ABSTRACT
El aumento del numero de mascotas, la falta de educación y el manejo un adecuado por parte de los propietarios, ha generado un incremento de poblaciones callejeras de caninos, que son una de las más importantes fuentes de contaminación de los ambientes urbanos, con huevos de helmintos y con quistes y ooquistes de protozoarios. El presente estudio determino la prevalencia de parásitos gastrointestinales en caninos recolectados por el Centro de Zoonosis de Bogotá a partir de 650 muestras fecales, distribuidas proporcionalmente por localidades. Mediante pruebas coprológicas se diagnosticó presencia de helmintos y protozoarios gastrointestinales, causantes de enfermedades zoonóticas en la población humana
The increase in the number of pets, the lack of education and inadequate management by pet owners has led to an increase in stray canine populations, which are one of the most important sources of contamination of urban environments with helminth eggs and with cysts and oocysts of protozoa. The present study determined the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in canines collected by the Zoonosis Center of Bogotá from 650 fecal samples, distributed proportionally by localities. The presence of gastrointestinal helminths and protozoa, which cause zoonotic diseases in the human population, was diagnosed by coprological tests: 156 samples (24%) showed no helminth or protozoan eggs or cysts, while positivity was observed in 494 (76%). The presence of Ancylostomidae eggs (Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinada stenocephala) was evidenced in 355 samples (71.9%), in 47 samples (9.5%) the presence of Toxocara canis eggs, in 9 (1.8%) the presence of Dipylidium caninum eggs, 8 samples (1.6%) Giardia spp. cysts and 6 samples (1.2%) Sarcocystis spp. oocysts. The high percentage of infected animals indicates that free canines are directly involved in the dissemination of helminths and protozoa relevant to public health in Bogota, such as Ancylostoma caninum, Toxocara canis, Dipylidium caninum, Giardia spp. and Sarcocystis spp. Although the parasitic problems generated by helminths are considered to have been overcome, this study reveals that their importance is maintained in free canine populations where there is no sanitary management, in addition to the fact that protozoa are important pathogens within emerging zoonotic diseases.