Abstract:
Dogs are the earliest animals to be domesticated by humans. In many areas of Tanzania,
dogs are poorly managed and rarely protected from diseases which turn them to be
reservoirs of diseases that can be shared to human and livestock. A cross sectional study
was conducted between October 2017 and January 2018 to assess the community
knowledge, attitudes, practices and to study the epidemiology of parasitic infestations in
dogs of Mvomero district and Morogoro Municipality. The structured questionnaire was
administered to 200 dog keepers, 100 in each study district. A total of 400 dogs were
examined for ectoparasite infestations and sampled for laboratory identification using
standard identification keys. Faecal samples were also collected from all the study dogs
for coprological analysis of gastrointestinal parasites. It was established that 59% of dog
keepers had fair to good knowledge on management of dogs, 50.5% showed positive
attitude towards dogs. Dogs of Mvomero district were managed under poor conditions
compared to those of Morogoro Municipality and the difference was statistically
significant (P<0.05). Majority (83.8%) of the dogs were infested with ectoparasites
namely ticks, fleas, mites and lice. It was further found that 76.8% of dogs were infested
with intestinal parasites and some of them were zoonotic parasites namely Ancylostoma
(60.5%), Uncinaria (22%), Toxocara (11.5%), Toxascaris (6.3%), Ascaris (3.8%), Taenid
(6%), Dipylidium (1.8%), Cryptosporidium (15.5%), Isospora (8%), Cyclospora (4.3%)
and Entamoeba (3%). Dogs of Mvomero distict were more (P<0.05) infested with
parasites than those of Morogoro Municipality. Risk factors for parasitic infestations
which were found to be statically significant (P < 0.05) included age, location of origin,
management and housing system, lack of routine deworming and feeding system. It was
concluded that dogs in Morogoro are poorly managed and had high infestation of parasites
that reflect the status of parasitic infestations to other animals in the area. Therefore, integrative approaches on creating public awareness on dog management practices in the
study areas and other areas in Tanzania in order to safeguard the health of dogs and
humans is recommended.
