Prevalence and species distribution of ectoparasite of domestic dogs in jimma town, Oromia regional state, southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence and the species composition of ectoparasites of dogs in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia from December 2017 to March 2018. Physical examinations were undergone in 384 dogs and laboratory identification was employed on the ectoparasites. Of the 384 dogs examined, 365 (95.05%) were infested with one or more of ticks, lice or flees. Overall a total of seven different species of flea were recorded in the dogs. The most prevalent ectoparasite identified was Ctenocephalides felis (79.69%) followed by Ctenocephalides canis (71.35%) while the other species collected and identified were Rhipicephalus sanguine (10.42%), Linognathus setosus (7.81%), Pulex irritans (4.17%), Trichodectus canis (2.6%), and Ambylomma spp. (2.6%). The present study showed no statistical significant difference (p>0.05) in the prevalence of ectoparasites between young and adult dogs. However, statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in the prevalence of ectoparasites between male and female dogs. This study revealed that ectoparasites are the major challenges for the dogs in the study area which warrants serious attention.