Amoebiasis in dogs

1. 34
Scholar’s Advances in Animal and Veterinary Research, 1(1): 34-37.
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Research Article
Amoebiasis: Prevalence, Treatment with Metronidazole and Nalidixic Acid in Dogs
Ashar Mahfooz1
, Muhammad Aslam lqbal1
, Tanveer Ahmad1
, Sultan Mahmood2
, Muhammad Nisar Khan3
, Asif
Iqbal*3
, Faisal Siddique,4
Ghulam Abbas2
and Muhammad Ijaz Saleem1
1
Department of clinical Medicine and Surgery, 2
Department of Poultry Science, 3
Department of Parasitology,
4
Institute of Microbiology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040 Pakistan , Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
*Corresponding author: asif_chm@yahoo.com
ARTICLE HISTORY A B S T R A C T
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
March 04, 2014
April 25, 2014
May 04, 2014
Present study was designed from March 2009 - April 2010 to determine the
prevalence and treatment of amoebiasis in dogs. Three hundred (300) dogs’
fecal samples were examined for intestinal protozoan oocysts of which 27 (9
%) were found infected with .Entamoeba histolytica (H.A). The local dogs had
the highest prevalence, 18 (6%), followed by exotic, 6 (2%), and of cross
breeds, 3 (1%). Age and sex wise prevalence results showed that amoebiasis
was higher in pups (age 3-l2 months) and female as compared to adults (age
>l2 months) and male dogs, respectively. The fecal samples were examined
using formol ether concentration method and modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique
and sodium chloride flotation method. Effect of Metronidazole and Nalidixic
acid alone and in combination for diarrhea, dysentery and vomiting showed that
Metronidazole has better results as compared to Nalidixic acid but the
combination of these two is much better than Metronidazole alone. For this trial
27 dogs infected with amoebiasis were selected and divided into three equal
groups, i.e. A, B and C. Dogs of group A received Metronidazole (Flagyl)®
@
20 mg/kg for 5 days. While group B received Nalidixic acid (Negram) 5 mg/kg
for 5 days and group C received combination of Metronidazole (Flagyl)®
@ 20
mg/kg I/V + Nalidixic acid (Negram)®
@ 5 mg/kg orally, for 5 days. An
evaluation criterion included was visual examination and microscopic
examination of feces for presence or absence of parasite. Fecal samples and
other clinical parameters were recorded at baseline, during course of disease, on
1, 2, 3, 5 and 7th day post treatment. The combination therapy comprising of
Metronidazole and Nalidixic acid proved to be the best treatment as it reduce
the severity of clinical signs all infected dogs.
All copyright reserved to Mr.Scholar
Key words:
Amoebiasis
Dog
E. histolytica
Metronidazole
Nalidixic acid
Prevalence
To Cite This Article: Mahfooz A, M. A. lqbal, T. Ahmad, S. Mahmood, M. N. Khan, A. Iqbal, F. Siddique, G.
Abbas and M. I. Saleem, 2014. Amoebiasis: Prevalence, Treatment with Metronidazole and Nalidixic acid in
Dogs. Sch. Adv. Anim. Vet. Res., 1(1): 34-37.
INTRODUCTION
Dogs have evolved to occupy a unique position
In the human world, unparalleled by any other
successfully domesticated animal (Jane, 1996). The
intelligence of these animals has been exploited by

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35
man, and this has made dogs useful to man for various
activities, including hunting, retrieving, herding,
rescue operations, tracking, and guidance (Jane,
1996). Since dogs are useful to man, a huge amount of
money is spent for their up keep. Despite all the
attempts by man to keep dogs in good health
condition, a lot of challenges are faced by the owners,
particularly in the area of disease control. Due to their
interaction with all kinds of environment, they are
exposed to both the endemic and non-endemic
intestinal protozoan infections. Amoebiasis is one of
the important diseases infecting man and animals,
caused by Entamoeba histolytica (E.A) The disease is
clinically characterized by development of
gastroenteritis and dermatitis. The development of
severe anemia is a common complication with this
disease, and is due to the ingestion and breakdown of
red blood cells by the trophozoite stage of the Amoeba
(Roberts et al., 1973). The major source of infection
of this disease is either drinking water contaminated
with human feces or human carriers, who handle
animal and food under poor hygienic conditions.
Infection occurs by the ingestion of highly resistant
cysts, which descend to the large bowel and pass in
the feces. Dog do not pass the disease as they pass
only E. histolytica or motile and fragile trophozoites
which are non-infective. The man, however, passes in
his stool the cysts which are extremely resistant and
highly infective to all other species (Noble, 1952).
Considering the importance of this zoonotic
disease and it impact on public and animal health, a
study was designed to determine the prevalence and
treatment (using Metronidazole and Nalidixic acid) of
amoebiasis in dogs, in the vicinity of Faisalabad,
Pakistan. It is hoped that the findings of this research
will provide information, useful for the general public,
dog fanciers, as well as veterinary and medical
practitioners.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fecal Samples: A total of 300 fecal samples were
collected, directly from rectum of housed dogs (ages 3
months and above) brought to veterinary clinics, at
various locations in the Faisalabad district, from
January, 2010 to June, 2010. All fecal samples received
in dry universal bottles were sent immediately to the
Epidemiology Laboratory Section of the Department of
Parasitology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, for
fecal analysis. The data collected included: breed (local,
exotic and cross breeds), age (adults >l2 months, pups
3-l2 months), sex and feces consistency, to correlate
them with parasite prevalence.
Laboratory Methods: All fecal samples were
examined for protozoan “Entamoeba histolytica”
analysis as described by Adam et al. (1979) and
Soulsby (2006). Briefly, the test involved placing some
fresh feces on a pre-warmed slide and mixed it with 1-2
drops of warm 0.85% saline solution, covered with a
coverslip and then examined under low power
microscope. A positive sample would contain motile
amoebic trophozoites measuring 10-60/A in size. The
number of trophozoites and cysts were counted, as
described by Soulsby, 2006. The research data
generated was analyzed using simple averages,
percentages, descriptive and quantitative statistics.
Treatment Protocol: For treatment trials, 27 dogs, of
varying ages and both sexes, infected with amoebiasis
were randomly selected and divided into three equal
groups, i.e. A, B and C. The dogs in group A received
Metronidazole (Flagyl)®
, @ 20 mg/kg for 5 days, while
group B received Nalidixic acid (Negram)®
, @ 5 mg/kg
for five days and of group C received combination of
Metronidazole (Flagyl)®
@ 20mg/kg I/V and Nalidixic
acid (Negram)®
@, 5mg/kg orally, for five days. Pre
and Post treatment, all dogs were visually examined
and their feces tested for the presence or absence of
protozoas, for days 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7th post treatment
(Table 1).
RESULTS
The results of the microscopic examination of the
fecal samples of the dogs are presented in figures 1 & 2
and table 2. The results showed that out of 300 fecal
samples examined, 27 (9%) were found to be positive
for Entamoeba histolytica (the causative agent of the
amoebiasis). The local breed of dogs had the highest
prevalence, i.e. 18 (6%), followed by exotic breed dogs,
6 (2%), and cross breed dogs 3 (1%). Only one spp. of
genus Entamoeba (Entamoeba histolytica) was
identified in the dog fecal samples investigated. The
age and sex wise prevalence of this disease was
observed as, the pups and female dogs had higher
prevalence compared to adults and male, as shown in
figure 2.
The treatment trial of the disease indicated that the
Metronidazole had good results in treating the disease
as compared to Nalidixic acid, whereas, combination
of the two drugs showed better results in comparison
with both the drugs if used alone, in treating
amoebiasis, as shown in tables 3, 4 and 5. The
combination of drugs for treatment of amoebiasis, using

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36
Table 1: Protocol for the experiment treatment of dogs
Groups Animals Composition Dose rate Dose route Repeat (hours)
I 9 Metronidazole (Flagyl) 20 mg/Kg BW I/V 0-24-48-96-144
II 9 (Negram) Nalidixic acid 5 mg/Kg BW P/O 0-24-48-96-144
III 9 (Flagyl) + (Negram) 20 mg/Kg BW
5 mg/Kg BW
I/V 0-24-48-96-144
Metronidazole and Nalidixic acid, had better results in
reducing the severity of clinical illness and protozoa
burden.
Fig. 1: Prevalence of E. histolytica in 300 fecal samples of
dogs at Faisalabad.
Fig. 2: Age and sex wise prevalence of amoebiasis in infected
dogs
DISCUSSION
The results of the present study indicated that there
was only one intestinal protozoan parasite specie (e.g.
E. histolytica) isolated from fecal samples dogs. The
prevalence of this parasite specie was found to be
highest in the local breed dogs compared to well
manage dog breeds. This appeared to be due free
wandering habit as well as poor management and
feeding practices offered to local dogs. While roving
around, they are frequently in contact with human and
bird excreta and other infected waste materials, and get
infection. Also, most of these dogs are either infected or
carriers of intestinal protozoan parasites, which they
share playing fields, with each other’s, directly or
Table 2: Prevalence of E. histolytica in 300 fecal samples
from dogs in Faisalabad
Dog Total/(%) sample
examined
Positive/(%)
samples
Negative/
(%)
samples
Local 150 (50) 18 (6) 132 (44)
Exotic 50 (16.67) 6 (2) 44 (14)
Cross bred 100 (33.33) 3 (1) 97 (32.34)
Total 300 (100) 27 (9) 273 (91)
Table 3: Clinical cure rate in dogs suffering from amoebiasis
after 24 hour of treatment
Groups Total no. of
clinical cases
No. of
animals cured
Percentage of
animals cured
I 9 0 0%
II 9 0 0%
III 0 0 0%
Table 4: Clinical cure rate of dogs suffering from amoebiasis
after 48 hours of treatment
Groups Total no. of
clinical cases
No. of
animals cured
Percentage of
animals cured
I 9 0 0%
II 9 0 0%
III 9 3 22%
Table 5: Clinical cure rate of dogs suffering from amoebiasis
after 96 hours of treatment
Groups Total no. of
clinical cases
No. of
animals cured
Percentage of
animals cured
I 9 7 78%
II 9 5 56%
III 9 9 100%
I=Metronidazole (20 mg/kg BW, IV); II=Nalidixic acid (5mg/
kg PO); III=Metronidazole and Nalidixic acid
indirectly. In addition, local dogs are kept by low
income group of people, so they receive less often
medical help.
The prevalence of amoebiasis in exotic dogs in this
study, was low (2%) and could be due to contaminated
Food and water with the cysts, as a result of inadequate
general hygiene in pet houses. The prevalence of this
disease observed in puppies was high, which is in
accordance with findings by other workers (Adejinmi et
al., 2001; Sarger et al., 2006, Lorenzini et al., 2007;
Moreno et al., 2007). This might be either due to
immune incompetence or low level of passive
immunity in puppies received from their dams

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37
(Oliveirasequeira et al., 2002) or high stocking density
as observed in our study.
The treatment trial results, in this study are in
accordance with the study trials by other researchers
(Harger and Rapp, 1992; Garduno-Espinosa et al.,
1997), who reported that Metronidazole had better
treatment response than other drugs used for amoebiasis
and combination of Nalidixic acid with it had the best
effect in treating amoebiasis. This might be due to the
fact that Nalidixic acid has better luminal amoebicidal
action and adjunct therapy in the treatment of
amoebiasis as reported by Adams, 2001).
Since, this parasite has zoonotic significance, so,
effective treatment of infected dogs with most suitable
drugs, is very important. It was observed that
combination of drugs, mentioned in this study, was
more effective comparing with either of one medicine
used, and be tried at times of need. In addition,
educating of pet owners on
the importance of hygiene practices, timely veterinary
medical assistance for sick dogs, feeding of quality
food, routine cleaning and disinfection of kennels,
feeding and drinking troughs for prevent contamination,
as well as disease free environment is also obligatory.
Acknowledgement: The authors are grateful to the pet
owners for allowing collecting fecal samples of their
dogs and Dr. M. Sohail Sajid for his technical
assistance.
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