Zoonotic Helminth Diseases in Dogs and Dingoes Utilising Shared Resources in an Australian Aboriginal Community

Felicity Smout,James Butler,Lee Skerratt,Bradley Congdon,Christopher Johnson

doi:10.3390/tropicalmed3040110

Abstract

The impacts of free-roaming canids (domestic and wild) on public health have long been a concern in Australian Indigenous communities. We investigated the prevalence of zoonotic helminth diseases in dogs and sympatric dingoes, and used radio telemetry to measure their spatial overlap, in an Aboriginal community in the Wet Tropics of Australia. Samples collected from dingoes and dogs showed high levels of infection with the zoonotic hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum. Dingoes were also positive for A. ceylanicum infection (11.4%), but dogs were infection free. Whipworm, Trichuris vulpis, infection was far more prevalent in necropsies of domestic dogs (78.6%) than dingoes (3.7%). Dogs were free from Dirofilaria immitis infection, while dingoes recorded 46.2% infection. Eleven dingoes and seven free-roaming domestic dogs were fitted with Global Positioning System collars and tracked over an extended period. Dingo home-ranges almost completely overlapped those of the domestic dogs. However, dingoes and dogs did not utilise the same area at the same time, and dogs may have avoided dingoes. This spatial overlap in resource use presents an opportunity for the indirect spill-over and spill-back of parasites between dogs and dingoes. Tracking and camera traps showed that the community rubbish tip and animal carcasses were areas of concentrated activity for dogs and dingoes.

Highlights

The risk of disease transmission between free-roaming dogs (Canis familiaris), wildlife, and humans is a growing concern, driven largely by the burgeoning population of domestic dogs [1,2,3]
A similar result was obtained for necropsied dingoes of 100% and 11.1% infection for A. caninum and A. ceylanicum, respectively (Table 1)
Further molecular identification to differentiate A. caninum from A. ceylanicum was not undertaken on the faecal samples of four of the dingoes, as they were trapped after the completion of laboratory work

Summary

Introduction

The risk of disease transmission between free-roaming dogs (Canis familiaris), wildlife, and humans is a growing concern, driven largely by the burgeoning population of domestic dogs [1,2,3]. In Australia, free-roaming canids and the potential public health issues associated with them have long been a concern in Indigenous communities. These animals can include unrestrained domestic dogs from within the community, along with wild dogs and dingoes (Canis dingo Meyer, 1793) from surrounding areas. One potential interaction is the transmission or ‘spill-over’ of diseases, including zoonotic parasites, from dingoes to dogs and to humans. Investigating all potential hosts and their interactions is necessary to understand and mitigate ‘spill-over’ and ‘spill-back’ of zoonotic infection [5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion