台北市流浪犬感染人畜共通寄生蟲症及血液像之研究

To assess the prevalence of parasitic infections among stray dogs in Taipei city, a total of 83 dogs obtained from Taipei Municipal Institute for Animal Health were necropsied from November 1995 to October 1996. Haematological examinations were also undertaken. Seven species of parasites were found, of which five were zoonotic. The overall prevalence of parasitic infections was 76% and there was no significant difference between males (80%) and females (72%) (p ＞ 0.05). The following infection rates were obtained: 34% for A. caninum and D. caninum, 28% for D. immitis, 15% for T. canis, 8% for Babesia sp, and 1% for Trichuris sp and Isospora sp. The average numbers of adult worms per dog were 5 for T. canis, 14 for A. caninum, 4 for D. caninum and 9 for D. immitis. Out of the 68 infected dogs, 35 had 1 species of parasites, 18 had 2 species, 8 had 3 species and 2 had 4 species. Both the lymphocyte counts and percentage of eosinophils were significantly different between infected (14.8 x 10^3/mm^3; 8%) and uninfected (8.9 x 10^3/mm^3; 2%) dogs (p ＜ 0.05). Erythrocyte counts and hemoglobin values among the stray dogs were lower than those seen in normal dogs indicating their reduced nutritional status, thus may become a public health problem.