Multiple Drug Resistance in the canine hookworm Ancylostoma caninum: an Emerging Threat?

Pablo D. Jimenez Castro, DVM
Doctoral Student
Department of Infectious Diseases College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Georgia

Dr. Castro will be talking to us about the resistant strain of hookworms that most all Greyhound owners are faced with at one time or another.

In the past few years, diagnoses by veterinarians of recurrent canine hookworm infections have dramatically increased, suggesting that anthelmintic resistance (AR) may have evolved in the parasite Ancylostoma caninum. To investigate this, we established three “suspected-resistant” and two susceptible A. caninum isolates in research dogs for further study. We used different in vitro assays for detecting resistance to benzimidazoles, and macrocyclic lactones, respectively. Resistance levels were very high for both assays and  following treatment with pyrantel, reduction in faecal egg counts ranged from -323–0%, for two suspected resistant isolates. We also detected a high frequency of the mutation that confers resistance to some of these drugs in the suspected resistant isolates. These data conclusively demonstrate multiple anthelmintic resistance in A. caninum, and provide pivotal evidence that this is an emerging problem in the United States. Consequently, these findings should produce some concern to the global health community, as the scale-up of mass drug administration for soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is placing increased selection pressures for benzimidazole resistance in human hookworms.

Dr. Castro's presentation is a MUST for any and all Greyhound owners.

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