Prevalence of intestinal parasite infections in stray and farm dogs from Spain / Prevalência de infecções por parasitos intestinais em cães errantes e de fazenda na Espanha

Abstract Dogs play a potential role as reservoirs for zoonotic parasites, being especially problematic uncontrolled dog populations such as stray and farm dogs with access to populated areas. In order to investigate the prevalence of canine intestinal parasites in at-risk dog populations, we tested a total of 233 faecal samples shed by stray and dairy farm dogs from northern Spain. Telemann method was used to detect the presence of eggs and (oo)cysts of common dog intestinal parasites and Cryptosporidium was detected by PCR. One hundred and forty eight out of 233 samples (63.5%) were positive for at least one intestinal parasite, being Ancylostomidae (35.6%; 83/233) and Trichuris (35.2%; 82/233) the parasites most frequently identified. Cryptosporidium DNA was not detected in any of the faecal samples analysed. The overall prevalence was significantly higher in stray dogs than in farm dogs (72.5% vs 58.8%). Specifically, stray dogs had a significantly higher prevalence of Ancylostomatidae, Toxocara, Toxascaris and Taenidae. These dog populations are an important source of environmental contamination with intestinal parasite forms, which could be of significance to animal and human health.

Resumo Os cães desempenham um importante papel como reservatório de parasitos zoonóticos, sendo especialmente problemáticas as populações descontroladas, como a de cães errantes e de fazenda, com acesso às áreas povoadas. Para investigar a prevalência de parasitos intestinais em populações caninas de risco, foram analisadas 233 amostras fecais provenientes de cães de fazendas leiteiras e errantes do norte da Espanha. O método Telemann foi utilizado para detectar ovos, cistos e oocistos dos parasitos caninos mais comuns e para a detecção de Cryptosporidium foi utilizada a técnica da PCR. Cento e quarenta e oito de 233 amostras analisadas (63,5%) foram positivas para pelo menos um parasito intestinal, sendo Ancyostomatidae (35,6%; 83/233) e Trichuris sp. (35,2%; 82/233) os parasitos identificados com maior frequência. O DNA de Cryptosporidium sp. não foi detectado em nenhuma das amostras fecais analisadas. A prevalência geral foi significativamente maior em cães errantes do que em cães de fazenda (72,5% vs 58,8%). Especificamente, os cães errantes tiveram prevalência maior para Ancylostomatidae, Toxocara, Toxascaris e Taenidae. Essas populações de cães são importantes fontes de contaminação ambiental, pois eliminam formas de vida desses parasitos, que podem ter impacto na saúde animal e humana.

Use of an immunodominant p17 antigenic fraction of Neospora caninum in detection of antibody response in cattle

A Neospora caninum 17 kDa protein fraction (p17) has been described as an immunodominant antigen (IDA) under reducing and non-reducing conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of p17 in cattle. In order to achieve this, p17 was purified by electroelution from whole N. caninum tachyzoite soluble extract and a p17-based Western blot (WB-p17) was developed. The p17 recognition was measured by densitometry and expressed as OD values to check the validity of the WB-p17. A total of 131 sera including sequential samples from naturally- and experimentally-infected calves and breeding cattle were analysed by WB-p17 and compared with IFAT using whole formalin-fixed tachyzoites as a reference test. The results obtained highlight the feasibility of using the N. caninum p17 in a diagnostic test in cattle. Firstly, the assay based on the p-17 antigen discriminated between known positive and negative sera from different cattle populations, breeding cattle and calves. Secondly, the p17 antigen detected fluctuations in the antibody levels and seroconversion in naturally- and experimentally-infected cattle. Significant differences in p-17 antigen recognition were observed between naturally infected aborting and non-aborting cattle, as well as significant antibody fluctuations over time in experimentally infected cattle, which varied between groups. Furthermore, the results obtained with WB-p17 are in accordance with the results obtained with the IFAT, as high agreement values were obtained when all bovine subpopulations were included (kappa = 0.86).