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Intestinal parasites and lungworms in stray, shelter and privately owned cats of Switzerland.
Journal article

Intestinal parasites and lungworms in stray, shelter and privately owned cats of Switzerland.

  • Zottler EM University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Parasitology, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; IDEXX VetMedLabor GmbH, Börseg. 12/1, 1010 Wien, Austria.
  • Bieri M University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Parasitology, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Basso W University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Parasitology, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; University of Bern, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Parasitology, Länggassstrasse 122, 3013 Bern, Switzerland.
  • Schnyder M University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Parasitology, Winterthurerstrasse 266a, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: manuela.schnyder@uzh.ch.
  • 2018-12-16
Published in:
  • Parasitology international. - 2019
Aelurostrongylus abstrusus
Environmental contamination
Risk factors
Taenia sp.
Toxocara cati
Toxoplasma gondii
Zoonotic potential
Age Factors
Animals
Animals, Wild
Cat Diseases
Cats
Feces
Female
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic
Lung Diseases, Parasitic
Male
Metastrongyloidea
Pets
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Strongylida Infections
Switzerland
Taenia
Taeniasis
Toxocara
Toxocariasis
Toxoplasma
Toxoplasmosis, Animal
Zoonoses
English Endoparasitic infections represent relevant causes of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in cats. The aim of the study was to investigate the occurrence of endoparasites in Swiss cats in order to evaluate the risk of onset of parasitic diseases and potential correlated zoonoses. Therefore 664 faecal samples from privately owned (n = 299), shelter (n = 197) and stray (n = 168) cats were investigated by sedimentation-flotation and 468 samples additionally by the Baermann technique. Overall, 77.4% (n = 130), 21.8% (n = 43) and 11.7% (n = 35) of stray, shelter and privately owned cats, respectively, were positive, with significant differences between the groups. Among infected cats, 58.7% (n = 122) harboured a single, 30.8% (n = 64) two and 10.6% (n = 22) more than two parasite species. Toxocara cati, with an infection rate of 18.5% (n = 123), was the most frequently detected parasite. The rates for other intestinal parasites were: Taenia sp. 11.1% (n = 74), Isospora sp. 8.1% (n = 54), Capillaria sp. 4.7% (n = 31), hookworms 1.1% (n = 7), Giardia duodenalis 0.8% (n = 5), Dipylidium caninum 0.6% (n = 4), Toxoplasma gondii 0.6% (n = 4), Hammondia hammondi 0.5% (n = 3), Sarcocystis sp. 0.2% (n = 1) and Diphyllobothrium latum 0.2% (n = 1). First-stage larvae of the lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus were found in 2.3% (n = 15) of all samples. The morphological identification of Taenia sp., T. gondii, H. hammondi and A. abstrusus was confirmed by molecular techniques. Overall, cats younger than one year and intact animals were more frequently infected with parasites than older and neutered animals. The observed infection rates were comparable to those from other European studies, except for Taenia sp. showing a significantly higher occurrence. This implicates that there is a persistent risk of environmental contamination with parasitic stages especially by stray cats, and a risk of infection for cat owners with potential zoonotic pathogens, emphasizing the need for appropriate parasite control measures.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://roar.hep-bejune.ch/global/documents/45161
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