Dogs are popular companions in our daily lives for company, hunting, protection or shepherding, but they also serve as reservoirs for zoonotic parasites. We analysed faecal samples from urban and rural environments in Qinghai Province on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites. A total of 682 faecal samples were collected from four urban and two rural environments from October 2019 to December 2020. The samples were analysed for common intestinal parasites using a species-specific PCR approach. The total number of samples with parasites was 40 (5.87%): 23 (3.37%) were positive for helminths, and 17 (2.49%) were positive for protozoa. The following parasites were identified, and their respective prevalence rates were calculated: Cryptosporidium canis (1.32%), Giardia duodenalis (1.17%, assemblages D (n = 6) and C (n = 2)), Taenia hydatigena (1.03%), Taenia multiceps (0.59%), Toxocara canis (0.59%), Echinococcus shiquicus (0.29%), Dipylidium caninum (0.29%), Taenia pisiformis (0.15%), Mesocestoides lineatus (0.15%), Trichuris vulpis (0.15%), and Ancylostoma spp. (0.15%). The overall prevalence was significantly higher in dog faecal samples from rural environments than in those from urban environments (16.19% vs. 3.99%). E. shiquicus, T. pisiformis, M. lineatus, T. vulpis, and Ancylostoma spp. were only found in dog faecal samples from rural environments. The results of the present study indicate that intestinal parasite-positive dogs are important sources of environmental contamination, suggesting a significant zoonotic infection risk in humans and other animals. This has implications for the ongoing control of intestinal parasite infections in dogs in Qinghai Province, China.

Echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease currently causing significant public health issues worldwide. The emerging and the expansion of Echinococcus spp. tapeworms in wildlife species and habitats are indeed underrecognized. Here, using infrared camera surveillance followed by morphological and genetic characterization, Echinococcus shiquicus (E. shiquicus), tapeworms were unexpectedly detected from Asian badgers in the QinghaiTibetan Plateau of China for the first time. In specific, an area of 3,939km² at an altitude of 3,6915,339m above sea level was monitored, from which fecal samples were collected, and fecal DNA was sequenced to solidify its match with the genome of Asian badgers before fecal egg examination. We further revealed that the isolated fecal eggs were morphologically representing E. shiquicus being oval in shape and containing a hexacanth embryo, and genetically formed a unique clade with diverse registered E. shiquicus isolates as illustrated by phylogenetic analysis. Overall, our investigation suggested Asian badger as a potential new definitive host of E. shiquicus tapeworm. More extensive surveillance for E. shiquicus tapeworm should be conducted in neglected host species and their habitats in the QinghaiTibetan Plateau.

Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods and important vectors of various pathogens. This study identified tick species parasitizing goats in Guide County, Qinghai Province, China, and screened for Theileria and Anaplasma species. Tick specimens were identified via morphological observation and molecular analysis of 16S rRNA and cox1 gene sequences. Pathogen detection was performed using PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Theileria and the groEL gene of Anaplasma, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Morphological and molecular data consistently identified all 80 engorged tick samples collected from goats on a single farm as Hyalomma marginatum, with 97.7–99.7% sequence similarity to reference sequences. Among the 80 tick samples, the DNA detection rate for Theileria ovis was 5.0% (4/80), 17.5% for Theileria luwenshuni (14/80), and 6.3% for Anaplasma ovis (5/80). In this study, H. marginatum was identified in Guide County, Qinghai Province, thereby enriching the current knowledge of tick species distribution in this region. Furthermore, the PCR detection of T. ovis, T. luwenshuni, and A. ovis DNA in H. marginatum provides fundamental molecular surveillance data for tick-borne pathogen monitoring in this region; however, because all examined ticks were engorged, the detected DNA may have originated from the residual host blood meal, and these findings do not demonstrate infection of the ticks or vector competence.