Resumo

CAPUANO, Divani Maria  e  ROCHA, Gutemberg de Melo. Parasites with zoonotic potential in dog feces collected from public areas of the city of Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Rev. bras. epidemiol. [online]. 2006, vol.9, n.1, pp. 81-86. ISSN 1415-790X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-790X2006000100010.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the occurrence of zoonotic parasites in dog feces collected in public areas of the city of Ribeirão Preto, to alert to the risk of human infection. METHODS: From May to December, 2003, 78 public squares located in five different areas of the city were visited: southwest, northwest, north, central and southeast. We collected 331 fecal canine pools that were processed by the spontaneous sedimentation technique. RESULTS: 56.8% of pools presented zoonotic parasites such as: Ancylostoma spp. (41.7%), Toxocara canis (24.2%), Trichuris vulpis (15.7%), Giardia spp. (10.2%) and Isospora spp. (3.3%). The prevalence of parasites was higher in squares located in the north area of the city (70%). CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of sanitary preservation programs in these sites is necessary in order to prevent environmental contamination by parasites potentially pathogenic to man.

Palavras-chave : Zoonotic parasites; Contamination; Feces; Public squares; Dogs.