Prevalence of helminth parasites of dogs and owners awareness about zoonotic parasites in Ambo town, central Ethiopia

To determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infections of dogs in Ambo, Ethiopia, examination of 70 fecal samples and 52 necropsies were conducted from November 2007 to April 2008. The prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths was 86.54% and 52.86% as detected by post mortem and coproscopical examination, respectively. The coproscopical examination revealed 35.7% infection with Ancylostoma caninum followed by Dipylidium caninum (25.57%), Toxocara canis (17.14%), Strogyloides stercoralis (14.29%) and Echinococcus granulosus (8.57%). Mixed infections with two or more parasites were also observed (62.16%). The study also indicates a significant difference (p