Prevalence of Intestinal Zoonotic Bacteria and Parasites in the Feces of Dogs

Isolation and enumeration of zoonotic organisms were investigated in the feces of 606 dogs. Of them, 495 were captured dogs brought to the Administration Center for Animals, 102 were pet dogs, and 9 were guide dogs. Incidences of Campylobacter, Yersinia, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens in the captured dogs were 43.4, 28.9, 16.0, and 99.8%, respectively, and those in pet dogs were 8.9, 14.3, 7.5, and 88.6% respectively. The respective average numbers of the organisms per gram in the captured dogs were 8.8× 104, 1.3×104, 1.9×104, and 9.9×105 (CFU/g). Incidences of Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma canium, and Trichuris vulpis in the captured dogs were 38.0, 21.0, and 31.0%, respectively. The average egg numbers of the parasites per gram were 1.1×104, 3.8×104, and 1.3×104, respectively. In the guide dogs, C. jejuni and C. perfringens were detected at the rates of 11.1 and 86.2%, respectively, and no other organisms mentioned above were detected.