PREVALENCE OF ECTOPARASITES IN BREEDS OF DOGS FROM UGBOWO COMMUNITY, EGOR LGA, EDO STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) have been domesticated for thousands of years and have emerged to live closely with humans than any other animals, becoming a part of our families and society. A study of the prevalence of ectoparasites from Ugbowo community, Egor LGA, Edo state, Nigeria was conducted. One hundred dogs were examined and nine (9.0%) were infected with ectoparasites. Seven (7) ectoparasites were recovered, namely; Boophilus annulatus, Boophilus geigyi, Amblyomma variegatum, Boophilus decoloratus, Rhiphicephalus gulhoni, Rhiphicephalus muhsamae and Ctenocephalides canis. The German Shepherd emerged as the most infected breed, harbouring four species (57.14%) of the seven ectoparasite species discovered. Boophilus annulatus had the highest prevalence (28%) of ectoparasitic infestation. The male dogs (10.14%) were infested than the female dogs (6.45%). Of the different dog categories examined, age 0-2 had the highest rate of infestation harbouring four (57.14%) of the seven species of ectoparasites recovered. The study revealed a remarkably low overall prevalence of ectoparasitic infestations which signifies the vast knowledge of dog owners in the study area of various techniques of ectoparasitic prevention and control. All ectoparasites recovered in this study are of zoonotic importance and the diseases they cause are classified by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2003) among the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) ravaging African countries