CANINE PARASITIC ZOONOSES Vol 38 No. 2 March 2007 247 Correspondence: Tawin Inpankaew, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Tel/Fax: 66 (0) 2942-8438 E-mail: fvettwi@ku.ac.th, fvettwi@gmail.com INTRODUCTION It is common in Thailand to leave or aban- don unwanted dogs in temple grounds. Since temples are public places of worship and the donation of gifts, the owners trust that their animals will be fed and will be taken cared of by monks and nuns, as well as good-hearted temple visitors such as people who live nearby the temple grounds or people who love ani- mals and come to temple to feed them. Temple grounds in Thailand are generally sizeable with free access to the public and therefore seem to be a perfect place for unwanted animals. At a minimum, the dogs can live on the left- over food of the monks. Under these circum- CANINE PARASITIC ZOONOSES IN BANGKOK TEMPLES Tawin Inpankaew 1 , Rebecca Traub 2 , RC Andrew Thompson 3 and Yaowalark Sukthana 4,5 1 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; 2 School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia; 3 WHO Collaborating Center for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia; 4 Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 5 International College, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand Abstract. Fecal samples were collected from 204 humans and 229 dogs from 20 different temples in Bangkok, as well as communities in the surrounding temple ground areas. Human and dog stool samples were examined for intestinal parasites including Giardia using zinc sulfate flotation and microscopy. Hookworms were the most common parasite in dogs (58.1%) followed by Trichuris (20.5%), Isospora (10%), Giardia (7.9%), Toxocara (7.4%), Dipylidium caninum (4.4%) and Spirometra (3.1%). Blastocystis hominis (5.9%) was the most common parasite in humans followed by hookworms (3.4%), Giardia (2.5%), Strongyloides (2%) and Cryptosporidium (1.5%). All samples microscopy-positive for Giardia were genotyped. The majority of Giardia isolated from the dog population was placed in Assemblage A, followed by Assemblages D, B and C, respectively, while human isolates were placed in Assemblages A and B. Therefore, dogs in temple communities posed a potential zoonotic risk to humans for transmission of hookworms, Giardia (especially Assemblage A genotypes) and Toxocara canis. stances, the population of semi-domesticated and stray dogs is high in temple communi- ties. This coupled with poor hygienic practices and overcrowded conditions, places the monks, nuns and people living in the surround- ing communities at a high risk of acquiring zoonotic parasites either directly through close contact with the dogs, or indirectly through the highly contaminated environment. Surveillance data with regard to preva- lence of zoonotic canine gastrointestinal para- sites in Thailand is largely lacking. Previous studies conducted by Hinz (1980) and Rojekittikhun et al (1998) found hookworms, Trichuris vulpis and Toxocara canis to be the most common parasites in stray dogs from Bangkok. Another study by Wiwanitkit and Waenlor (2004) found 5.7% of soil samples collected from Bangkok to be contaminated with Toxocara eggs. Semi-domesticated dogs in rural communities in Thailand have also