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Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 http://clujveterinaryjournal.ro 

Article 

Epidemiological aspects, haematological and biochemical alter-
ations in some gastrointestinal parasitic diseases of carnivores  
 
Marius Stelian Ilie 1*, Roxana Gabriela Oanea 2, Mirela Imre 1, Iasmina Luca 1, Tiana Florea 1, Simona Giubega 1, 
Gabriel Orghici 3, Sorin Morariu 1 

1 Department of Parasitology and Dermatology, Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary 
Medicine "King Michael I of Romania", Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, no. 119, Calea Aradului, 300645, 
Timisoara, Romania, marius.ilie@fmvt.ro; mirela.imre@gmail.com; iasminaluca0@gmail.com; sujic.ti-
jana@gmail.com; simonagiubega@gmail.com; sorin.morariu@fmvt.ro;  

2 Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania", Faculty 
of Veterinary Medicine; oanea.roxana3@gmail.com;  

3 Department of Veterinary Emergency, Banat`s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine 
"King Michael I of Romania", Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, no. 119, Calea Aradului, 300645, Timisoara, 
Romania gabrielorghici@gmail.com; 

* Correspondence: marius.ilie@fmvt.ro 

Abstract: Gastrointestinal parasites are widespread pathogenic agents and one of the main causes for mortality in young dogs and 
cats. Many of these zoonotic parasites are relevant in terms of public health. The presence of parasites in the animal organism causes 
local and general modifications in the various organs they parasitize or transit throughout their life cycle. The present study aimed 
to identify the most frequent gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and cats and to monitor the alterations that occur in terms of haema-
tological and biochemical parameters. The studied animals, 25 dogs and three cats from Timiș and Caraș Severin counties, were 
brought to the On-call room of the University Clinics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Timișoara. The laboratory methods that 
were used were the Willis flotation method, the Baerman larvoscopic method and the Lugol method. The haematological methods, 
namely flow cytometry, cytochemistry and spectrophotometry, were performed at Bioclinica Laboratories, on whole blood samples 
that were collected in EDTA or simple tubes. The studied animals were positive for Giardia, Cystoisospora, Dipylidium, Ancylostoma, 
Toxocara and Trichocephalus. The positivity rate was 57.14%, with prevalence rates according to the parasitic species ranging from 
3.57% to 21.42%, with multiparasitism in 32.14%, and monoparasitism in 17.85%. The values recorded for red blood cells, haemoglo-
bin and hematocrit followed the same trendmost of the animals being situated within physiological values, except for three dogs, 
that recorded values below the minimal level. In the case of MCH (mean corpuscular haemoglobin) and MCHC (mean corpuscular 
haemoglobin concentration) the values recorded for most dogs were within physiological limits, except for three dogs which over-
passed the maximum level. Eosinophils were high in all dogs, which is a characteristic feature of parasitism. The serum urea concen-
trations revealed the fact that all for dogs that were taken into study had values above the maximum limit. 

Keywords: dog; cat; gastrointestinal parasites; haematological and biochemical parameters. 
 

1. Introduction 

Both dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and cats (Felis catus) are domestic animals that have 
maintained tight bonds with humans and were bred and kept out of various reasons: as 
pets, as hunting dogs, police and utilitary animals, laboratory animals and in the case of 
cats, for rodent-control. 

Intestinal parasites, including protozoa and helminths, are among the most 
widespread pathogenic agents encountered by veterinarians, being one of the main 
causes for mortality in young dogs and cats.  

Dogs can serve as definitive host for a variety of macroparasites, microorganisms 
and viruses. They are associated with tens of zoonotic diseases which bear a negative 

Received: 14.08.2021 

Accepted: 01.09.2021 

Published: 09.09.2021 

DOI: 10.52331/cvj.v26i2.25 

 

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. 

Submitted for possible open access 

publication under the terms and 

conditions of the Creative Commons 

Attribution (CC BY) license 

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses

/by/4.0/). 



Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 10 
 

impact on human and animal health [1, 2]. The most important ones are rabies, echinococosis, toxacariasis, 
ancylostomiasis, giardiasis, etc. 

Many of these zoonotic parasites are relevant in terms of public health. Their transmission occurs by 
means of parasitic elements such as eggs or larvae. The resistance of eggs in the environment is quite high. 
In temperate areas, eggs can survive from 6 to 12 months and the most commonly used disinfectants are 
not effective against them [3].  

Gastrointestinal parasites have undergone a successful evolutionary process and have managed to 
survive and move with the use of various organ systems of hosts. The result of such infections can vary 
from subclinical to severe, life-threatening ones. They can cause serious health issues translated through 
delayed growth, precarious health conditions, low resistance to other concurrent diseases and decreased 
productivity [4]. 

The presence of parasites in the animal organism causes local and general modifications in the various 
organs they parasitize or transit throughout their life cycle. The present study aimed to identify the most 
frequent gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and cats and to monitor the alterations that occur in terms of 
haematological and biochemical parameters.  

2. Materials and Methods 

The studied animals were brought to the On-call room of the University Clinics of the Faculty of 
Veterinary Medicine  “King Michael the Ist of Romania” from Timișoara, between April 2018 and April 
2019. The representative species were 25 dogs and three cats from Timiș and Caraș Severin counties. There 
were both pure bred and mixed breed animals, such as: German shepherd, Bucovina shepherd, Doberman, 
pincher, Alaskan malamute, viszla, Caucasian shepherd, Siberian husky, teckel, bichon, pug, poodle, 
Romanian mioritic shepherd, golden retriver, Shar Pei, Swiss shepherd, Siberian cats, European cats. The 
age of the animals ranged between: 2 months and 9 years and they were brought in for coproparasitic 
exams, with owners accusing to have noticed clinical signs specific for parasitic diseases, namely soft stools.  

The laboratory methods that were used were the Willis flotation method, the Baerman larvoscopic 
method and the Lugol method [5 ,6]. 

The haematological methods, namely flow cytometry, cytochemistry and spectrophotometry, were 
performed at Bioclinica Laboratories, on whole blood samples that were collected in EDTA or simple tubes. 

3. Results 

The results of the parasitological exams highlighted pathogens that are sysmetically classified as part 
of the  Protozoa, Cestoda and Nematoda classes. Thus, we have identified the following genera Giardia, 
Cystoisospora, Dipylidium, Ancylostoma, Toxocara and Trichocephalus. 

Out of 25 dogs, four mixed breed and 21 purebred dogs, 11 were negative from a parasitololgical point 
of view and 14 were positive. As for the cats, two were positive for parasites (European) and one was 
negative (pure breed). 

The concurrent infection with more than one species of parasites was observed in nine animals out of 
28 taken into study (32.14%), while monoparasitism was noticed in five animals (17.85%) (fig. 1). In relation 
to the total number of animals taken into study, positive results were noticed in 16 animals, representing 
57.14%. 

The prevalence according to the identified parasite species varied between 3.57% and 21.42%, as seen 
in figure 2. 



Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 11 
 

 

Figure. 1. Synthetic presentation of parasitism seen in the studied 

animals a parazitismului la animalele luate în studiu 

 

Figure. 2. Prevalence of the identified parasites in the 

studied animals  
 
The haematological test values recorded for the 14 parasitized dogs are shown in figures 3-9. 
The values recorded for red blood cells disclose the fact that the values from most dogs were within 

the minimal and maximal reference values, except for three of them that showed values below the minimal 
reference value. The values for red blood cells from one dog reached the maximal reference value.  

 
Fig. 3. Values recorded in the case of erythrocytes and 

haemoglobin  

 
Fig. 4. Values recorded for the haematocrit and MCV  

 

Fig. 5. Values recorded in the case of MCH and MCHC 

 

Fig. 6. Values recorded in the case of RDW and platelets 

 

Fig. 7. Values recorded in the case of leukocytes and 

neutrophils 

 

Fig. 8. Values recorded in the case of lymphocytes and 

monocytes 

 

Fig. 9. Values recorded in the case of eosinophils and 

basophils 

 

Fig. 10. Values recorded in the case of amilase and serum 

lipase 



Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 12 
 

 

Fig. 11. Values recorded in the case of alkaline phosphatase 

and serum urea 

 

Fig. 12. Values recorded in the case of serum creatinin and 

ASAT 

 

Fig. 13. Values recorded in the case of ALAT 

 

 
In the case of haemoglobin, similar to the evolution of the red blood cells values, most dogs overpassed 

the minimal value, except for two of them that showed values below minimum. One of the dogs had values 
surpassing the maximal threshold. The study of the haematocrit revealed that the recorded data followed 
a similar trend as that seen in erythrocytes and haemoglobin.   

In the case of MCV (mean corpuscular volume), all dogs presented values that were within the 
physiological limits, however two of them reached maximal values.  

In what regards the MCH (mean corpuscular haemoglobin), all dogs showed values above minimum, 
three of them showed maximum values and three showed values that were above maximum.  

All dogs had MCHC (mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration) values higher than minimum, 
five dogs reached the maximum level and four of them overpassed it.  

The study of the RDW (red cell distribution width) revealed the fact that most dogs from the study 
have surpassed the maximum value, except for one which showed values below the minimal threshold. 
Three of them reached the maximum value and one of them overpassed it.  

In the case of platelets, the noticed values were above the minimal threshold for most cases. Two cases 
exhibited values below minimum and other two cases had values above the maximum threshold.  

The leukocyte values did not go below average values for none of the cases, three of them reached the 
maximum limit, other four overpassed it with one of them overpassing the limit by far. This fact can be 
explained by the presence of a chronic infection or of an overlapping bacterial infection which happen at 
the same time with the migration of parasites throughout the host’s body, in case of leukemia or in case of 
severe stress. 

As for the neutrophils, all dogs showed values within normal ranges, with a single case showing 
values above maximum. 

The lymphocyte values for most dogs were above the minimal limit, except for one which showed 
values below limit. None of them showed values above maximum level. 

The monocyte values of the studied dogs were above the minimal limit, except for five of them. None 
of the cases showed values below minimum. 

The eosinophils were above minimum for all dogs, except for three of them and one of them had very 
high values.  

The basophil values did not overpass minimal values except for one of the dogs.  



Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 13 
 

Biochemical analyses, in three, respectively four of the parasitized dogs, showed values that are 
presented in detail in figures 10-13.  

Serum amylase values for the three studied dogs were all above minimum but below maximum.  
Similarly, serum lipase was also below maximum levels.  
Alkaline phosphatase in the case of the four studied dogs showed values above minimum, with three 

of them showing values above maximum. Following serum urea evaluation, it was revealed that all four 
studied dogs had values above the maximum reference level.  

Serum creatinin for the four studied dogs revealed that all of the canine patients had values above 
minimum but below maximum.  

AST varied similarly, with values above minimum but below maximum in all four dogs and ALT was 
evaluated in three dogs, all of them showing values above minimum, with two showing values above 
maximum as well. 

4. Discussion 

Mircean et al., 2012, identified the following parasites in dogs: Toxocara canis 26.9%, Isospora ohioensis 
23.1%, Ancylostoma caninum 17.3%, Uncinaria stenocephala 13.5%, Trichocephalus vulpis 11.5%, Hammondia 
heydorni/Neospora caninum 9.6%, Sarcocystis spp. 9.6%, Isospora canis 7.7%, Capillaria aerophila 5.8%, 
Strongyloides stercoralis 93.8%, Dipylidium caninum 1.9% and Toxascaris leonina 1.9% [7]. 

In a study by Dărăbuș et al., 2018, eggs of Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma caninum and Trichocephalus spp. 
have been identified in varying proportions (0.57%, 5.78% and 1.73 – 2.22%, respectively) in dog faeces 
samples from parks. 

Qadir et al., 2011 revealed a prevalence of 10.25% for mixed infections with Ancylostoma caninum, 
Toxascaris spp. and Dipylidium caninum and a 19.5% overall prevalence of different species of the helminths 
[8]. 

In Argentina, faecal samples from 85 dogs were examined for intestinal parasites. Seventeen parasite 
species were seen, of which 77% are zoonotic. The most prevalent parasites were Ancylostoma caninum 
(68.2%), Giardia spp. (25.9%), Cryptosporidium spp. (20.0%) and Toxocara canis (14.1%) [9]. 

Bishop and DeBess, 2020, in Portland, Oregon, United States of America, determined the following 
prevalences: Toxocara canis 8.7%, Strongyloides spp. 2.3%, Trichuris spp. 2.1%, hookworms (Ancylostoma 
caninum, Uncinaria sp., unspecified) 2.1%, Cystoisospora spp. 1.4%, Taenia spp. 1.2%, Ancylostoma caninum 
0.9%, Uncinaria spp. 0.7%, Baylisascaris procyonis 0.2%, and Dipylidium spp. 0.2%, in canine fecal samples 
[10]. 

A study conducted by Regidor-Cerrillo et al., 2020, in Spain, highlighted that microscopic, 
gastrointestinal parasite forms found in dog faeces were identified as nematodes (Ancylostomatidae, 
Toxocara canis, Trichuris spp. and Toxascaris leonina), cestodes (Taeniidae) and protozoa (Cystoisospora spp. 
and Giardia). From the 233 analysed dogs, 63.5% were positive for at least one intestinal parasite, indicating 
a high degree of intestinal parasitism in these animals [2]. 

Significant decrease in the values of haemoglobin, total erythrocytic count, lymphocyte and marked 
leucocytosis, eosinophilia and neutrophilia were noted in pups that were naturally infected with 
toxocariosis. Post-treatment haematogical observations noted on day 7, 14 and 21 revealed that Toxocara 
infected dogs gradually returned to normal level but rapid and significant change towards normality were 
seen in Plozin (a combined tablet containing 500 mg fenbendazole, 144 mg pyrantel pamoate, 50 mg 
praziquantel @ 1/2 tablet per 5 kg body weight) treated animals [11]. 



Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 14 
 

Voßmann (1985) examined the haemtaological alterations in pups, following prenatal infections as 
well as the numeric changes of red blood cells [12]. The number of red blood cells in the blood stream is 
low from a physiological point of view in newborn pups, rising in approximately 6-8 weeks post partum 
to reach the values seen in adult dogs.  In contrast with this fact are pups which are heavily infected with 
T. canis. They showed decreasing values of erythrocytes, mainly caused by severe internal bleedings. The 
reason behind these internal bleedings were the preadult larvae, that migrated through the liver and 
perforated the intestine, all aspects caused by the massive parasitic load. Pups with moderate infections 
showed an increase in the number of erythrocytes starting with the 5th week of life, but without reaching 
the values seen in non-infected animals. No changes in the numbers of red blood cells were noticed in adult 
bitches following infection with T. canis larvae [13]. Eosinophilia is characteristic in T. canis infections, 
starting from day 7 post infection and reaching maximum values within 14 days p.i. A similar evolution of 
eosinophilia is seen in pups infected in the prenatal period, starting with day 7 post partum [12]. Voßmann 
(1985) has also shown that the degree of eosinophilia in pups that were infected in the pre-natal period is 
almost proportional with the intensity of the infection [12]. Once the eggs start being shed in the faecal 
matters, the number of eosinophils slowly dropped, returning to physiological levels in 42 days p.i. These 
data have shown that the evolution of eosinophils in pre-natally infected pups is comparable to that of 
experimentally infected adult dogs [13]. 

Haematological changes are not the sole observations during infections with T. canis. Enzymatic 
alterations are also present thus, during the liver-migration period, the glutamate-dehydrogenase (GLDH) 
and alanintransaminase (ALT) rise, reaching maximum levels within 14 days p.i. [13]. After this peak, ALT 
stays at high levels for a certain period of time, while GLDH came back to normal values after 14 days [14].  

Following reinfestation, hepatic enzymes show a new increase, although smaller in magnitude than 
during primary infection [13]. Voßmann (1985) noticed that these two enzymes, in pre-natally infected 
pups, were already high upon birth: 67 U / l for GLDH (reference values are up to 6,0 U / l) and 365 U / l 
for ALT (reference values are up to 55 U / l) in heavily infected pups [12]. Values came back to normal 
within 1-2 weeks post partum. A second increase in values caused by adult ascarids migrating through the 
liver and peritoneal cavity was detected shortly before the death of heavily infected pups.  

The somatic migration in the lungs leads to multiple haemorrhagic petechia, forming a “tinted” 
pattern on the lungs [15]. The findings of Manhardt (1980) have confirmed that somatic migration is 
performed by larvae that are captured in the capillaries, larvae which penetrate their walls and migrate 
through the tissue in order to re-eneter the vascular system. This capacity to perform somatic migrations 
leads to the presence of larvae in organs founds in the vicinity of lungs and in the pleural cavity. 
Additionally, Manhardt (1980) has closely examined the kidney, an organ that is frequently affected by T. 
canis, noticing that severe organ failure is a rare sight in these situations. The larvae leave the blood vessels, 
namely the cortex, leaving small haemorrhages below the renal capsule, and begin a somatic migration. 
Some larvae go into the urinary canalicules, becoming detectable even in urine while others stay under the 
capsule after a short somatic migration and encapsulate in granulomas.  

Shortly after beginning the hematogenous journey, larvae were also discovered in muscle fibers of the 
heart [15]. 

 



Cluj Vet J 2021, 26, 2 15 
 

5. Conclusions 
The carnivores that were taken into study were positive for pathogens from the Protozoa, Cestoda and 

Nematoda classes. The following genera were identified: Giardia, Cystoisospora, Dipylidium, Ancylostoma, 
Toxocara andTrichocephalus. 

Compared to the toal number of examined animals, the positivity rate was 57.14%, with prevalence 
rates according to the parasitic species ranging from 3.57% to 21.42%, with multiparasitism in 32.14%, and 
monoparasitism in 17.85%.  

The values recorded for red blood cells, haemoglobin and hematocrit followed the same trendmost of 
the animals being situated within physiological values, except for three dogs, that recorded values below 
the minimal level. 

In the case of MCH (mean corpuscular haemoglobin) and MCHC (mean corpuscular haemoglobin 
concentration) the values recorded for most dogs were within physiological limits, except for three dogs 
which overpassed the maximum level.  

Eosinophils were high in all dogs, which is a characteristic feature of parasitism.  
The serum urea concentrations revealed the fact that all for dogs that were taken into study had values 

above the maximum limit.  
 

Author Contributions: For research articles with several authors, a short paragraph specifying their individual 
contributions must be provided. The following statements should be used “Conceptualization, M.S.I. and R.G.O.; 
methodology, R.G.O; software, M.S.I.; validation, M.S.I. and R.G.O.; formal analysis, M.I, and I.L.; investigation, R.G.O, 
I.L. and S.G.; resources, T.S. and G.O; data curation, R.G.O. and G.O; writing—original draft preparation, M.S.I and T.S.; 
writing—review and editing, M.S.I and S.M.; visualization, T.S.; supervision, S.M.; All authors have read and agreed to 
the published version of the manuscript”. 
Acknowledgments: This study was performed using the support and infrastructure project „Dezvoltarea infrastructurii 
de cercetare, educaţie şi servicii în domeniile medicinei veterinare şi tehnologiilor inovative pentru RO 05”, cod SMIS-
CSNR 2669. 
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. 

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