Potential Spatial Diversity of Pathogenic Intestinal Parasites in Dog’s Faecal Matter in Port Harcourt, Niger Delta: A Huge Source of Environmental Contamination Risk Outcome

Abstract

Dogs have become a huge part of some homes where they serve as pets or for security. Humans who have them as pets are drawn to them and when these dogs die, their owners are emotionally down. However, in some cases, little or no attention is paid to the health of these dogs as when infected, thus, they could serve as potent reservoirs and vectors of human parasites as they continue to litter their faeces on our environment unabated. This study investigated the presence of intestinal parasites in the faecal matter of domestic dogs and will also highlight the public health implications of poor faecal matter waste handling in our environment. A total of 80 pet dogs that had their owners' consent were randomly recruited, through a cross-sectional research design. Their stool samples were collected aseptically and assayed for gastrointestinal parasites using standard parasitological techniques. The result revealed that the prevalence of parasites using the diethyl ether sedimentation method was 25.1% and the presence of Ancylostoma caninium (21.3%) and Toxocara canis (3.75%) was recorded after microscopy. Female dogs were most infected making up 15% of the total prevalence while male dogs made up 10%. Dogs aged 2-4 years recorded the highest prevalence with 37.5% while 13.8% of those greater than 4 years were infected. Also, the English Bulldog recorded a higher prevalence of 8.75% in comparison to other species sampled. The presence of these parasites in pets poses a public health risk to their owners and the community at large. Proper hygiene and management of these pets and their faecal matter will reduce the risks of parasitic infections, even as our environment would be safe from the heavy burden of environmental contamination of biological waste of Dogs faecal matter