title: Frequency of intestinal parasites in pet dogs from an urban area (Greater Oporto, northern Portugal).
abstract: The present study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in dogs with no clinical signs (n=175; group H) and in dogs with gastrointestinal disease (n=193; group D) that were admitted to a veterinary hospital. In group H, the overall prevalence of intestinal parasites (i.e. the presence of at least one species) was 20.6%. Cystoisospora canis was the most prevalent protozoon (8.0%) followed by Giardia spp. (7.4%); Toxocara canis (5.1%) was the most frequent helminth, followed by Trichuris vulpis (1.1%) and Toxascaris leonina (0.6%). Among group H, age ≤ 6 months was found to be a risk factor for infection with C. canis and with at least one agent (odds ratio [OR]=3.4). In group D parasites were found in 33.7% of the dogs, with Giardia spp. (15.5%) being the most prevalent species, followed by C. canis (13.5%), T. canis (7.8%), T. vulpis (2.6%) and T. leonina (0.5%). In group D dogs, age ≤ 6 months was a risk factor for infection with Giardia spp. (OR=3.2), with C. canis (OR=32.7) and with at least one agent (OR=7.2). This study reveals a remarkable number of dogs infected but with no clinical signs.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Veterinário do Porto, Oporto, Portugal. Electronic address: diogoamaroneves@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Diogo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.affiliation: Hospital Veterinário do Porto, Oporto, Portugal; Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon, Portugal; CECA - Centro de Estudos de Ciência Animal, Universidade do Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.affiliation: Inno Laboratories - Serviços Especializados em Veterinária, Braga, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paula Brilhante
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Simões
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal; Parasite Disease Group, IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Oporto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006376:Helminths / Q000502:physiology; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Dogs; Gastrointestinal disease; Helminths; Portugal; Protozoa