Prevalence of hookworm infections among stray dogs and molecular identification of hookworm species for the first time in Bangladesh.

Hookworms are the most common and voracious blood-sucking parasites of the small intestines of mammalian hosts such as dogs, cats, ruminants and humans. Canine hookworms are endemic in the Southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh. There is scarcity of information on the prevalence of hookworms of stray dogs in Bangladesh. The present study determined the prevalence of canine hookworms using fecal examination followed by morphometric and molecular identification. Fecal samples were collected from 320 stray dogs living in rural areas of Mymensingh district (Gauripur upazila, Mymensingh sadar upazila and Tarakanda upazila) and hookworm eggs were identified using the flotation techniques. The overall prevalence of hookworm was 79.1% through microscopic examination. Estimated fecal prevalence was higher in Gauripur upazila (89.7%) followed by Mymensingh sadar upazila (84.8%) and Tarakanda upazila (53.2%). Five hookworm species were identified based on the morphometric examination, namely, Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Ancylostoma tubaeforme, Ancylostoma braziliense and Ancylostoma duodenale, respectively. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed with the genomic DNA by targeting the 5.8S rRNA (~ 404 bp) and Cytochrome oxidase-1 (Cox 1, ~ 450 bp) and confirmed the identification for the first time in Bangladesh. This study reveals that stray dogs may act as reservoir hosts of human hookworm infection. Further detail molecular study is warranted to explore the genetic diversity of hookworms that infect both dogs and human in Bangladesh.