title: Ectoparasite infestation on rural dogs in the municipality of São Vicente Férrer, Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil.
abstract: This article presents the results of a study on ectoparasites infesting rural dogs in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Forty-one dogs from a rural community of Pernambuco were examined and 70.7% were infested by ectoparasites. The prevalence rates of infestation by ticks, fleas, and lice were 58.5, 43.9 and 22%, respectively. Of 24 dogs parasitized by ticks, 15 were exclusively infested by Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) (32 females, 66 males, 9 nymphs; prevalence, 48.8%; mean intensity, 5.4), four by Amblyomma ovale Koch (33 females, 19 males; prevalence, 22%; mean intensity, 5.8), and five were coinfested by both species. Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouché) (25 females, 8 males; prevalence, 43.9%; mean intensity, 1.9) and Heterodoxus spiniger (Enderlein) (16 females, 11 males, 10 nymphs; prevalence, 22%; mean intensity, 4.1) were the only species of flea and louse identified. Tick infestation was more frequent than flea or lice infestations (p < 0.05). No statistical difference was found by sex and age group of the dogs studied and prevalence of infestation. Overall, 48.8% (20/41) of the dogs were infested by more than one ectoparasite species.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Zootecnia, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Strada Provinciale per Casamassima, km 3, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italia. flipe@globo.com
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dantas-Torres
authors.forename: Marcela F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: Luciana A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Figueredo
authors.forename: Sinval P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Brandão-Filho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012423:Rural Health