Toxocara canisInfections of Puppies in Kanagawa Prefecture

Abstract

Seventy-six puppies 2-4 months old were examined for parasitic helminths in Kanagawa Prefecture over a period from November, 1984 to March, 1985. All of them were killed to recover parasitic helminths after their EPG and EPD were calculated. Of them, fifty-eight (76.3%) were positive for the following species of helminths, incidence rates being in parentheses: Spirometra erinacei (1.3%), Dipylidium caninum (17.1%), Taenia pisiformis (1.3%), Trichuris vulpis (10.5%), Toxocara canis (68.4%), andAncylostoma caninum (1.3%). The number ofT. canisorganisms obtained from one dog ranged from 1 to 28 with an average of 8.5., while those ofD. caninumandT. vulpisorganisms exceeded one hundred in some puppies. The number ofT. caniseggs excreted into the feces was much larger than that ofA. caninumorT. vulpiseggs.