Study of the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in stray dogs in Isfahan

Subject Areas : Parasitology and parasitic diseases

seyed morteza razaghi manesh ^{1 *} , Ava Abrisham Kar ² , Leila Derakhshan ³ , Zahra Sadeqian ⁴

1 - Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar, Iran
2 - Animal Biology student at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
3 - Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar, Iran
4 - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Student, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Shushtar Branch, Shushtar, Iran

Received: 2025-05-14 Accepted : 2025-05-14 Published : 2025-05-14

Keywords: Stray dogs, Gastrointestinal parasites, Isfahan, Echinococcus granulosus,

Abstract :

In this study, 154 stray dogs caught from different areas of Isfahan were collected and after separating the intestines and transferring them to the parasitology laboratory, the intestinal contents were examined to isolate intestinal helminth parasites, especially Echinococcus granulosus. The rate of infection with helminth parasites of the digestive tract was 64.7%. Infection with nematodes was reported to be 29.1% and infection with various cestodes was also reported to be 58.7%. A total of 6 cestode species were found, including Taenia ovis (26%), Taenia hydatidiformis (14.6%), Taenia multipes (7.1%), Diplidium caninum (22.1%), Mesocestoides lineatus (6.8%), and Echinococcus granulosus (30.2%), with Echinococcus granulosus accounting for the highest percentage of infection. Identifying parasites in stray dogs will certainly help improve the fight against and control of parasitic diseases in these animals. Among the strategies that can be used to control infections are increasing the level of awareness of the community through continuous health education through the media, holding training sessions, sanitizing slaughterhouses and preventing illegal slaughter, as well as sanitary burial of livestock waste, identifying intermediate and primary hosts, and identifying methods of transmission of parasitic infections. Given that it is impossible to control or treat stray dogs, it seems absolutely necessary for the municipal services management to continue its activities in eliminating stray dogs.

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