PCR-based coprodiagnostic tools reveal dogs as reservoirs of zoonotic ancylostomiasis caused by Ancylostoma ceylanicum in temple communities in Bangkok Rebecca J. Traub a, * , Tawin Inpankaew b , Chantira Sutthikornchai c , Yaowalark Sukthana c , R.C. Andrew Thompson d a School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia b Departmet of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand c Department of Protozoology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand d WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and the State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia Received 15 January 2008; received in revised form 7 April 2008; accepted 5 May 2008 Abstract A survey of gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and humans from temple communities in Bangkok revealed that 58% of dogs and 3.4% of humans, among those sampled, were infected with hookworms utilising faecal flotation techniques and microscopy. A previously established polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-RFLP approach was utilised to determine the species of hookworms infecting dogs found positive for hookworm eggs. Single infections with Ancylostoma ceylanicum and Ancylostoma caninum were recorded in 77% and 9% of hookworm positive dogs, respectively and mixed infections with both species of Ancylostoma were recorded in 14% of dogs. A single-step PCR for the multiplex detection of Ancylostoma species and Necator americanus DNA in human faeces was developed and applied to characterise the species of hookworms in microscopy positive individuals. Single infection with N. americanus was recorded in five and A. ceylanicum infection in two, out of seven individuals positive for hookworm. This study demonstrates that humans are at risk of acquiring infection with A. ceylanicum in communities where this species of hookworm is endemic in dogs. # 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ancylostoma; Hookworms; Dogs; Zoonoses; Thailand; PCR 1. Introduction The hookworm species Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma braziliense and Ancylostoma ceylanicum are known to be endemic in dogs (and cats) in India (Traub et al., 2007, 2004) and south east Asia (Choo et al., 2000; Setasuban et al., 1976; Yoshida et al., 1968, 1973). Canine hookworms are important not only from a veterinary stand-point but also a public health perspective, as all hookworm species of dogs are potentially zoonotic and capable of producing a degree of skin irritation referred to as ‘‘creeping eruptions’’ or cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) in humans (Maples- tone, 1933; Chaudhry and Longworth, 1989; Carroll and Grove, 1986; Landmann and Prociv, 2003). A. braziliense is the most frequently implicated aetiolo- gical agent (Chaudhry and Longworth, 1989; Malgor et al., 1996) and is the species responsible for prolonged www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Veterinary Parasitology 155 (2008) 67–73 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 3653223; fax: +61 7 33651255. E-mail address: r.traub@uq.edu.au (R.J. Traub). 0304-4017/$ – see front matter # 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.05.001