Infection In Domestic Dogs Research Articles

Seroepidemiologic survey of Dirofilaria immitis infection among domestic dogs in Taipei City and mountain aboriginal districts in Taiwan (1998–1999)

To estimate the seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis infection in domestic dogs in Taiwan, we utilized a commercial ELISA kit (Snap™, IDEXX, USA) for detecting circulating antigens released by adult female worms. Serum specimens of 664 domestic dogs sampled from Taipei City in northern Taiwan and 14 mountain aboriginal districts in eastern Taiwan were screened for D. immitis antigens. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by multiple logistic regression analysis. A total of 89 subjects were antigen-positive, giving a seroprevalence of 13.4%, of which the seroprevalence in Taipei City and mountain aboriginal districts were 13.8 and 12.1%, respectively. The mean overall seropositive rates were 6.3% in 1–3-year-old age group, 14.1% in 3–6-year-old age group and 23.7% in the ≥6-year-old age group. The older the age, the higher the seroprevalence (OR=4.6, 95% CI=2.4–9.0 for the ≥6-year-old age group versus 1–3-year-old age group, P<0.001) for all the dogs in the present study. Moreover, seroprevalence was not different between female and male dogs in either Taipei City or mountain aboriginal districts ( P>0.05). Also, no significant difference in seroprevalence among dogs between the two geographical areas was found ( P>0.05). In the logistic regression analysis, the seroprevalence of D. immitis remained significantly increased with age after multivariate adjustment in the present study. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the status of D. immitis infection in domestic dogs in Taipei City and mountain aboriginal districts in Taiwan to date.

Hepatozoon sp. in wild carnivores in Texas.

Twelve coyotes (Canis latrans), three bobcats (Lynx rufus) and six ocelots (Felis pardalis) from the Gulf Coast of Texas were infected with Hepatozoon sp. The geographic distribution of infected wild animals coincides with the highest prevalence of Hepatozoon canis infection in domestic dogs for which the wild species may act as a reservoir.

Campylobacter infection in domestic dogs.

Campylobacter jejuni, a recently recognised human enteric pathogen, was recovered from the faeces of 21.7 per cent of domestic dogs with diarrhoea as compared with only 3.1 per cent of normal healthy dogs. The recovery rate from non-diarrhoeic, but unhealthy, domestic dogs was 6.7 per cent. The differences in the incidence of C jejuni between breeds was not statistically significant. The majority of isolations were from puppies between birth and six months old. The incidence of C jejuni in domestic dogs did not appear to be sex specific. Domestic canine infections with C jejuni could possibly be an important source of human infection, especially to those in close contact.