One Health assessment of zoonotic intestinal parasites in humans, dogs, and soil of coastal Cartagena, Colombia

Vet World Vol.18 November-2025 Article - 5

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(11): 3352-3366

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.3352-3366

Dilia Mildret Fontalvo Rivera¹, Irina Tirado Ballestas², Marina Morales Aleans³, Javier Moreno Meneses⁴, Natalia Lemos Calle¹, Mariana Lucía Mier Fontalvo⁴, Sofía Plata Suarez⁴, Anyel Bertel De La Hoz¹, Javier Galvis Ballesteros², Vanessa Quiñones Cantillo¹, Jimmy Piñeros Passos¹, Luis Conde Berrío¹, Nuria Visbal Giraldo¹, Camila Carbal Carvajal¹, Andrea Santos Muñoz², Juan Franco Rodríguez¹, Alejanddro Hurtado Martínez¹, Karen Navarro González¹, Daniela Sierra Urueta¹, and María Lina Simancas Mogollón⁴

1. Department of Medicine and Research, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia.

2. Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena, Colombia.

3. Microbiology Laboratory, Microbiology and Environment Research Group – GIMA, Cartagena, Colombia.

4. Veterinary Study Program, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad de Ciencias Ambientales y Aplicadas, UDCA, Cartagena, Colombia.

Background and Aim: Zoonotic intestinal parasites remain a neglected public health problem in low-resource coastal communities where humans, free-roaming dogs, and contaminated environments interact closely. Cartagena, Colombia, lacks updated epidemiological data on intestinal parasitosis despite its high tourist influx and vulnerable populations. This study applied a One Health framework to investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasites in humans, dogs, and soil in two coastal regions of Cartagena (La Boquilla and Punta Arenas) and to identify associated risk factors and clinical manifestations.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March 2024 and March 2025. Stool samples from 33 residents and 42 dogs were analyzed by direct microscopy with saline and Lugol’s solutions, while 78 soil samples were assessed using the Krumbein, Sloss, and Willis techniques. Dogs suspected of Dirofilaria spp. infection were additionally screened by the Woo test. Sociodemographic data, nutritional status, and clinical information were collected. Statistical analyses included descriptive tests, Chi-square/Fisher’s tests, logistic regression, and odds ratio (OR) estimation at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.

Results: Soil samples showed high contamination with Toxocara spp. (46.2%), Strongyloides spp. (28%), and Ancylostoma spp. (25.7%). Among humans, 60.97% were positive for parasites, with Giardia spp. (15.15%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (12.12%), Ascaris lumbricoides (12.12%), and Enterobius vermicularis (12.12%) being the most frequent. In dogs, 33.33% carried intestinal parasites, predominantly Ancylostoma spp. (14.29%) and Giardia spp. (7.14%). Clinical manifestations in humans included loss of appetite, cough, dermatitis, and weight loss, while dogs frequently presented with pallor, dermatological lesions, and gastrointestinal signs. Logistic regression analysis indicated that a lack of canine deworming significantly increased the risk of human parasitic infections (OR: 3.80; 95% confidence interval: 0.98–14.66; p = 0.048).

Conclusion: This One Health investigation highlights significant zoonotic risk from shared parasitic infections in humans, dogs, and contaminated soils in Cartagena’s coastal regions. The lack of systematic deworming and vaccination in dogs, poor sanitation, and close human–dog contact amplify transmission. Strengths of this study include its integrative human–animal–environment approach, while limitations involve modest sample size and lack of molecular genotyping. Future work should apply molecular epidemiology to confirm cross-species transmission. Practical implications emphasize the urgent need for mass deworming campaigns, improved waste management, vector control, and public health education to reduce zoonotic intestinal parasite burden in vulnerable coastal communities.

Keywords: canines, Cartagena, Intestinal parasitosis, One Health, soil contamination, zoonoses.

How to cite this article: Rivera DMF, Ballestas IT, Aleans MM, Meneses JM, Calle NL, Fontalvo MLM, Suarez SP, De La Hoz AB, Ballesteros JG, Cantillo VQ, Passos JP, Barrios LC, Giraldo NV, Carvajal CC, Muñoz AS, Rodríguez JF, Martínez AH, González KN, Urueta DS, and Mogollón MLS (2025) One Health assessment of zoonotic intestinal parasites in humans, dogs, and soil of coastal Cartagena, Colombia, Veterinary World, 18(11):3352-3366.

Received: 14-06-2025 Accepted: 17-10-2025 Published online: 06-11-2025

Corresponding author: Dilia Mildret Fontalvo Rivera E-mail: diliafontalvor@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.3352-3366

Copyright: Rivera, 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.