Abstract
BackgroundDogs and cats can transmit zoonotic helminths to humans, e.g. Toxocara spp. and Echinococcus multilocularis. Strategic deworming may help minimize this risk. Studies in several European countries have shown that pets are dewormed less frequently against roundworms and tapeworms than recommended by the European Scientific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP). The objective of this study was to identify percentages of dogs and cats falling into the different risk categories defined by the German ESCCAP guidelines and to evaluate whether deworming frequency and parasite monitoring in Germany follows these guidelines.ResultsAccording to questionnaire results from 500 dog and 500 cat owners, deworming of dogs in Germany averages 2.07 times/year while for cats this average is 1.72 times/year. In contrast, evaluation of risk factors placed only 2% (10/500) of dogs in ESCCAP category A with a recommended deworming/examination frequency of 1–2 times per year, while 4.8% (24/500) were placed in category B (4 treatments/examinations per year recommended), 30.8% (154/500) in category C (12 treatments/examinations per year against tapeworms and 4 treatments/examinations per year against roundworms recommended) and 62.4% (312/500) in category D (12 treatments/examinations per year recommended). All cats were placed either in risk group A [52.8% (264/500)] or D [47.2% (236/500)]. Generalized linear models indicated that risk group D cats were treated significantly more often against helminths than risk group A cats. There were no significant differences in deworming frequency between risk groups in dogs. The most important factor influencing deworming frequency was the frequency of veterinary visits. Dogs and cats were treated significantly more often if owners visited their veterinarian more than once yearly.ConclusionsThe percentage distribution of risk groups considerably varied between dogs and cats. Nevertheless, 62% of dogs and 47% of cats were assigned to category D for which monthly treatments/examinations are recommended by the ESCCAP guidelines. Veterinarians play a key role in instructing pet owners with regard to helminthoses and their prevention, and should take the time for adequate risk assessments. The reported low deworming frequencies despite the high potential parasite infection risk suggests that pet owner advice through veterinarians needs to be improved.
Highlights
Dogs and cats can transmit zoonotic helminths to humans, e.g. Toxocara spp. and Echinococcus multilocularis
According to German European Scien‐ tific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP) guidelines, only 2.0% (10/500) of dogs were placed in category A with a recommended examination/ deworming frequency of 1–2 times per year, while 4.8% (24/500) were placed in category B (4 examinations/ treatments per year recommended), 30.8% (154/500) in category C and 62.4% (312/500) in category D (12 examinations/ treatments per year recommended)
With the data collected in this survey concluding that high percentages of the dog and cat population are in the high-risk groups, it might be debated whether a recommended quarterly deworming is sufficient for those animals, for which no risk assessment can be performed. [3]
Summary
Dogs and cats can transmit zoonotic helminths to humans, e.g. Toxocara spp. and Echinococcus multilocularis. There is a possibility for infection with and transmission of zoonotic companion animal parasites such as Toxocara spp. and Echinococcus multilocularis within Germany Human behaviour such as hand hygiene, prevention of environmental contamination (e.g. pets being denied access to children’s playgrounds, cleaning up of dog faeces from soil), education of the public and use of strategic anthelmintic treatment may help to minimize the risk for zoonotic diseases [2]. Several studies have revealed that European pet owners are not aware of the public health risks posed by helminths and the possibility of disease transmission from their dogs and cats to themselves [3,4,5,6,7] This could lead to the conclusion that the vast majority of pet owners do not request the recommended strategic worm diagnostics nor perform the recommended anthelmintic treatments. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether current deworming behaviour in Germany follows the accepted guidelines set forth by the German chapter of the European Scientific Counsel Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP) for the control of tapeworms and roundworms
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