pathogens Article Opportunistic Mapping of Strongyloides stercoralis and Hookworm in Dogs in Remote Australian Communities Meruyert Beknazarova 1,*, Harriet Whiley 1 , Rebecca Traub 2 and Kirstin Ross 1 1 Faculty of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia; harriet.whiley@flinders.edu.au (H.W.); kirstin.ross@flinders.edu.au (K.R.) 2 Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia;
[email protected] * Correspondence: meruyert.cooper@flinders.edu.au or
[email protected] Received: 27 April 2020; Accepted: 19 May 2020; Published: 21 May 2020 Abstract: Both Strongyloides stercoralis and hookworms are common soil-transmitted helminths in remote Australian communities. In addition to infecting humans, S. stercoralis and some species of hookworms infect canids and therefore present both environmental and zoonotic sources of transmission to humans. Currently, there is limited information available on the prevalence of hookworms and S. stercoralis infections in dogs living in communities across the Northern Territory in Australia. In this study, 274 dog faecal samples and 11 faecal samples of unknown origin were collected from the environment and directly from animals across 27 remote communities in Northern and Central Australia. Samples were examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for the presence of S. stercoralis and four hookworm species: Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Ancylostoma braziliense and Uncinaria stenocephala. The prevalence of S. stercoralis in dogs was found to be 21.9% (60/274). A. caninum was the only hookworm detected in the dog samples, with a prevalence of 31.4% (86/274). This study provides an insight into the prevalence of S.