Investigação de parasitos intestinais zoonóticos em cães domiciliados na cidade de Alfenas-MG

Abstract

The domiciled dogs are in close contact with their owners and can be potential carriers of zoonotic parasites. The main objective was to verify the presence of zoonotic intestinal parasites in dogs living in a home environment in the city of Alfenas-MG. The study was carried out from February 2017 to July 2018, and the sample consisted of 336 dogs considering four regions of the city as strata and the neighborhoods of these regions as conglomerates. A neighborhood of each stratum was drawn and a sample of dog faeces from each selected household was collected. The households were visited to verify the presence of the dog and the animals whose tutors signed the consent form and answered a questionnaire about the living conditions of the dog participated in the research. At the time of the interview, a vial was delivered to the owner for the packaging of the fecal sample of the animal and the guidelines necessary for this procedure. The samples were processed using the Spontaneous Sedimentation technique and the results showed the presence of Toxocara canis and Ancylostoma sp. The parasitized dogs were mostly adult, defined race, small size, with predominance of T. canis in females and of Ancylostoma sp in males. Educational actions were carried out for teaching the concepts on transmission and prevention of parasites for children from 6 to 10 years of age in the schools of these neighborhoods, and delivered to the tutor an explanatory folder along with the result of the parasitological examination. The results obtained confirmed the presence of potentially zoonotic intestinal parasites in 2.98% of the dogs domiciled in the city of Alfenas. The risk factors that exerted a significant influence on the occurrence of parasitic infection in these animals were the deficiency of health care, such as deworming practices (p = 0.018) and anti-rabies vaccination (p = 0.036). The educational actions favored the adoption of habits and attitudes regarding good animal care practices for the promotion of dog health and well-being and human health. These results may contribute to the knowledge of the epidemiology of intestinal parasitoses in dogs domiciled in the city studied. In addition, these data may assist veterinarians and tutors in the elaboration and implementation of measures that favor the adoption of good hygienic-sanitary care practices for the control and prevention of the transmission of these parasites in dogs and in humans.