Volume 53 (2003) Issue: 2003 No#1

SARCOCYSTIOSIS IN DOGS IN SEVERAL REGIONS OF SERBIA

Author(s): Obrenović Sonja, Katić – Radivojević Sofija, Stanković B, Bacić D

Keywords:sarcocystiosis, dogs, prevalence, feeding, age

The results of an investigation related to Sarcocystis spp. infection of dogs in Serbia are presented in this paper, for the first time after 25 years. In order to investigate the prevalence of sarcocystiosis in dogs, 448 dogs were examined. Considering feeding and living conditions, the dogs were divided in to 5 categories (city dogs - 100, village dogs - 188, dogs from a shelter - 54, military dog farm - 42 and dogs from private kennels - 64). Considering age, they were divided in to four groups (puppies - 49, young dogs 6 months to 1 year of age - 86, 1-3 year old dogs -117 and 196 dogs older than 3 years). The results obtained show that 2.46% (11/448) of the examined dogs were positive. Significant differences in the presence of sporocysts were established among the categories. The highest rate of positive cases was found in the dogs from the shelter (5.56%), followed by village dogs (3.72%) and there was no difference between these categories. There was a 1% positive rate among city dogs, while there were no positive animals in the remaining two categories. Considering age, significant differences were detected among all groups in respect to the presence of infected dogs (p<0.10). The highest rate was found in the group of dogs older than 3 years (4.59%), then in the group of dogs aged 1-3 years (1.71%), while there were no positive animals in the other two groups.