Prevalence and distribution pattern of intestinal helminths in chicken and pigeons in Aswan, Upper Egypt.

There is scarce data available on helminth infection of poultry in the region of Aswan province, Upper Egypt. A total of 276 poultry (156 baladi chickens and 120 domestic pigeons) were collected from different villages in Aswan province to screen the presence of intestinal helminths during the period from April 2016 to March 2017. The current investigation revealed that the overall prevalence was 55.79% (154/276). Additionally, 59.09% baladi chickens had mixed infections with four cestodes and three nematodes. Among cestodes, Raillietina tetragona was the most prevalent species (16.02%) followed by Raillietina echinobothrida (10.98%), Cotugnia digonopora (6.41%), and Raillietina cesticillus (1.28%). The most prevalent nematodal species were Heterakis gallinarum (15.38%), Ascaridia galli (8.97%), and Subulura brumpti (1.28%). In pigeons, 52.5% were found to be infected by four cestodes: Raillietina echinobothrida (22.5%), Cotugnia digonopora (13.33%), Raillietina tetragona (9.16%), and Raillietina cesticillus (3.33%) as well as one species of nematodes, Ascaridia columbae (9.16%). There was a close relationship between the occurrence of intestinal helminths and the age of domestic birds revealing that the high prevalence was found in adults rather than young birds. Meanwhile, it has been found that the highest prevalence was found in summer, while the lowest infection rate was recorded in winter. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of the parasites on the health and productivity of poultry in such area.

Prevalence and associated risk factors of Toxocara infection in dogs in northern and southern Egypt.

Toxocariasis is a zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution caused by the parasitic roundworms, Toxocara canis, commonly found in the intestine of dogs. Identification of frequent shedders for Toxocara canis eggs and the associated risk factors overwhelmingly remain an important cornerstone of conducting evidence-based deworming regimens to reduce the environmental contamination with the parasite eggs. The present study was undertaken to prevalence rate of shedding of Toxocara canis eggs in dogs in Egypt combined with the possible risk factors naturally associated with the infection A total number of 296 fecal samples of dogs were collected in the period from July 2016 to June 2017 and properly screened for the presence of possible infection with an. Importantly, The overall prevalence of Toxocara canis eggs was 53.04% whereas, seasonal dynamics, dog breeds, the irregular anthelmintic use, defecation sites, and unconfined management of dogs were among the risk factors with a significant association with Toxocara canis infection. Taken together, our present data reveal the high overall prevalence of Toxocara canis eggs shedding in in several Egyptian provinces and provide novel information that should pay our attention of the local authorities combined with the public engagement towards implementation of effective control strategies against this disease of zoonotic importance.