A Retrospective Study Of Intestinal Helminthosis As A Cause Of Clinical Disease In Dogs

A 10-year (1994-2003) retrospective study was carried out to investigate the occurrence of clinical cases due to intestinal helminths in dogs treated at Sokoine University of Agriculture Veterinary Clinic, Morogoro, Tanzania. A total of 546 clinical cases of intestinal helminthosis in dogs were examined and these included 295 puppies, 35 juvenile dogs and 216 adult dogs. Bloody diarrhoea, inappetence, emaciation and vomiting were the major clinical signs used in the diagnosis of helminthosis in the reported cases. The diagnosis was confirmed through identification of helminths eggs on the wet faecal smear. The common types of helminths identified were Ancylostomum caninum, Toxocara canis and Dipylidium caninum. A total of 367 cases (67.2%) observed were due to A. caninum and 117 cases (21.4%) were due to concurrent A. caninum and T. canis infestations. Cases due to D. caninum and T. canis were 6.2% and 5.1%, respectively. The findings show that intestinal helminthosis is an important clinical disease of both young and adult dogs in Morogoro. Creation of public awareness on the need of regular deworming of dogs is recommended in order to maintain the health of the dogs and minimize the risk of helminth-borne zoonoses. Tanzania Veterinary Journal Vol. 25 (1) 2008: pp. 24-30