Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T22:26:44.143Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A survey of intestinal helminths of well-cared-for dogs in Jamaica, and their potential public health significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

R. D. Robinson ,
D. L. Thompson  and
J. F. Lindo
R. D. Robinson
Affiliation:
Parasitology Research Laboratories, Department of Zoology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
D. L. Thompson
Affiliation:
Parasitology Research Laboratories, Department of Zoology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
J. F. Lindo
Affiliation:
Parasitology Research Laboratories, Department of Zoology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates the level of helminthic infestation in better-cared-for dogs in a middle-class community in suburban Kingston. A canine zoographic study was conducted, and fresh faecal deposits were collected and analysed for helminth life-cycle stages. The survey indicated that 73% (n=93) of households in the study area owned one dog or more (mean=1·4). Resident's attitudes towards canine management suggested that the dog population was, in general, restricted to the residential estate, and most owners claimed to have dewormed their dogs at least as young animals. Of 141 faecal specimens, 58% contained eggs or larvae of one or more of eight helminths: Uncinaria stenocephala (26%), Ancylostoma sp. (23%), Trichuris vulpis (9%), Toxocara canis (8%), Spirocerca lupi (6%), Strongyloides sp. (6%), Apophallus sp. (4%) and taeniids (1%). There was a high level of multiple infection in the host animals, with approximately one fifth of the infected samples containing three or more helminth types. Infection intensity was apparently low, but some dogs harboured heavy worm loads.

Keywords

JamaicadogsurveyUncinaria stenocephalaAncylostomaTrichuris vulpisToxocara canisSpirocerca lupiStrongyloidesApophallusTaeniidae
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , March 1989 , pp. 32 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ashcroft, M. T. (1965) A history and general survey of the helminth and protozoal infections of the West Indies. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 59, 478–493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bailey, W. S. (1971) Spirocerca lupi: A continuing inquiry. Journal of Parasitology, 58, 3–22.Google Scholar
Barrow, K. O. & Persaud, C. (1972) Hyperinfection with Strongyloides stercoralis. West Indian Medical Journal, 21, 171.Google Scholar
Biocca, E. (1959) Infestazione umana prenatale da Spirocerca lupi (Rud. 1809). Parassitologia, 1, 137–142.Google Scholar
Bisseru, B. (1967) Diseases of man acquired from his pets. William Heineman Medical Books Ltd., London.Google Scholar
Bras, G., Richards, R. C., Irvine, R. A., Milner, P. F. & Ragbeer, M. M. S. (1964) Infection with Strongyloides stercoralis in Jamaica. Lancet, Dec. 12: 1257–1260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bundy, D. A. P. & Steele, J. H. (1984) Parasitic zoonoses in the Caribbean Region—a review. International Journal of Zoonoses, 11, 1–38.Google ScholarPubMed
Bundy, D. A. P., Schantz, P. M., Coore, M., Cooper, E. S. & Schloss, W. R. (1981) CAREC Surveillance Report, 71, (10).Google Scholar
Dada, B. J. O. & Belino, E. D. (1979) Prevalence and public health significance of helminth ova in dog faeces deposited on the streets of Zaria, Nigeria. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 73, (short communication).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubin, S., Segall, S. & Martindale, J. (1975) Contamination of soil in two city parks with canine nematode ova, including Toxocara canis: A preliminary study. American Journal of Public Health, 65, 1242–1245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Georgi, J. R. & Sprinkle, C. L. (1974) A case of human strongyloidiasis apparently contracted from an asymptomatic colony of dogs. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 23, 899–901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grove, D. L. & Northern, C. (1982) Infection and immunity in dogs infected with a human strain of Strongyloides stercoralis. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 76, 833–838.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobs, D. E. & Pegg, E. J. (1976) Gastrointestinal nematodes of elite show dogs in Great Britain. Journal of Helminthology, 50, 265–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kenny, M. & Yermakov, V. (1980) Infection of man with Trichuris vulpis, the whipworm of dogs. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 29, 1205–1208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milder, J. E., Walzer, P. D., Kilgore, G., Rutherford, I. & Klein, M. (1981) Clinical features of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in an endemic area of the United States. Gastroenterology, 80, 1481–1488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Jamaica (1948–1949) investigations.Bulletin of the Ministry of Agriculture (Jamaica), 45, 102–105.Google Scholar
Persaud, C. R. (1973) Laboratory and field studies on the Jamaican strain of human Strongyloides. Ph.D. Thesis, University of the West Indies.Google Scholar
Ritchie, L. W. (1948) Formalin-ether sedimentation for stool examination. Bulletin of the U.S. Army Medical Department, 8, 326.Google Scholar
Soroczan, W. (1977) The life cycle of Strongyloides stercoralis Stiles & Hassall, 1902 (Nematodes, Strongyloididae) in the temperate climatic zone. Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 24, 259–267.Google Scholar
Speed, J. C., Culpepper, V., Thompson, D. E., Henson, R., Wint, B. & Bundy, D. A. P. (1987) A community-based study of gastrointestinal helminth and protozoan infection in Western Jamaica. West Indian Medical Journal, 36, 73–79.Google ScholarPubMed
Terry, S. I. (1987) Strongyloides stercoralis—a dangerous helminthic infection. Postgraduate Doctor, 10, 152–162.Google Scholar
Thompson, D. E., Bundy, D. A. P., Cooper, E. S. & Schantz, P. M. (1986) Epidemiological characteristics of Toxocara canis zoonotic infection of children in a Caribbean community. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 64, 283–290.Google Scholar
Tikasingh, E. S. (1981) Human parasites in the Commonwealth Caribbean PAHO/CAREC (Mimeographed document).Google Scholar
Vaughn, J. & Jordan, K. (1960) Intestinal nematodes in well-cared-for dogs. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 9, 29–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Who (1978) Action to reduce human health hazards arising from animals. WHO Chronicle, 32, 307–310.Google Scholar
Williams, R. W. & Menning, E. L. (1961) Intestinal helminths in dogs and cats of the Bermuda Islands, and their potential public health significance, with a report of a probable case of visceral larva migrans. Journal of Parasitology, 47, 947–951.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed