Prevalence of animal diseases is one of the major livestock production constraints in Kenya with high impacts on livelihoods due to related economic losses affecting food security in the country. The use of synthetic drugs for disease management has challenges. This makes the use of medicinal plants for treatment a rational alternative. Ascarids, Toxocara canis and Ancylostoma caninum are among the most frequently observed helminth parasites in dogs in Kenya. The two parasites are also known to cause helminthiasis in human beings. This study was designed to evaluate the in vitro efficacy of ethanol and aqueous extracts from bulbs of A. sativum and A. cepa and from leaves of J. curcas against T. canis and A. caninum parasites. Six (6) extracts from three (3) plants: A. cepa, A. sativum and J. curcas were selected for in vitro anthelmintic screening by measuring ability to inhibit hatching and development of eggs and survival of larvae in vitro. The ethanol extracts of A. cepa inhibited hatching of 100% of eggs of A. caninum between 10,000 and 2,500 ug/ml and 100% of eggs of T. canis between 10,000 and 1,250 ug/ml while that of A. sativum inhibited hatching of 100% of A. caninum eggs between 10,000 and 5,000 ug/ml. However the ethanol extract of A. sativum did not have the same effect on the development of T. canis eggs at these concentrations. The ethanol extracts of both A. cepa and A. sativum affected the survival of 100% of A. caninum larvae at a concentration of 156 ug/ml and above. The water extracts of the three plants had moderate effects on the eggs and the larvae of both parasites. The results indicate that the ethanol extracts of A. cepa and A. sativum have anthelmintic properties which should be investigated further to support the ethnoveterinary use of the plants as anthelmintics for control and treatment of worm infestation in dogs.

A cross sectional coprological study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminths. Demographic data on sex, age, purpose of dog keeping, sleeping area, fecal disposal and deworming status in dogs in Kangemi area of Nairobi, Kenya was also taken. A total of 255 dog feacal samples were collected from August to October, 2016 for parasitological analysis. Laboratory examination for worm eggs identifi cation and enumeration was done using modifi ed Mc Master technigue. Ninety samples were positive for intestinal parasites giving an overall prevalence of 35.29%. On average there were 952 and 512.5 epg for hookworms and ascarids respectively. In the sampled dogs, Ancylostoma eggs were found in 79 (30.98%), Toxocara eggs in 24 (9.41%), Trichuris eggs in 2 (0.0078%), Isosporaoocysts in 3 (0.011%) and Tapeworms in 1 (0.0039%) of samples. Ancylostomumcaninum (90.48%) and Toxocaracanis (71.54%) were the most prevalent species identifi ed. There was no signifi gant statistical difference between dog sex and worm load (P=0.9). There was high prevalence of Ascarid infection among puppies (62.5%) as compared to adults (37.5%). Most dogs (92.55%) were kept for security purposes with 53.33% not housed. In households from which samples were collected, 43.64% dispose dog feces to the nearest bush while 26.36% and 30% dispose it to garbage and pit latrines respectively. The high prevalence of potential zoonotic gastrointestinal helminthes in the study area poses health risk to the residents and calls for regular dog deworming and creation of public awareness.