Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in captive mammals at Khon Kaen Zoo, Thailand

Vet World Vol.16 December-2023 Article-4

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(12): 2416-2424

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.2416-2424

Jirawat Sangpeng¹, Chatanun Eamudomkarn¹, Nuttanan Hongsrichan¹, Atchara Artchayasawat¹, Chavin Chaisongkram², Kanda Ponsrila², Siriwan Kimkamkaew², Nonglak Laoprom³, Thidarut Boonmars¹, Paiboon Sithithaworn¹, and Opal Pitaksakulrat¹

1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand.
2. Department of Research Conservation and Animal Health, Khon Kaen Zoo, 40280, Thailand.
3. Department of General Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kasetsart University, Chalermphrakiat Sakon Nakhon Province Campus, Sakon Nakhon, 47000, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Captive animals are susceptible to parasitic diseases due to the stress and confinement they experience. In addition, they can serve as reservoirs of zoonotic parasites that have the potential to infect humans. To investigate this possibility, we estimated the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in captive mammals at Khon Kaen Zoo, Thailand.

Materials and Methods: One hundred and forty-seven individual mammals (37 primates, 43 carnivores, 62 herbivores, and 5 rodents) were examined for parasitic infections by fecal examination daily for 3 consecutive days using the formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique (FECT) and the agar plate culture method.

Results: According to FECT, the overall prevalence of GI parasites was 62.6% (92/147). Within animal groups, the numbers were as follows: 67.6% (25/37) in primates, 23.3% (10/43) in carnivores, 85.5% (53/62) in herbivores, and 80.0% (4/5) in rodents. Using the agar plate culture method, 21.43% (27/126) were positive for Strongyloides spp. and hookworm infections. The GI parasites identified belonged to three categories: protozoa (including Entamoeba histolytica species complex, Entamoeba coli, Giardia spp., coccidia, and ciliated protozoa), trematodes (minute intestinal flukes and rumen flukes), and nematodes (strongyle/hookworm, Strongyloides spp., Ascarididae, and Trichuris spp.).

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the prevalence of several GI parasites in zoo animals with the potential for transmission to humans, given the animals’ close proximity to both visitors and animal caretakers. Keywords: captive mammals, gastrointestinal parasites, zoo, zoonotic parasites.

Keywords: captive mammals, gastrointestinal parasites, zoo, zoonotic parasites.

How to cite this article: Sangpeng J, Eamudomkarn C, Hongsrichan N, Artchayasawat A, Chaisongkram C, Ponsrila K, Kimkamkaew S, Laoprom N, Boonmars T, Sithithaworn P, and Pitaksakulrat O (2023) Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in captive mammals at Khon Kaen Zoo, Thailand, Veterinary World, 16(12): 2416-2424.

Received: 31-07-2023 Accepted: 03-11-2023 Published online: 05-12-2023

Corresponding author: Opal Pitaksakulrat E-mail: opalpi@kku.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.2416-2424

Copyright: Sangpeng, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.