a survey on ectoparasite infestations in companion dogs of ahvaz district, south-west of iran

background:   the objective was to determine the prevalence of ectoparasite infestations in referred companion dogs to veterinary hospital of shahid chamran university of ahvaz, from 2009 to 2010 . methods: a total of 126 dogs were sampled for ectoparasites and examined by parasitological methods. the studied animals were grouped based on the age (<1 year, 1–3 years and >3 years), sex, breed and region. results: thirty six out of 126 referred dogs (28.57%) were positive for external ectoparasites. the most common ectoparasites were heterodoxus spinigera , which were recorded on 11 dogs (8.73%). rhipicephalus sanguineus, sarcoptes scabiei , otodectes cynotis , xenopsylla cheopis, cetenocephalides canis, cetenocephalides felis , hip­pobosca sp . and myiasis (l3 of lucilia sp . ) were identified on 9 (7.14%), 7 (5.56%), 6 (4.76%), 3 (2.38%), 3 (2.38%), 2 (1.59%), 2 (1.59%) and one (0.79%) of the studied dogs respectively. mixed infestation with two species of ectoparasites was recorded on 8 (6.35%). prevalence was higher in male dogs (35.82%; 24 out of 67) than females (20.34%; 12 out of 59), age above 3 years (31.81%; 7 out of 22) and in the season of winter (30.95%; 13 out of 42), but the difference was not significant regarding to host gender, age and season ( p >0.05). conclusion: apparently this is the first study conducted in companion dogs of ahvaz district , south-west of iran . our results indicated that lice and ticks were the most common ectoparasites in dogs of this area. the zoonotic nature of some ectoparasites can be regard as a public health alert.