana State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Clinics from March 1977 to March 1980). One or more species of parasites was identified in 2,048 (50.5%) dogs. Hookworms were encountered in 38.5% of the dogs examined, whipworms in 14.9%, ascarids in 8.5%, coccidia in 2.6%, tapeworms in 2.2%, and giardia in 0.8%. Single parasitic infection was present in 1,456 (35.9%) dogs. For hookworm and whipworm infections, male dogs were significantly (P less than .05) more often affected, compared with females or spayed females. Ascarid, coccidia, and giardia infections were more prevalent in pups than in mature dogs, whereas whipworm infections were detected less often in dogs less than 6 months of age. Hookworms were the most prevalent parasites in male (39.2%) and female (35.7%) dogs less than 6 months of age and maintained high prevalence in mature dogs. Tapeworm infections were diagnosed sporadically in all age groups. In female dogs greater than 24 months of age, significantly less parasitism was present as compared with younger females. In male dogs, the prevalence of parasitism diminished less markedly with increasing age.