Taeniasis, cysticercosis and echinococcosis/hydatidosis in Nigeria: IV--prevalence of Echinococcus granulosus infection in stray dogs.

Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786; Rudolphi, 1801) infections in stray dogs were recorded in the Sudan and Northern Guinea zones at a prevalence rate of 6.2% and 1.2% respectively. The parasite was not recorded in any stray dog obtained from the Bauchi Plateau zone, although fewer dogs were examined from this zone. The high prevalence of echinococcosis in dogs reported in the Sudan zone bears a true epidemiological relationship with the high prevalence of cystic hydatidosis recorded for slaughtered livestock within the same locality. There is therefore a strong possibility of a high rate of faecal contamination of the environments under consideration with Echinococcus eggs, which places the human population at a high risk.