Oluyomi Sowemimo Abayomi
Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Title: Prevalence of Toxocara eggs in hair and faecal samples from dogs in Southwest Nigeria
Biography
Biography: Oluyomi Sowemimo Abayomi
Abstract
This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Toxocara eggs on hair and faecal samples of domestic dogs from Ibadan and Ilesa, Southwest Nigeria. Faecal samples were collected from a total of 477 dogs and hair samples collected from neck, back and anal region of 267 dogs and examined for the presence of Toxocara canis eggs by a standardised technique. T. canis eggs were recovered from faecal samples of 144 dogs giving a prevalence of 30.2% and hair samples of 48 (18.0%) dogs. The prevalence of T. canis eggs in faecal samples was greater than those detected in hair samples (P < 0.05). A total of 118 eggs were recovered from the hair samples with neck region having the highest (95 eggs) recovered. Eggs of T. canis recovered from the hair samples were classified as unembryonated while both embryonating and embryonated eggs were recovered from the faecal samples. Dogs less than six months old were observed to harbour more eggs in their faecal samples than other age groups while dogs aged 7-12 months harbour more eggs in their hair samples. This study has revealed that dogs without intestinal infections harboured T. canis eggs on their hair and so uninfected animals can also pose a threat in terms of the eggs present on their hair, although a small risk.