Copro-Antigenic Sandwich ELISA based Epidemiological Survey on Prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus Infection in Dogs: First Insight from Pakistan

Abstract

Echinococcus granulosus (Eg) infection is a neglected tropical disease of humans and livestock with serious economic losses. Dogs as the definitive hosts are responsible for contaminating the environment through feces containing eggs. Using coproantigen ELISA, we tested 368 dogs randomly sampled from three Pakistani cities for infection with Eg. The highest prevalence was found in Lahore (9.80%) with an overall prevalence of 6.79%. Prevalence was higher in females (8.72%, odds ratio OR 1.71), young dogs (≤ 3 years) (6.93%, OR 1.06), stray/feral dogs (9.72%, OR 1.60), dogs fed with raw offal (8.28%, OR 2.63) and dogs with no anthelmintics treatment history (8.98%, OR 1.90). Prevalence was also higher in dogs with Body Condition Score (BCS) of 1–3 (10.86%; OR 5.75) and Grey Hound breed (15.62%; OR 6.94). Statistically significant association (P < 0.05) was found between copro-positivity and different variables investigated except for sex, dog breed and history for anthelmintic treatment (P > 0.05). Significant statistical differences (Binary logistic regression) were observed for age, companionship, feed type, BCS and previous intestinal illness. Since dogs are responsible for contaminating the environment, the Eg prevalence in this study indicates a potential risk for human and livestock populations in the study areas and suggests a proactive approach in CE management. © 2021 Friends Science Publishers