Prevalence, Diversity and Public Health Implications of Species in Pet and Stray Dogs

Background: It is probable that humans can acquire and non- infections via domestic animals. The prevalence and risk factors of infections of species in canines of Taipei city were therefore analysed in this study.

Materials And Methods: A total of 95 canine faecal samples were collected from different animal shelters and hospitals in Taipei city. Total DNA was extracted for semi-nested PCR detection of species. The PCR products were sequenced for further comparative database and phylogenetic analyses.

Results: The overall prevalence of species in canines of Taipei city was 75.79% (72/95). Two gastric, seven enterohepatic and two unclassified species were identified, all of which have been implicated in the aetiology of human diseases. The predominant species detected included (27.78%) (26.39%), (18.06%) and (13.89%) in decreasing order while and were identified for the first time in canines. The genotypes in and clusters grouped together, with their respective reference strains, showed a close evolutionary distance in the phylogenetic tree, indicating a common ancestry may have existed in these clusters respectively. The residential region of canines, dog living status (pet or stray) and breed (purebred or mixed-breed) are the risk factors associated with infections in the canines examined.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of infections in canines highlights a potential public health risk of zoonotic transmission among dogs, humans and other animals, and therefore, the need for proper methods in controlling the transmission routes. In addition, the 16S rRNA gene amplification method was found to be useful for bacterial identification and phylogenetic analysis.