Survey of intestinal parasites in stray dogs in the Madrid area and comparison of the efficacy of three anthelmintics in naturally infected dogs.

Using routine coprological methods, 1161 faecal samples from animal shelters located in Madrid (Spain) were analysed, showing a 28% prevalence for different intestinal parasites: Giardia duodenalis (7%), Cystoisopora spp. (3.8%), Toxocara canis (7.8%), Toxascaris leonina (6.3%), Ancylostomidae (4%), Trichuris vulpis (3.3%), Taenidae (2.9%) and Dipylidium caninum (0.9%). The therapeutic efficacies of mebendazole at a dose of 22 mg/kg once daily for 3 days, fenbendazole at a dose of 50 mg/kg once daily for 3 days and a drug combination of febantel-pyrantel-praziquantel at a dose of 15-5-5 mg/kg once were valuated and compared by collecting faecal samples on days 9 and 16 post-treatment from naturally infected dogs in field-trial conditions. From the infected dogs (321 dogs), 150 animals were selected for the study. Distribution randomly divided the animals into three study groups of ten dogs per parasite and per treatment group: group A, mebendazole; group B, fenbendazole and group C, febantel-pyrantel-praziquantel. The therapeutic efficacy against ascarids and ancylostomids (days 9-16) was very high (75-100%) for the three groups: for T. canis, 100% in group A, 80-100% in group B, 97-100% in group C; for T. leonina, 98-100% in group A, 100% in group B, 92-94% in group C and for ancylostomids, 100% in group A, 99-100% in group B, 90-100% in group C. On the other hand, the highest efficacy against Taenidae infections was in group B (90-100%), followed by groups C (73-91%) and A (70-90%).