Co-infection of Trichuris vulpis and Toxocara canis in different aged dogs: Influence on the haematological indices

  • I. V. Saichenko Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University
  • A. A. Antipov Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University
  • T. I. Bakhur
  • L. V. Bezditko Polissia National University
  • S. S. Shmayun Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University
Keywords: Nematoda; Trichuridae; Ascarididae; parasites; canine; blood parameters

Abstract

Trichuris vulpis and Toxocara canis are worldwide parasitic nematodes affecting dogs and mammals of the Canine family. Due to the special structure of the shells, the eggs of these geohelminths can maintain their viability in soil, sand, water and the environment for a long time. The study involved young (6–12 months old) and adult (1.5–8.0 years old) dogs affected by co-infection of T. vulpis + T. canis; the control group consisted of dewormed healthy animals of the same age. Parasitological examination of dogs' faeces was performed using a "Counting Chamber for Ovoscopic Researches"; morphological parameters, indicators of nutrient metabolism, mineral metabolism and activity of enzymatic systems were determined in blood and serum. According to the results of parasitological research on the dogs, it was found that young animals are more prone to toxocarosis, and adults – trichurosis. The co-infection of nematodes T. vulpis + T. canis in dogs develops several changes in haematological parameters: a significant decrease in erythrocytes, haemoglobin, MCV, MCH, and haematocrit, leukocytosis with basophils and eosinophilia in young infected animals; and eosinophilia and basophilia (15.9 times) in adults, compared with healthy dogs of the same age. Among the changes in serum biochemical parameters, young infected dogs showed a decrease in the concentration of total protein and albumin content, an increase in the content of "acute phase" proteins (α-1, α-2 and β-globulins), an increase in cholesterol and total bilirubin; in adult infected dogs, a decrease in albumin content, an increase in the content of α-1, α-2, and β-globulins, an increase in the concentration of cholesterol and total bilirubin, a decrease in the concentration of urea in comparison with healthy animals were determined. Also, among the indicators of mineral metabolism, a decrease in the concentration of calcium and magnesium in the serum was found in young infected dogs. Among the changes in the enzyme metabolism in the serum of infected dogs, there was an increase in the activity of all studied enzymes in animals of both research groups: ALT, AST, α-amylase, GGT and ALP. Thus, co-infection with nematodes T. vulpis + T. canis has a complex pathogenic effect on the body of dogs of all ages, which manifested itself in multiple changes in haematological parameters. In the future, the authors’ team plan to develop comprehensive measures to combat nematode infections in different living conditions of dogs, taking into account the results of the current research.

References

Abbott, D. E. E., & Allen, A. L. (2020). Canine eosinophilic pulmonary granulomatosis: Case report and literature review. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 32(2), 329–335.

Abou-El-Naga, I. F. (2018). Developmental stages and viability of Toxocara canis eggs outside the host. Biomedica, 38(2), 189–197.

Bakhur, T., Holovakha, V., & Antipov, A. (2018). Visceral toxocarosis in the model of white mice: Effect on the body. In: Prokes, M. (Eds.). Infectious and parasitic diseases of animals: 6th International Scientific Conference. UVLF, Košice. Pp. 47–50.

Bindke, J. D., Springer, A., Janecek-Erfurth, E., Boer, M., & Strube, C. (2019). Helminth infections of wild European gray wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) in Lower Saxony, Germany, and comparison to captive wolves. Parasitology Research, 118(2), 701–706.

Bojar, H., & Klapec, T. (2018). Contamination of selected recreational areas in Lublin Province, Eastern Poland, by eggs of Toxocara spp., Ancylostoma spp. and Trichuris spp. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 25(3), 460–463.

Borodai, Y. O., & Hodyna, V. P. (2019). Poshyrennia ta osoblyvosti perebihu trykhurozu sobak na terytorii mista Poltava [Distribution and features of dog trichurosis in Poltava city]. Bulletin of Poltava State Agrarian Academy, 3, 200–206 (in Ukrainian).

Boyko, A. A., & Brygadyrenko, V. V. (2017). Changes in the viability of Strongyloides ransomi larvae (Nematoda, Rhabditida) under the influence of synthetic flavourings. Regulatory Mechanisms in Biosystems, 8(1), 36–40.

Cavalcanti, E. B. D., Baioto, G. C., Marcolongo-Pereira, C., de Souza, M. C. C., Rassele, A. C., & Horta, R. D. (2019). Congenital extrahepatic portosystemic deviation in a mixed-breed dog. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae, 47, 362.

da Silva, P. H., Laposy, C. B., Giuffrida, R., Chaves, M. P., & de Freitas, M. W. (2015). Relationship between the red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and erythrocyte values in anemic and non-anemic cats. Semina-Ciencias Agrarias, 36(5), 3227–3232.

Duncan, K. T., Koons, N. R., Litherland, M. A., Little, S. E., & Nagamori, Y. (2020). Prevalence of intestinal parasites in fecal samples and estimation of parasite contamination from dog parks in Central Oklahoma. Veterinary Parasitology – Regional Studies and Reports, 19, 100362.

Feshchenko, D. V., Bakhur, T. I., Selcuk, B. H., Antipov, A. A., Zghozinska, O. A., Dubova, O. A., Yevstafyeva, V. O., Goncharenko, V. P., Shahanenko, R. V., Shahanenko, V. S., & Melnychuk, V. V. (2019). Mollusks (Gastropoda) as intermediate hosts of cattles’ trematodes (Trematoda) in conditions of Dnipro basin’s small ponds (Northern Ukraine). Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, 45(1), 16–21.

Gebremedhin, E. Z., Tola, G. K., Sarba, E. J., Getaneh, A. M., Marami, L. M., & Endale, S. S. (2020). Prevalence and risk factors of helminths’ infection of dogs in three towns of west Shoa zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. Veterinary Parasitology – Regional Studies and Reports, 21, 100443.

Iliev, P. T., Kirkova, Z. T., & Tonev, A. S. (2020). Preliminary study on the prevalence of endoparasite infections and vector-borne diseases in outdoor dogs in Bulgaria. Helminthologia, 57(2), 171–178.

Kaushik, S. P., Hurwitz, M., McDonald, C., & Pavli, P. (1997). Toxocara canis infection and granulomatous hepatitis. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 92(7), 1223–1225.

Kumar, A. (2021). Haematological alterations during concurrent infection of Dirofilaria immitis and Ancylostoma caninum infections in dog and its therapeutic management: A case report. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 9(2), 185–186.

La Torre, F., Di Cesare, A., Simonato, G., Cassini, R., Traversa, D., & di Regalbono, A. F. (2018). Prevalence of zoonotic helminths in Italian house dogs. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 12(8), 666–672.

Marko, R., Sanda, D., Aleksandar, V., Danica, B., Bojan, G., Miodrag, S., & Tamara, I. (2020). Dogs from public city parks as a potential source of pollution of the environment and risk factor for human health. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 90(4), 535–542.

Mazaro, R. D., da Luz, F. S., Herbichi, A. P., Paz, M. C., & Fighera, R. A. (2019). Hemolytic crisis in a dog with copper-associated chronic hepatitis. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae, 47, 472.

Medina-Pinto, R. A., Rodriguez-Vivas, R. I., & Bolio-Gonzalez, M. E. (2018). Zoonotic intestinal nematodes in dogs from public parks in Yucatan, Mexico. Biomedica, 38(1), 105–110.

Melnychuk, V., Yevstafieva, V., Bakhur, T., Antipov, A., & Feshchenko, D. (2020). prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep (Ovis aries) in the central and south-eastern regions of Ukraine. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 44(5), 985–993.

Miglio, A., Gavazza, A., Siepi, D., Bagaglia, F., Misia, A., & Antognoni, M. T. (2020). Hematological and biochemical reference intervals for 5 adult hunting dog breeds using a blood donor database. Animals, 10(7), 1212.

Miller, A. D. (2020). Pathology of larvae and adults in dogs and cats. Toxocara and Toxocariasis, 109, 537–544.

Mohaghegh, M. A., Vafaei, M. R., Ghomashlooyan, M., Azami, M., Falahati, M., Azadi, Y., Yousefi, H. A., Jabalameli, Z., & Hejazi, S. H. (2018). A wide diversity of zoonotic intestinal parasites in domestic and stray dogs in rural areas of Kermanshah province, Iran. Tropical Biomedicine, 35(1), 82–90.

Motta, C. E., Rivero, M. R., De Angelo, C. D., Sbaffo, A. M., & Tiranti, K. I. (2019). Risk and protective factors associated with gastrointestinal parasites of dogs from an urban area of Cordoba, Argentina. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 43(6), 846–851.

Pizzinatto, F. D., Freschi, N., Sonego, D. A., Stocco, M. B., Dower, N. M. B., Martini, A. D., & de Souza, R. L. (2019). Parasitism by Dioctophyma renale in a dog: Clinical and surgical aspects. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae, 47, 407.

Reck, J., Soares, J. F., Termignoni, C., Labruna, M. B., & Martins, J. R. (2011). Tick toxicosis in a dog bitten by Ornithodoros brasiliensis. Veterinary Clinical Pathology, 40(3), 356–360.

Ristic, M., Miladinovic-Tasic, N., Dimitrijevic, S., Nenadovic, K., Bogunovic, D., Stepanovic, P., & Ilic, T. (2020). Soil and sand contamination with canine intestinal parasite eggs as a risk factor for human health in public parks in Nis (Serbia). Helminthologia, 57(2), 109–119.

Rouf, A., Khurana, K., Dar, S., Shah, O., Rather, M., & Khaliq, T. (2017). Prevalence and haemato-biochemical alterations in GI helminth infected dogs from Bareilly, India. International Journal of Livestock Research, 7(7), 166–170.

Ryan, E. T. (2020). Toxocariasis. In: Ryan, E. T., Solomon, T., Endy, T. P., Hill, D. R., Aronson, N. E. (Eds.). Hunter’s tropical medicine and emerging infectious diseases. Elsevier. Pp. 885–887.

Saichenko, I. V., & Antipov, A. A. (2020). Epizootychna sytuatsiia shchodo nematodoziv shlunkovo-kyshkovoho kanalu sobak [Epizootic situation regarding nematodes of the gastrointestinal tract of dogs]. Scientific Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 1, 54–62 (in Ukrainian).

Savilla, T. M., Joy, J. E., May, J. D., & Somerville, C. C. (2011). Prevalence of dog intestinal nematode parasites in south central West Virginia, USA. Veterinary Parasitology, 178, 115–120.

Scaramozzino, P., Carvelli, A., Iacoponi, F., & De Liberato, C. (2018). Endoparasites in household and shelter dogs from Central Italy. International Journal of Veterinary Science and Medicine, 6(1), 45–47.

Schmidt, E. M. S., Tvarijonaviciute, A., Martinez-Subiela, S., Ceron, J. J., & Eckersall, P. D. (2016). Changes in biochemical analytes in female dogs with subclinical Ancylostoma spp. infection. BMC Veterinary Research, 12, 203.

Shamsi, S., Loukopoulos, P., McSpadden, K., Baker, S., & Jenkins, D. (2018). Preliminary report of histopathology associated with infection with tongue worms in Australian dogs and cattle. Parasitology International, 67(5), 597–600.

Smith, V. H., Jones, T. P., & Smith, M. S. (2005). Host nutrition and infectious disease: An ecological view. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 3(5), 268–274.

Stafford, K., Kollasch, T. M., Duncan, K. T., Horr, S., Goddu, T., Heinz-Loomer, C., Rumschlag, A. J., Ryan, W. G., Sweet, S., & Little, S. E. (2020). Detection of gastrointestinal parasitism at recreational canine sites in the USA: The DOGPARCS study. Parasites and Vectors, 13(1), 275.

Sweeny, A. R., Clerc, M., Pontifes, P. A., Venkatesan, S., Babayan, S. A., & Pedersen, A. B. (2021). Supplemented nutrition decreases helminth burden and increases drug efficacy in a natural host-helminth system. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 288(1943), 20202722.

Symeonidou, I., Gelasakis, A. I., Arsenopoulos, K. V., Schaper, R., & Papadopoulos, E. (2017). Regression models to assess the risk factors of canine gastrointestinal parasitism. Veterinary Parasitology, 248, 54–61.

Tothova, C., Lukac, B., Kadasi, M., Baranova, D., Weissova, T., & Nagy, O. (2019). The electrophoretic pattern of serum proteins in dogs with babesiosis. Acta Veterinaria Brno, 88(4), 425–432.

Yevstafieva, V., Horb, K., Melnychuk, V., Bakhur, T., & Feshchenko, D. (2020). Ectoparasites Ctenocephalides (Siphonaptera, Pulicidae) in the composition of mixed infestations in domestic dogs from Poltava, Ukraine. Folia Veterinaria, 64(3), 47–53.

Yong, T. S., Lee, K. J., Shin, M. H., Yu, H. S., Suvonkulov, U., Sergeevich, T. B., Shamsiev, A., & Park, G. M. (2019). Prevalence of intestinal helminth infections in dogs and two species of wild animals from Samarkand Region of Uzbekistan. Korean Journal of Parasitology, 57(5), 549–552.

Zazharska, N., Boyko, O., & Brygadyrenko, V. (2018). Influence of diet on the productivity and characteristics of goat milk. Indian Journal of Animal Research, 52(5), 711–717.

Zheng, W. B., Zou, Y., He, J. J., Liu, G. H., Hu, M. H., & Zhu, X. Q. (2021). Proteomic alterations in the plasma of Beagle dogs induced by Toxocara canis infection. Journal of Proteomics, 232, 104049.

Published
2021-05-20
Section
Articles