Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Epidemiological study of Giardia duodenalis infection in companion dogs from the metropolitan area of São Paulo Brazil.
- Journal:
- Zoonoses and public health
- Year:
- 2020
- Authors:
- Chiebao, Daniela Pontes et al.
- Affiliation:
- Regional Laboratory of Sorocaba
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study in São Paulo, Brazil, looked at the presence of Giardia duodenalis, a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal issues, in pet dogs. They found that about 6.9% of the 265 dogs tested were infected, with younger dogs under one year old being nearly seven times more likely to have the parasite than older dogs. The researchers used different testing methods and found that they worked well together to accurately diagnose infections. While the situation seems to be improving, especially in terms of controlling the parasite, ongoing efforts in diagnosis, vaccination, and treatment, particularly for puppies, are still needed to keep reducing the disease.
Abstract
Giardia duodenalis is a zoonotic pathogen associated with gastrointestinal disease that has a direct life cycle, with cysts eliminated in the faeces of an infected host being ingested by a susceptible host. In Brazil, studies of chronically infected adult dogs estimated a prevalence of 10%-20%. Diagnosis of giardiasis, as a cause of diarrhoea is important for the global One-Health guidelines when controlling cyst dissemination in the environment. We investigated the prevalence of G. duodenalis in the pet dog population of the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo, compared the efficacy of direct tests available to the veterinary clinical practice and attempted to identify possible risk factors associated with the parasite. Ten veterinary practices distributed throughout the municipality randomly performed the rapid SNAP ELISA test on canine faecal samples, and dog owners provided information specific to the animal via a questionnaire. The samples were also analysed using sucrose and zinc sulphate flotation techniques. Sensitivity and specificity of the tests were used to calculate required number of samples and true prevalence. Significance, agreement among tests, and odds ratio (OR) were assessed with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. The prevalence of G. duodenalis in dogs (n = 265) was 6.9% (CI 3.47-11.21). Positive tests were significantly more frequent in animals younger than 1 year, with an OR for G. duodenalis occurrence nearly 7-fold that of older dogs. Direct diagnosis tests showed high agreement (96.1%, κ = 0.729; p < .0001) showing that the combined techniques provide a highly accurate diagnosis. Results indicated that the control of the pathogen has been improving in the pet dog population in metropolitan Sao Paulo, but management tools including diagnosis, immunization, and treatment, especially in puppies, must be continued in order to advance towards continuous decrease of the disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32347663/