title: Canine tungiasis: High prevalence in a tourist region in Bahia state, Brazil.
abstract: Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease neglected by authorities, health professionals, and the general population. Its occurrence is significantly associated with poverty. A cross-sectional study was conducted to describe the prevalence of tungiasis, associated clinical signs and risk factors of the canine population at a tourist site in the city of Ilhéus, Bahia (northeast Brazil). All village households were visited and dogs inspected after authorization by owners. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered. Of the 114 dogs included in the study, 71 (62.3%) were infested; all of them had lesions on their pads. An ectopic lesion on the nose was observed in one dog (1.4%). The number of manipulated lesions outnumbered the number of vital and avital lesions with an average of 88.3%. Edema (95.8%) and hyperkeratosis (85.9%) were the most prevalent clinical signs. Behavioral disorders such as excessive licking (6/71; 8.5%), disobedience (1/71; 1.4%) and prostration (2/71; 2.8%) were reported. In the multi-variate analysis, semi-restricted condition of the dogs (adjusted OR=8.58; 95% CI=2.47-29.76) and the presence of sand on the compound (adjusted OR=14.23, 95% CI=2.88-70.28) were significantly associated with infestation. We concluded that, infestation with Tunga spp. is highly endemic in the canine population of the village. The low level of restrictions on dogs and the presence of sand in areas most frequented by the animals are perpetuating factors of infestation in the community, subject to integrated and multidisciplinary intervention measures.
authors.affiliation: UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: tatianivitor@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Tatiani Vitor
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.affiliation: UFC, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Faculdade de Medicina, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; JCU, James Cook University, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Division of Tropical Health and Medicine,Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: heukelbach@web.de.
authors.forename: Jorg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heukelbach
authors.affiliation: UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: mairasiles@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Maíra Siles
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Assunção
authors.affiliation: UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: thalna.magalhaes1992@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thalna Magalhães
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: UFLA, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: kityrocha@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Christiane Maria Barcellos Magalhães
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: da Rocha
authors.affiliation: UESC, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: rsacarlos@uesc.br.
authors.forename: Renata Santiago Alberto
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Carlos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007794:Lameness, Animal / Q000150:complications / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012876:Skin Diseases, Parasitic / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D058253:Tunga; D058285:Tungiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Dogs; Epidemiology; Northeastern Brazil; Tunga penetrans