The State of Knowledge on Intestinal Helminths in Free-Roaming Dogs in Southern South America

Abstract

In South America there are more dogs per person than in developed countries. Many owners allow their dogs to roam freely in public areas, which favours the spread of zoonotic diseases. The objective of this work is to describe, through bibliographic analysis, the occurrence, prevalence, species richness, and distribution of intestinal helminth parasites found in dog faeces from urban and rural areas of southern South America (Argentina-Chile-Uruguay). Using three databases, we performed a systematic review of articles published between 2000 and 2020 in indexed journals. A total of 219 articles was evaluated for eligibility, and of these 67 were included in the final analysis; 48 correspond to Argentina, 17 to Chile, and 2 to Uruguay. The total number of parasite taxa recorded was 22, the most frequently occurring species being Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma sp., Trichuris vulpis and Echinococcus sp. Species richness was correlated with sample size and varied between 1 and 10 species. In addition, disease risk is not homogeneously distributed. Due to the high infection levels in dogs, urban and rural dwellers are at risk of infection with zoonotic diseases transmitted by these animals, therefore a One Health approach to public health would be advisable.