Prevalence and diversity of zoonotic intestinal parasites in domestic dogs in an urban area in the Colombian Caribbean

Dogs offer multiple benefits in their relationship with humans, but they can also be carriers of zoonotic parasites that affect human and animal health. Zoonoses account for around 58% of all infectious diseases in humans. Intestinal parasitism was evaluated in dogs with owners in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, in 2016, 2017 and 2018. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted that included 3,279 reports of parasitological evaluation of dog feces. 49.2% of dogs presented some type of intestinal parasite. The most frequent were the helminths: Strongyloides sp. (9.6%), Toxocara canis (7.7%) and Ancylostoma caninum (6.2%); and the protozoa Entamoebas spp. (10.0%), Isosporas spp. (6.9%) and Giardias spp. (5.7%). A principal component analysis of the parasite profiles by year identified significant differences between them. The presence of zoonotically transmitted intestinal parasites in the domestic dogs analysed highlights the need to establish corrective and preventive measures in the public health field to allow their control, since they constitute a significant risk of disease for humans and dogs.