Prevalence of intestinal helminths of dogs and foxes from Jordan

Necropsy of 340 stray and semi-stray dogs (Canis familiaris) and nine red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Jordan revealed that 239 dogs (70.3%) and all foxes were infected with at least one intestinal helminth species. No trematodes were found in the intestine of these hosts. The overall infection rates with cestodes, nematodes and acanthocephalans in dogs were 66.8%, 4.4% and 2.9%, respectively. The following cestodes were identified: Echinococcus granulosus (9.4%), Taenia pisiformis (11.8%), T. hydatigena (7.4%), T. ovis (4.4%), T. multiceps (3.8%), T. taeniaeformis (2.9%), Dipylidium caninum (19.4%), Joyeuxiella (3.2%), Diplopylidium (2.4%), and Mesocestoides (0.9%). Other intestinal worms in dogs were Toxascaris (2.6%), Toxocara canis (1.2%), and Protospirura (0.6%) nematodes, and gigantorhynchiid acanthocephalans (2.9%). Intestinal helminths found in foxes included cestodes (D. caninum, Joyeuxiella, Diplopylidium, Mesocestoides), nematodes (Protospirura, Uncinaria stenocephala and Oxynema) and an acanthocephalan (Macracanthorhynchus). In both hosts, most helminths were recovered from the second intestinal segment of four equally divided segments.