Risk factors for the spread of parasitic zoonoses among dog owners and their families in rural areas

Introduction. Close animal-human contacts are risky for people, especially in cases of any negligence towards proper veterinary care, deworming procedures, as well as human and dog hygiene. Among possible risks there are parasite zoonoses threats. Material and methods. The study involved 176 dog owners from rural regions in Lublin province. The original Parasitic Zoonoses Transmission Risk Score (PZTRS) method was used to determine the risk for humans, a method based on the analysis of such criteria as animal-human coexistence conditions and dog hygiene, as well as dewormings negligence. The resulting score ranges from 0–8, where. ‘0’ is a perfect score, ‘8’ is the lowest and means high health risks for humans. Results. Obtained PZTRS values were in the 1-6 range. Median as well as modal values were equal to 4, which means the presence of significant risk of parasitic zoonoses transmission to dog owners and members of their families. Conclusions. In Polish rural areas, negligence of dog owners’ duties, including improper hygiene and dewormings, as well as risky conditions of human-dog coexistence, increase the potential risk of zoonotic parasite diseases spreading. Nowadays, veterinary practices and media have the important responsibility of educating dog owners about the potential risk of zoonotic parasites