Zoonotic Endoparasites in Dogs from the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

More than 30 dog parasite species have been identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina so far, and half of these are zoonotic. The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of parasitic infections in dogs from Bosnian-podrinje canton with a focus on zoonotic parasites. The study included 212 dogs (107 owned and 105 stray). One or more of the twenty parasite species were found in 82.55% of tested samples. Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Class Trematoda) was found in 0.94% of dogs. Dipylidium caninum and Mesocestoides lineatus (Class Cestoda) were found in 7.55% and 0.94% of dogs, respectively. Taenia spp. and Echinococcus spp. (Family Taeniidae) were found in 0.47% and 0.94% of samples, respectively. In the family of Nematoda, the following parasite species were identified with corresponding percent among tested dogs: Toxocara canis (25.94%), Toxascaris leonine (8.96%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.47%), Ancylostoma caninum (3.77%), Uncinaria stenocephala (52.36%), Trichuris vulpis (22.17%), Eucoleus aerophilus (1.42%), Dirofilaria immitis (1.89%) and Dirofilaria repens (1.42%). In the kingdom of Protozoa, the following parasite species were identified with corresponding percent among tested dogs: Cystoisospora canis (8.49%), C. ohioensis (2.36%), Cryptosporidium spp. (4.72%), Sarcocystis spp. (0.47%), Babesia spp. (5.19%), and Giardia duodenalis (15.57%). Leishmania infantum was not identified in tested samples. The results showed a high level of parasitic infestation in the dog population in the Bosnian-Podrinje canton, with a high occurrence of zoonotic parasites. Significant differences were found between owned and stray dogs for all classes of detected parasites with exception of the class Trematoda, disregarding specific parasite species.

The Prevalence of Canine Dipylidiasis in Baghdad city, Iraq‎ ‎

“…Infection has been reported to variable values in which the lowest infection rate showed in Iran of pet and stray dogs by 1% (4/28), 0% (0/49) respectively (22); in Bosnian-Podrinje canton, the infection rate was 3.74% (4/107), 11.43% (12/105), respectively (23); while the highest infection rate of D. caninum in pet and stray dogs was 75.26%, 84.78% respectively in Ethiopia (10) and Palestine; 48.4%, 81.41% respectively (14). A study on gastrointestinal helminths from Basra province, southern Iraq (24) recorded infection rates in pet and stray dogs of 0% (0/12), 15.4% (2/13), respectively.…”

“…Stronger immunity may be a contributing factor as a result of repeated exposures to low numbers of infected fleas with cysticercoids as a source of infection (32). Generally, the spread of D. caninum is limited by the range of localities of intermediate hosts like fleas and lice; whose importance as zoonotic vectors of disease should not be ignored (23). Another study by (9) described how D. caninum is one of the most neglected species among human tapeworms.…”

High‐throughput microfluidic real‐time PCR for the simultaneous detection of selected vector‐borne pathogens in dogs in Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…Overall, the microfluidic qPCR method used in this study may be highly suited to large‐scale epidemiological surveys of canine VBPs, particularly in countries with scarce prior data in conjunction with large free‐roaming dog populations that may facilitate easy and unbridled VBP transmission (Katica et al., 2020; Omeragić et al., 2021). The large number of samples that can be screened concurrently for numerous VBP species, makes microfluidic qPCR techniques amenable to surveys that rely on a high‐throughput diagnostic capability (Gondard et al., 2020; Michelet et al., 2014).…”

“…Some VBPs generate severe disease solely in dogs, whilst others use canines as natural reservoir hosts of zoonotic agents thereby posing a risk to cohabiting humans as well (Otranto et al., 2017). To date, there has been very little information exploring the diversity and prevalence of canine VBPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with the few studies conducted thus far focusing on a limited number of key pathogen species, typically those of zoonotic significance (Ćoralić et al., 2018; Omeragić et al., 2018; Colella et al., 2019; Omeragić et al., 2021; Maksimović et al., 2022). These limited published studies have recorded high prevalence of canine VBP infection, exacerbated by a growing population of stray dogs since the end of the Bosnian war, that facilitates transmission and maintenance of VBPs in BiH (Ćoralić et al., 2018; Katica et al., 2019; Katica et al., 2020; Omeragić et al., 2021).…”

“…Additionally, the mosquito-transmitted filarial worms Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens have been reported in Bosnian dogs (Omeragić et al, 2018;Omeragić et al, 2021), with evidence of infection in humans caused by the latter zoonotic nematode (Omeragić et al, 2021;Zvorničanin et al, 2020).…”